This article applies to NetSupport School version 15.00. For information relating to version 14.00 and below, click here.
This article will help you migrate your NetSupport School Connectivity Server (Gateway) to a new server machine.
Installing the NetSupport School Connectivity Server on the new server
First, you need to install the Connectivity Server component on the new server machine. To do this, create a folder on the new server and copy the Setup.exe installer and corresponding NSM.lic licence file into it. Run the installation and follow the instructions. The Connectivity Server can be installed via a ‘Custom’ installation. The licence details will be read automatically.
Migrate the server configuration to the new server
In order to carry over your old server’s existing configuration to the new server, it is possible to export the registry key from your old server and then import this onto the new server.
The configuration of the Gateway Server is stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Productive Computer Insight\Gateway.
If you export this registry key to a *.reg file, you will then be able to import this onto the new server once the Gateway has been installed and your configuration will be carried over.
Note: A restart of the Gateway32 service will be required once this registry has been imported.
Connecting the NetSupport School Tutor and Student machines to the new Connectivity Server
If you have configured the new server to use the same IP address or hostname as the old server, the Tutor and Student machines will start connecting to the new Connectivity Server automatically once it is available.
If the new server has a different IP address or hostname, you will need to reconfigure your Tutor and Student machines to connect to the server using the new address.
If your Student machines are domain-joined, the easiest way to push out the updated configuration is via Group Policy. The following technical article explains how you can configure the Connectivity Server settings on your Tutor and Student machines via GPO: Configuring the NetSupport Connectivity Server details for NetSupport School Students and Tutors by Group Policy (GPO)
If your machines are not domain-joined, please see the following sections for steps on updating the configuration on your Tutor and Student machines.
Configuring the Student machines
To configure the Student machines, you will need to push out a modified Client32u.ini configuration file to your Student machines which contain the updated server IP address or hostname of the server. All other settings can be left as they are. To update the Client32u.ini file, please see the steps below:
- Open the NetSupport School Student Configurator by navigating to Start > NetSupport School on an existing Student machine.
- Select Network Settings.
- Click Configure next to the Use Name & Connectivity Server option.
- Modify the address field to match the new details of your NetSupport School Connectivity Server.
- Click OK to apply the settings to the Student.
Once you have changed this setting on one of your Student machines and checked that the configuration successfully connects to the server, you will then be able to take a copy of the updated Client32u.ini file and push it out to the rest of your Students. This file will need sending to C:\Program Files (x86)\NetSupport\NetSupport School.
Configuring the Tutor machines
To configure the Tutor machines, you can use the configuration interface within the Tutor Console application.
- Click Options in the Tutor Console and select Network Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Select Network and Wireless Settings.
- Click Settings next to the Use Name & Connectivity Server option.
- Modify the address field to match the new details of your NetSupport School Connectivity Server.
- Click OK to apply the changes.
If you have multiple Tutor Console machines that you need to update, you can export the Tutor Console configuration to a *.reg file and then import this onto another Tutor Console machine.
The configuration of the Tutor Console is stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\NetSupport Ltd\PCICTL\ConfigList\NetSupport School.
After following the steps above, the NetSupport School Connectivity Server should now be running on your new server machine and your Student and Tutor machines will be connecting to this.