We’re pleased to announce a major update to the MAX RM Dashboard, with the addition of 32 brand new Automated Tasks. And this is just the beginning: We have a total of nearly 80 new tasks lined up for release in the weeks ahead, just about quadrupling the number of out-of-the-box tasks available to you. Soon you’ll have instant access to more than 100 predefined scripts to drive more automation, freeing your team up to be more proactive and offer better customer service.

What does this mean for you?

• Save time and effort – writing scripts can be time-consuming and requires specialist expertise, so we’re expanding our off-the-shelf options so you don’t have to worry about it.

• More standardization – increase consistency and accuracy with more standard scripts across your client base or organization.

• More scalable operations – more ready-made scripts means you can automate more, allowing your technicians and IT staff to be more efficient

What’s more, the new set of tasks includes a trio of Software Install scripts, so you can remotely install software on end-point devices. We’re working on a Software Uninstall script as well, so you’ll be able to remove the software you no longer need. Scroll down to see the full list of new tasks.

Please note that the new Tasks are Release Candidate scripts that require the new RC Agent to run. We recommend you try the new Tasks out locally on test machines first. We very much welcome your feedback and test results, so we can make any final adjustments as necessary and move the tasks to GA as soon as possible. Please refer to the ‘Feature Rollout Notes’ section below for more details on this RC phase.

A better UI for more tasks
With this big influx of new tasks we realised we need to make it easier for you to find and select the right task from the list. Therefore we’re introducing an improved dialog that does a much better job of showing you all the tasks and script checks that are available, including a new search option to quickly find the right script.

A new way to add tasks in bulk…
Hot on the heels of the recently introduced Bulk Delete Tasks feature, we’re adding a new way to bulk add tasks to devices. The new feature appears alongside the existing Bulk Run, Bulk Edit and Bulk Delete Task options, and works in the same way: select a Client, Site, or collection of devices in the north pane, then right-click and select Add Task to add the task you want.

Feature Rollout Notes…
We’re super excited to be adding these great new tasks to the Dashboard. They are currently in RC, so please note the following conditions:

• RC Agent: The new tasks require the new Release Candidate (RC) Agent v10.3.0 to run. You can tell which tasks are RC tasks by the ‘(RC)’ label next to the task name. If you add an RC task to a device that’s running the current GA Agent then the task will fail. We’re aiming to make the new RC Agent GA as soon as the new tasks have been put through their paces in the necessary test environments.

• .NET Framework: Please note that the new tasks require .NET Framework 4.5 to be installed. If the current .NET version is detected to be less than 4.5 then the new RC agent will update this component as part of the agent install process. This update may take a few minutes to complete.

• Parameter Input Help: Please refer to the helpfile for assistance on what you can enter into the various parameter input fields for the tasks. As a future update we’re planning to add tooltips to the dialogs to make this a little easier.

• Known Issue with Task Status: Please be aware that new release candidate tasks always show status ‘OK’ with a green tick in the Dashboard, even if the script was not able to successfully perform the update, and the output of the task shows ‘Status: Failed’. Currently the new RC tasks will only fail if the task failed to run completely for some reason. We’ll be updating this behaviour during the RC period so that if a task fails to complete its update, it shows as an error for that task in the Dashboard.

• Tasks in English: For our non-English customers, the new tasks are currently in English. We’ll translate these shortly so they appear in the local Dashboard language.

The new Automated Tasks…
Here is the full list of 78 new tasks so you can see what’s coming. The bold ones are the 32 that will release first:

• User Control (23)
  Add User to Domain Group
  Add User To Local Group
  Add/Remove User From Admin Group
  Create AD Group
  Create AD User
  Create Local User
  Delete AD Group
  Delete AD User
  Disable Guest Account
  Disable Local User
  Disable UAC
  Enable local user account
  Enable UAC
  Is UAC Enabled
  Logoff the Current User
  Remove Domain User from Local Group
  Remove Local Profile
  Remove User from Domain Group
  Rename Local Administrator Account
  Require AD User Password Change
  Set AD user password
  Unlock and Reset Local User Password
  Unlock Local User Account

• System Control (24)
  Backup All Event Logs
  Check Disk
  Cleanse Hard Disk
  Clear Server DNS Cache
  Create Mapped Drive
  Create Mapped Drive (Persist)
  Delete All Mapped Drives
  Disable CD-ROM
  Disable USB
  Disable Wireless Adapters
  Disk Maintenance
  Empty Recycle Bin
  Enable CD-ROM
  Enable USB
  Enable Wireless Adapters
  Force Windows Updates
  Get Basic System Details
  Get Full System Details
  Machine restart with prompt
  Map Network Printer
  Renew DHCP
  Set Default Printer
  Set Power Plan
  Synchronize Domain Controller

• Application Control (12)
  Attach Database
  Compress File
  Compress Folder
  Count Files in Folder
  Search for File
  Get Installed Applications
  Get Mapped Drives (Persistent)
  Get Startup Applications
  Set Default IE Homepage
  SQL Server Details
  Start IIS Website
  Stop IIS Website

• Security (7)
  Disable Firewall
  Enable Firewall
  Lock Workstation (does not work on Windows 7)
  Lockdown Machine
  Reset Firewall Settings
  Windows Defender Full Scan
  Windows Defender Quick Scan

• Exchange (2)
    Exchange Default Collection
    Fix Outlook Connection Issues

• Install / Remove Software (5)
  Uninstall Application
  Install software from FTP
  Install software from Amazon
  Install software from a Server
  Install software from a URL (Note this script does not require the new RC Agent and can be used with the current GA Agent)

• Virtualization (5)
    Restart Hyper-V VM
    Resume Hyper-V VM
    Start Hyper-V VM
    Stop Hyper-V VM
    Suspend Hyper-V VM

Staging Release Notes…
The full staging release notes are below. Note that staging release notes are subject to change, final release notes will go out with the release.

Summary for Service Release
– 32 new Automated Tasks, UI improvements, and a new Bulk Add Tasks feature
– Dashboard v6.20
– RC Agent 10.3.0, no change to the GA Agent

Dashboard v6.20
FEATURE: 32 new Automated Tasks (requires RC Agent v10.3.0)
FEATURE: Remotely install and remove software with new Automated Tasks (requires RC Agent v10.3.0)
FEATURE: New Bulk Add Tasks feature to make it easier to add Tasks to devices in bulk
UPDATE: Improved dialog for selecting Automated Tasks and Script Checks
UPDATE: Support for uploading .amp file type in User Defined Scripts
BUGFIX: Ensure a device with Managed Online Backup can be removed from the Dashboard without causing it to hang
BUGFIX: Ensure that the correct time stamp is applied when creating Service Desk tickets from Outages

KNOWN ISSUE: The new Release Candidate Automated Tasks currently always show as pass instead of fail in the Dashboard and the Automated Tasks Report (showing status OK and a green tick), even if they run but fail to successfully complete the update

Agent 10.3.0 RC
FEATURE: 32 new Automated Tasks
UPDATE: Detect Windows Services with the ‘Trigger’ start-up type and do not add Windows Service Checks for these services