User Management
Who can log on to SquaredUp DS?
There are two requirements for being able to log on to SquaredUp DS:
- The user needs to be a SCOM user. Any SCOM user (anyone with any role within SCOM) can access SquaredUp DS with their windows credentials (see How to add a user to SquaredUp DS).
- The user needs to be on the list of Named Users. If they are not on the list and the list isn't full yet, they will automatically be put on the list when they try to log on for the first time. The number of users that can be put on the list is restricted by the number of licenses (Named Users) you have purchased from SquaredUp.
Yes, with Open Access (Sharing Dashboards with anyone - Open Access).
The Open Access feature allows you to share your dashboards with anyone, even if they are not a licensed SquaredUp DS user. It creates an Open Access version of the original dashboard that can be accessed via its own URL without the need to login. Open Access dashboards are perfect for embedding them in user portals like Sharepoint, pushing them to wall monitors or using them as high-level reports for managers.
Since there's no authentication needed, viewing Open Access dashboards does not consume Named User licenses which means you can share your dashboards with unlimited users.
Creating an Open Access version of your dashboard doesn't change anything about the original dashboard. The original version can still be accessed by logged in users.
Note that, when users access an Open Access dashboard it is unauthenticated, so SquaredUp DS uses the application pool identity to access SCOM, and so the user's RBAC does not apply.
Team Folders are a form of access control for your dashboards. They enable you to deliver dashboards and delegate control to different teams within your organization (or to different clients if you are a service provider). You can customize which users see which dashboards, and choose to delegate authoring permissions to different users.
See Team Folders.
How do SCOM roles affect what users can do in SquaredUp DS?
When SquaredUp DS connects to SCOM, it does so using the end user's credentials. This means that all SCOM data in SquaredUp DS is subject to SCOM's role-based access control (RBAC).
About Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
How RBAC affects what users can see in SquaredUp DS
A SCOM user accessing SquaredUp DS will automatically be restricted to only what their SCOM permissions / RBAC allows them to see. This is true for everything within SquaredUp DS, whether that's dashboards, performance reporting, individual objects and so on. For example, if a user views a dashboard of "All Windows Computers", the actual computers shown on the dashboard will be limited to those that the user's RBAC permissions allow them to view.
How RBAC affects what users can do in SquaredUp DS
Actions in SquaredUp DS are also subject to SCOM RBAC. The different SCOM roles have permissions as follows:
SCOM Role | Permissions in SquaredUp DS |
Administrator | can edit, create and delete dashboards in SquaredUp DS, manage alerts, manage maintenance mode and run tasks |
Author | can edit Company Knowledge |
Operator | can manage alerts, manage maintenance mode and run tasks |
Advanced Operator | have the same permissions as Operators |
Read Only Operator | can view data (including drilldown on dashboards), but cannot manage alerts, maintenance mode or run tasks |
This external article lists the SCOM roles and permissions.
Types of users in SquaredUp DS
There are two types of users for SquaredUp DS for SCOM:
- SquaredUp DS admin
- SquaredUp DS user
The SCOM role of a user defines if they are considered a SquaredUp DS user or a SquaredUp DS admin.
If a user has the SCOM role Administrator, they are a SquaredUp DS admin. Any other role makes them a SquaredUp DS user. What a SquaredUp DS user can view and do in SquaredUp DS depends on their SCOM RBAC permissions.
SCOM admins (who are automatically SquaredUp DS admins) can carry out the following tasks in SquaredUp DS:
- Create, edit, delete and restore dashboards (see Recycle Bin)
- Create, edit, delete and restore perspectives (see Recycle Bin)
- Create or delete Team Folders
- Add new PowerShell profiles and integrations (such as Web API, ServiceNow, Azure Application Insights, etc.)
- Add or edit PowerShell, Web API, Azure Application Insights and Log Analytics tiles
- Write SQL queries
- Clone a dashboard in the Everyone pack. Team Folder authors can only clone a dashboard if they have author permissions to that folder, as it is first saved to that folder. They can then copy it to any other folder to which they also have author permissions.
- Edit the global dashboard navigation structure
How to add a user to SquaredUp DS
Since a user needs to be a SCOM user to have access to SquaredUp DS, you need to add the user to SCOM to add them to SquaredUp DS. The SCOM role you choose for the user defines their permissions in SquaredUp DS.
- In the Operations Manager (SCOM) console, click Administration (bottom left).
- Expand Security and click on User Roles.
- Right-click on the user role you wish to add your user to and click Properties.
Giving a user theAdministratorrole makes them a SquaredUp DS admin. Giving them any other role makes them a SquaredUp DS user.SCOM RolePermissions in SquaredUp DSAdministratorcan edit, create and delete dashboards in SquaredUp DS, manage alerts, manage maintenance mode and run tasksAuthorcan edit Company KnowledgeOperatorcan manage alerts, manage maintenance mode and run tasksAdvanced Operatorhave the same permissions as OperatorsRead Only Operatorcan view data (including drilldown on dashboards), but cannot manage alerts, maintenance mode or run tasks - Click the Add button.
- Type the name of the user (or group) that you want to add.
- Click OK, and OK again.
FAQ
Yes, with Open Access (Sharing Dashboards with anyone - Open Access).
The Open Access feature allows you to share your dashboards with anyone, even if they are not a licensed SquaredUp DS user. It creates an Open Access version of the original dashboard that can be accessed via its own URL without the need to login. Open Access dashboards are perfect for embedding them in user portals like Sharepoint, pushing them to wall monitors or using them as high-level reports for managers.
Since there's no authentication needed, viewing Open Access dashboards does not consume Named User licenses which means you can share your dashboards with unlimited users.
Creating an Open Access version of your dashboard doesn't change anything about the original dashboard. The original version can still be accessed by logged in users.
Note that, when users access an Open Access dashboard it is unauthenticated, so SquaredUp DS uses the application pool identity to access SCOM, and so the user's RBAC does not apply.
Whilst any SCOM user can log on to SquaredUp DS, the number of users is restricted by the number of licenses (Named Users) you have purchased from SquaredUp. If for example you have purchased 10 licenses, the first 10 users to log on will get entered as Named Users and will consume licenses accordingly.
While trialing SquaredUp DS, the Trial license provides you with unlimited logons. However, the users must still be SCOM users in order to authenticate.
Named Users refers to the list of users who can log on to SquaredUp DS. The number of Named Users is restricted by the number of Named User licenses you have purchased.
Team Folders are a form of access control for your dashboards. They enable you to deliver dashboards and delegate control to different teams within your organization (or to different clients if you are a service provider). You can customize which users see which dashboards, and choose to delegate authoring permissions to different users.
See Team Folders.
By default, only SCOM administrators are given permissions to manage dashboards in SquaredUp DS. Team Folders (see Team Folders) allow you to provide different teams, or users, with the ability to create and customize their own dashboards.
A user can roam across devices, but cannot connect from more than one device simultaneously. A user can have SquaredUp DS open in several browser tabs on the same device at the same time, but cannot access SquaredUp DS from multiple different browsers at the same time.
If the same user logs in a second time elsewhere, the message There are no licenses available, or the license for this user is in use elsewhere will be displayed on the dashboards of the first session, because the Named User license for this user has been allocated to the second session.