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Nexthink Library

Home Networking

Latest Version: 1.0.2.0
Install
Configuration

Content

Campaigns - 2
Categories - 3
Dashboards - 6
Metrics - 77
Remote actions - 4
Get Wi-Fi Signal Strength Get Network Speed Get Download Speed Get Local Speed to Gateway
Scores - 1

Required Products

Nexthink Act
Nexthink Engage

Platforms

Windows only

Compatibility

V6.27 and later

Description

The Home Networking pack measures the employee Digital Experience from home, in terms of the DEX scores through to the actual health and speed of the connection.Using this pack enables a complete understanding of the home network, the connectivity out to the internet and connectivity to business services.Use the Home Networking pack to identify low performing home network configurations and remediate the issues your employees are facing in this regard.

Screenshots

Versions

  • 1.0.2.0 - 23 Feb 2021 - Fixed "Get Wi-Fi Signal Strength" Remote Action data retrieval by obtaining the numeric values in the right format
  • 1.0.1.0 - 16 Dec 2020 - Fixed "Get Network Speed" Remote Action
  • 1.0.0.3 - 04 Nov 2020 - Initial publish to public library
  • 1.0.0.2 - Updated default values for "Get Network Speed" Remote Action and added warning message for "Get Download Speed" Remote Action
  • 1.0.0.1 - Fixed category
  • 1.0.0.0 - Initial release

Get Wi-Fi Signal Strength

Script Description

Informs users who are not connected to a corporate network and have a connection strength lower than the threshold specified that their connection is not good for optimal work. In addition gets feedback on the usefulness of the campaign.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'interactive user'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 120 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label Description
Corporate Networks Comma-separated list of SSIDs which are defined as corporate. It can be empty
Acceptable Signal Quality Minimum signal quality percentage to consider the current wireless network as good (0 to 100)
Nearby Networks Acceptable Signal Quality Minimum signal quality percentage to consider nearby networks to be competing with the current wireless network (0 to 100)
Nearby Networks Maximum Signal Difference Maximum signal percentage difference between the current wireless network and the available networks to consider them as competing (0 to 100)
Alert User After Bad Signals Number of times (1 to 200) the signal has to be under the acceptable threshold during current day to notify the user via a campaign
Campaign Id Campaign to show to recommend to get closer to the router. Use an empty GUID (00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000) to avoid campaign

Outputs

Label Type Description
Connected To Corporate Wi Fi Bool If the device is connected to a wireless network categorized as corporate
Wi Fi Signal Quality Ratio Signal quality percentage as presented by Windows
Wi Fi Signal Quality Average Ratio Wi-Fi signal quality average during the current day
Wi Fi Strength In Dbm Float Signal strength in dBm
Bad Signal Count Int Number of times the Wi-Fi signal quality was below the acceptable signal threshold during the current day
Bad Signal Percentage Ratio Percentage of time the Wi-Fi signal quality was below the acceptable signal threshold during the current day
Wi Fi Speed BitRate Speed of the connected wireless network in Mbps (Megabits per second)
Wi Fi Radio Type String Radio type used by the device's adapter connected to the active wireless network
Wi Fi Channel Int Channel used by the active wireless network
Co Channel Congestion Bool If there is noise caused by competing networks using the same channel as the active wireless network
Co Channels List StringList Details of the co-channel competing networks if there are any. The list is in CSV format
Adjacent Channels Congestion Bool If there is noise caused by competing networks using adjacent channels with respect to the active wireless network
Adjacent Channels List StringList Details of the adjacent competing networks if there are any. The list is in CSV format
User Considered Tip As Useful String If the user answered to the campaign affirmatively

Further Information

The Remote Action stores WiFi data for the last 7 days under the following path":"
- "%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Nexthink\\WiFiStrength"

The fields "WiFi Signal Quality Average" and "Bad Signal Percentage" are calculated based on the CSV data stored for the same day of the Remote Action execution date, plus the data obtained during current execution.

Further information about wireless network noise and congestion in this article.

Test Scenarios

UserInCorporateWiFi
Test Case The user is working in a corporate network
Environment Windows 10 x64 (English) (1903)
Results The campaign is not shown, strength is returned no other checks performed
UserWorkingFromHome1
Test Case The user is working from home and has good strength
Environment Windows 7 x86 (English) - Windows 10 x64 (English) (1903)
Results The campaign is not shown, strength is returned and all the checks are performed
UserWorkingFromHome2
Test Case The user is working from home and has poor strength
Environment Windows 7 x86 (English) - Windows 10 x64 (English) (1903)
Results The campaign is shown, strength and user feedback is returned
UserConnectedViaCable
Test Case The user is connected via cable
Environment VM Windows 7 x86/x64 (Multi-language) - Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results A message is displayed with the default outputs
NetworkNoiseCausedByCoChannels
Test Case The user is connected to a network that is using the same channel than others nearby
Environment Windows 7 x86 (English) - Windows 10 x64 (English) (1903)
Results Success - 'CoChannelCongestion' output is true. 'CoChannelsList' output contains a list of co-channel networks, in CSV format
NetworkNoiseCausedByAdjacentChannels
Test Case The user is connected to a network that is using a channel that is intersecting other networks' frequencies
Environment Windows 7 x86 (English) - Windows 10 x64 (English) (1903)
Results Success - 'AdjacentChannelsCongestion' output is true. 'AdjacentChannelsList' output contains a list of adjacent channel networks, in CSV format

Get Network Speed

Script Description

Gets information about the speed of the network by measuring the Web RTT against an external URL and a business URL. It also checks whether the connection is metered or not.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'interactive user'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 720 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label Description
Maximum Delay In Seconds Maximum random delay set to avoid network overload. Provide number of seconds lower than 600
External URL The external URL to be checked the Web RTT against
Web RTT Threshold The time threshold for the external URL Web RTT
Business URL The URL in the corporate environment to be checked the Web RTT against
Business Web RTT threshold The time threshold for the business URL Web RTT

Outputs

Label Type Description
Last Web RTT to external URL Millisecond URL Web RTT of the last execution
Average Web RTT to external URL Millisecond The average external URL Web RTT measured between all executions within the current day
Times external URL above Web RTT threshold Int All the times that the external URL Web RTT has been above the threshold within the current day
Last Web RTT to business URL Millisecond Business URL Web RTT of the last execution
Average Web RTT to business URL Millisecond The average business URL Web RTT measured between all executions within the current day
Times business URL above Web RTT threshold Int All the times that the business URL Web RTT has been above the threshold within the current day
Type Of Connection String Type of physical connection
Metered Connection Bool Whether the connection is metered or unrestricted

Further Information

This Remote Action is designed to be executed on physical devices, not VMs. If the connection is made via virtual adapter the Remote Action might fail. The Remote Action stores network speed data for the last 7 days under the following path":" - "%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Nexthink\\NetworkSpeed"
The fields "Average Web RTT to business URL", "Average Web RTT to external URL", "Times business URL above Web RTT threshold" and "Times external URL above Web RTT threshold" are calculated based on the CSV data stored for the same day of the Remote Action execution date, plus the data obtained during current execution.

Test Scenarios

URLIsUnreachable
Test Case The Remote Action throws an exception since it is unable to reach the input URL.
Environment VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Failed - URL cannot be reached.
ConnectionIsMetered
Test Case The connection has been set as metered.
Environment VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - A parameter signaling the connection is metered will be shown in the output.
URLWebRTTAboveThreshold
Test Case The Web RTT of the URL is above the threshold.
Environment VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - The times that the URL Web RTT has been above the threshold will be increased in one unit.
ExternalURLIsEMpty
Test Case The URL for External URL is empty.
Environment VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - The values related to External URL are set to 0 and Business URL data is filled correctly.

Get Download Speed

Script Description

WARNING - This Remote Action can have a significant impact on your network infrastructure and device performance.Retrieves the download speed of the user from a corporate network folder and a business URL.Please read the further information below for more details.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'interactive user'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 1200 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label Description
Maximum Delay In Seconds Maximum random delay set to avoid network overload. Provide number of seconds lower than 600
Business Service UNC Path to a file located in a corporate network's shared location. Eg. \\\\server\\SharedFolder\\file.txt. IMPORTANT - Do not use a large file or this could flood your network. Provide empty value to skip this test
Business Service URL URL to a file located in a corporate WebPage. IMPORTANT - Do not use a large file or this could flood your network. Provide empty value to skip this test

Outputs

Label Type Description
Download Speed UNC BitRate Speed of the connection between the device and the network drive introduced as an input
Download Speed URL BitRate Speed of the connection between the device and the URL introduced as an input

Restrictions

Further Information

We highly recommend not to run this Remote Action too often on target devices, and set a reasonable maximum delay as input parameter (more than 30 seconds) to avoid overloading the network.
If the target device is connected to a corporate network (such as VPN while on roaming, or at the office) and all traffic goes through the corporate VPN this will result in all network traffic from this Remote Action being funneled through your corporate internet gateway which could become overloaded.
To understand how to configure a network share to work properly with Nexthink Act, please visit this page.

Test Scenarios

BusinessServiceUNCInvalid
Test Case BusinessServiceUNC is an invalid UNC path or it does not exist
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Failure - The execution is stopped due to lack of access to the file because it does not exist or access denied
BusinessServiceURLInvalidResponse
Test Case BusinessServiceURL does not have the expected response
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Failure - The execution is stopped due to the URL returned an invalid response
InformationRetrievedProperly
Test Case DownloadSpeedUNC and DownloadSpeedURL are retrieved properly
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - Download speed for both cases is retrieved correctly
DevicePerformance
Test Case Device performance is not highly affected by the RA execution
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - According to the file nxtcog.log, these are the resources consumed by the Remote Action
''Performance on Windows 7''
CPU: ~17%
RAM: ~80MB

''Performance on Windows 10''
CPU: ~7%
RAM: ~90MB
AnyParameterIsOptional
Test Case Either DownloadSpeedUNC or DownloadSpeedURL is empty
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903/1903)
Results Success - The empty value is not measured
ParametersAreEmpty
Test Case DownloadSpeedUNC and DownloadSpeedURL are empty
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903/1903)
Results Failure - Both parameters cannot be empty

Get Local Speed to Gateway

Script Description

Retrieves the linkspeed and performs a test of latency and packet loss percentage against the default gateway.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'local system'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 720 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label Description
Maximum Delay In Seconds Maximum random delay set to avoid network overload. Provide number of seconds lower than 600

Outputs

Label Type Description
Link Speed BitRate The speed at which the device is linked to the gateway
Round Trip Time Millisecond Response time in milliseconds obtained from the gateway
Packet Loss Percentage Ratio Percentage of packet loss

Restrictions

Further Information

The test is performed only against the default gateway, which is the closest one to the device.
To calculate the average and packet loss percentage, 10 pings are executed with 32 bytes of data.

Test Scenarios

WiredConnection
Test Case The connection is wired
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - LinkSpeed field shows the interface speed (1Gbps or 10Gbps), RTT and packet loss ratio are retrieved correctly
WiFiConnection
Test Case The connection is through Wi-Fi
Environment Windows 10 x64 (EN) 1909 with Wi-Fi 5
Results Success - LinkSpeed field shows the Wi-Fi speed (866 Mbps), RTT and packet loss ratio are retrieved correctly
GatewayNotPingable
Test Case The obtained gateway does not allow ICMP requests
Environment VM Windows 7 x64 (Multi-language) - VM Windows 10 x86/x64 (Multi-language) (1803/1809/1903)
Results Success - LinkSpeed field shows the interface speed (1Gbps or 10Gbps), RTT is 0ms and packet loss ratio is 100%
Thank you!