Difference between revisions of "Retrieve a Support File"

Revision as of 15:11, 22 October 2013

When contacting Stratodesk support because of a problem somehow related to NoTouch Receiver, please do always include a "Support File". A "Support File" is an archive containing runtime information, such as which system processes are running, a collection of all log files, etc.

To obtain this file, boot the client and start a browser on a remote machine. It would make no sense to do it on the client, because you want to download a file to send it to Stratodesk, so we suggest to do this on your ordinary workstation or virtual desktop (see the screenshot below for further reference):

1. Point your web browser to http://1.2.3.4/ (Make sure you use the correct host name or IP address of the target client)
2. Login with your client administator password (default: admin)
3. When redirected to HTTPS (SSL/secure connection), accept browser warnings
4. On the left, click on "Support File" ("Diagnostic" section)
5. Save the file and send it attached to your problem description email.

Note: If you retrieve the file to document a perceived error, make sure this error has occured before retrieving the file. A support file from a machine just booted may not contain all necessary log entries to diagnose the problem!

Screenshot of a Windows 7 PC with Internet Explorer connecting to a NoTouch instance to download a support file

Create a support file without network

This is rare. Are you sure it is not misconfigured? If it is about Wireless LAN, you could connect via Ethernet just to get the support file from this machine. If this is all not the case, please follow these instructions:

1. Plug in a USB pen drive
2. Open the configuration application, log in with your client administration password (default is "admin" without the quotes)
3. Click on "Console" under "Diagnostic"
4. Type in these commands, each one followed by pressing Enter

   gensupportfile.sh
   cp /tmp/support.tgz /tmp/devshares/usb0/
   sync

After that wait a few seconds and then unplug the USB pen drive.

What is in the support file?

If you are curious, you may examine the support file yourself, it is a "tar.gz"-formatted file. It contains:

• Configuration
• Log files
• Output of several diagnostic commands that a system administrator would typically execute locally
• Hardware information (PCI device list, USB device list, DMI BIOS information)

What is the file name extension .lsf?

We found that several email scanners block tar.gz files by general policy. Renaming the file to .lsf however solves the problem in most cases, that's why our software by default generates the .lsf name.

My support file does not get through

There are several ways to send us the file even when your main mail provider blocks the file:

• Enclose it in a ZIP file (with or without password)
• Rename it to something else like .pdf or so
• Send from a different account
• Use one of the dozens of free filesharing services

Support files of other Stratodesk products

This article deals only with retrieving a support file from a NoTouch instance, i.e. a PC, laptop or Thin Client running the NoTouch operating system. However, support files can be taken from other products as well:

• Get a support file from Stratodesk Virtual Appliance
• Get a support file from NoTouch Center