4. – Administration and usage via UI

4.1 – config.html

After opening the /config.html page, you have the possibility to configure all the important settings in SparkView.

Quick overview of the individual topics:

If you access the page from the localhost, no password is required to start the configuration. Outside the localhost, the management password must be entered.

Below you will find a descriptive overview of the different settings areas (tabs here). The name corresponds to the attribute name that can be written directly to the gateway.conf file.

Gateway

Name in config.html Attribute in gateway.conf Type Default Description
SSL (https and wss) ssl boolean false Enable/disable HTTPS/WSS. Can be true and false
Port (Default is 80 or 443) port number 8080 Port on which SparkView is running
Binding Address bindAddr string "localhost" Bind SparkView to a fixed IP address
Network Level Authentication credSSP boolean false Enable/disable NLA. Can be true, false or auto
Path of License File license string "./license" Full path to license file, including file name. Only for paid version.
Upload License File Upload a license file
HTML Root Directory html string "./html/" HTML root directory. Printed files are stored in the "temp" subdirectory. Please make sure that SparkView has read and write permissions.
Default Web Page directoryIndex string "rdp.html;index.html" Default page (inside the HTML directory) that is displayed after opening SparkView.
Path of Log File logfile string "gateway.log" Full path to log file, including file name.
Size of Single Log File (bytes) maxbytes number 30720000 Maximum size of a log file (please specify in bytes)
Maximum number of Log Files maxfiles number 99 Maximum number of log files.
Log HTTP header logHttpHeader boolean true Log HTTP header. This may contain sensitive information such as passwords.
PDF Converter converter string Full path to the Postscript to PDF converter. Ghostscript (https://ghostscript.com/releases) is recommended.
PDF Converter Arguments arguments string "-dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -dPDFSETTINGS=/printer -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -q -sOutputFile=%1 %2" Arguments for the Postscript to PDF converter. %1 is the name of the output PDF file. %2 is the name of the input PS file.
Plugin Class plugin string Class name for a custom plugin.
Administration Password (for reporting API etc) password string "password" Management password for configuration, reporting and API.
Enable Remote Management/Configuration remoteManage boolean false Enable/disable remote management from outside the localhost.
Temporary directory (for downloading/uploading) tmpdir string Parent directory for temporary files.
Days of temporary files are kept keepDays number 1 How many days temporary files should be kept by the system.
RD Web Access Webfeed webfeed string Remote desktop web feed URL, for RD web access integration.
Session Recording recording number Enable/disable session recording. Can be 1 (record graphics only) or 2 (record graphics and sound)
Directory for saving session recordings recdir string Directory for saved session recordings.
Warn user about session recording recwarning boolean true Warn users about session recording.
Access Not-In-List computers after logged in accessNotInList boolean false Whether users can reach computers and servers that are not shared with them or in the web feed.
Name of Redirected Drive disk string Name for the shared disk, used for file upload/download.
Name of Redirected Printer printer string "Remote Printer from Client"
Connections are queued (Backlog) backlog number 50 How many client connections can be queued.
User Definition File user string "./data/users.json" Full path of the users definition file, including file name.
Server Definition File server string "./data/servers.json" Full path of the servers definition file, including file name.
Gateway Web Address webAddress string HTTP address of the web server for OpenID login (redirect). Also in use for client side to get the real gateway address (in case of multiple gateways and load balancing).
Host Name of Client User clientHost string Customize the host name of the client user. For more information and possible parameters see section 3.1, "clientHost".
Rdp Session Performance Flags performanceflags number 111 RDP performance flags. Please see section 3.4 for more information.
RemoteFX remotefx boolean false Enable/disable RemoteFX. Works only with LAN and 32 bit.
DNS Lookups enableLookups boolean false Enable to make calls perform DNS lookups to get the actual hostname of the remote client. Disable to skip DNS lookups and instead return the IP address in the form of a string (which improves performance).
Session cache time (minutes, 0 = disable session cache) maxCacheTime number 0 How long sessions should be cached on the gateway (in minutes). 0 disables the RDP session cache.
Email SMTP Host mail.smtp.host string SMTP host for outgoing emails. You can use java -cp SparkGateway.jar com.toremote.gateway.Mailer title message to send a test email.
Email SMTP Port mail.smtp.port number SMTP port for outgoing emails
Email User mail.user string SMTP user for outgoing emails
Email Password mail.password string SMTP password for outgoing emails
Email From mail.from string Outgoing emails: From
Email to mail.to string Outgoing emails: To
Email SMTP Authentication mail.smtp.auth boolean Server requires authentication
Email TLS mail.smtp.starttls.enable boolean Enable/disable STARTTLS
Symlink symlink string Full path of the symlink definition file, including file name.
License Usage Alert (Email) licenseAlert number (float) Receive an alert by email when the license usage value reaches this value:

Value < 1: Usage value as a percentage of the current license. (e.g.: 0.75 = when 75% usage is reached).

Value > 1: Value in use as actual concurrent connections (e.g.: 394 = if 394 concurrent connections in use).
Interval of thumbnail (milliseconds) thumbnail.interval number 0 Interval for receiving thumbnails of the RDP session (in milliseconds). If 0, the client will not send a thumbnail to the server if there are no changes.
Width of thumbnail thumbnail.width number 0 Thumbnail width (in pixels), must be smaller than 640. 0 = no thumbnail.
Copy timeout (milliseconds) copyTimeout number 3000 Timeout for clipboard redirection (in milliseconds). This value should be increased if you need to copy very large data in your application.
Path of Key Store keyStore string Full path of the keystore file, including file name. Set up keystore or certificate name when ssl is true. For example keystore.jks or cert.pfx.

If you are using a certificate (i.e. cert.pfx), a password is required (see keyStorePassword).

If you are using a Java keystore (i.e. keystore.jks), the password of the keystore must match the one used for the certificate, which is integrated in the keystore.
Password of Key Store keyStorePassword string Keystore or certificate password. If you are using a Java keystore (i.e. keystore.jks), the password of the keystore must match the one used for the certificate, which is integrated in the keystore.
Password Encryption passwordEncrypted boolean false Encrypt the keystore, management and reporting password. Please use following command to get encrypted password:

java -cp SparkGateway.jar com.toremote.gateway.Encryption MyPassword
Remote Assistance assistance boolean false Enable/disable remote assistance.
SSH ssh boolean false Enable/disable SSH.
TELNET telnet boolean false Enable/disable Telnet.
Disable Burst License disableBurstLicense boolean false Enable/disable burst license model.
License status Displays the current license status.

Server

Here you can see a list of all created servers. If you want to add a new server, just click the "Add" button.

To edit an existing server, simply click on the edit icon (1 in the image), to delete a server, click on the delete icon (2 in the image):

SCR-20230317-ifrq.png

After you click the "Add" button to add a new server, you will get a modal window with the following settings options and tabs. The entries can be included directly in the servers.json in addition to the UI version.

Name in config.html Attribute in servers.json Type Default Description
ID id string ID for the server, must be unique.
Display Name displayName string Display name for the server
Server server string Host name or IP address of the server
Icon icon string Image file for the server, which is displayed as an icon in the SparkView portal. Please specify the full path incl. filename here.
Protocols protocols string "rdp" Protocols to use for the server. It is recommended to set a new server entry for each protocol.
RDP
Name in config.html Attribute in servers.json Type Default Description
Port port number 3389 RDP port to use
User username string User name (optional, since solved via users/users.json)
Password password string Password (optional, since solved via user/users.json)
Domain domain string Domain where the RDP server is located
Console session console boolean false Establish console session with RDS
VirtualBox RDP or xrdp legacyMode boolean false Use XRDP instead of RDP protocol. Can be used for legacy servers and applications, or Linux distributions.
Keyboard Layout keyboard number Keyboard layout to use. See chapter 3.4 for a layout list.
Color Depth color number 16 Zu verwendende Farbtiefe
Minimum Width minWidth number Minimum width of the remote RDP window. Normally, this field should not be filled in, because the dimensions are detected automatically.
Minimum Height minHeight number Minimum height of the remote RDP window. Normally, this field should not be filled in, because the dimensions are detected automatically.
Start Program on Connection command string After the connection is established, directly launch an installed program on the remote desktop/server.
Start in following folder directory string Start the program to be launched in a specified folder.
RemoteApp Exe or file remoteProgram string Start only one application via RemoteApp instead of an entire desktop environment. Please specify the entire path incl. file name.
RemoteApp Arguments remoteArgs string Arguments to be transferred to the starting RemoteApp
Wake On Lan Mac Address mac string Mac address of the allowed Wake On Lan device. Empty/not set = no Wake On Lan.
Wake On Lan Broadcast IP macIP string Broadcast IP address of the allowed Wake On Lan devices
Clipboard Redirection mapClipboard boolean false Enable/disable clipboard redirection
Sound Redirection playSound number 0 Enable/disable sound playback. 0 = Play sound on this computer; 1 = Do not play sound; 2 = Play sound on the remote computer.
Audio Recording audioRecord boolean false Recording of all audio tracks of the remote computer.
RDP 6.1 Decompression decompressingRDP61 boolean false Enable/disable RDP 6.1 Compression. The RDP 6.1 bulk compression technique produces better compression ratios than the RDP 6.0 bulk compressor, but also consumes significantly more memory, which can affect scalability of multi-user servers. This compressor is only used for server-to-client traffic (it is not used for client-to-server traffic).
Printer Redirection mapPrinter boolean false Activate/deactivate (virtual) printer forwarding.
Session Recording sessionRecord number 0 Enable/disable session recording. 0 = no session recording; 1 = record graphics only; 3 = record graphics and sound.
Drive Redirection mapDisk boolean false Enable/disable disk redirektion.
Drive 0 - Dos Name disks.dosName string For the 1st disk: DOS name
Drive 0 - Path disks.devicePath string For the 1st plate: Full path to the plate
Drive 0 - Actions disks.actions number 7 For the 1st plate: permissions in the octal procedure
Drive 1 - Dos Name disks.dosName string For the 2nd disk: DOS name
Drive 1 - Path disks.devicePath string For the 2nd plate: Full path to the plate
Drive 1 - Actions disks.actions number 1 For the 2nd disk: enable/disable redirect
Drive 2 - Dos Name disks.dosName string For the 3rd disk: DOS name
Drive 2 - Path disks.devicePath string For the 3rd plate: Full path to the plate
Drive 2 - Actions disks.actions number 1 For the 3rd disk: enable/disable redirect
Performance Flags performanceflags number 111 Performance flags for this connection. For more information about the performance flags, see chapter 3.4.
Network Level Authentication (credSSP) credSSP number 0 Enable/disable NLA. 0 = no NLA; 1 = enable NLA; 2 = automatically detect NLA based on server settings.
RemoteFX (32 bit color only) remotefx boolean false Enable/disable RemoteFX. RemoteFX only works with a color depth of 32 bit and under LAN.
Smart Card Redirection smartCard boolean false Enable/disable Smart Card Redirection.
Camera Redirection mapCamera boolean false Enable/disable camera/webcam redirection.
USB Redirection mapUSB boolean false Enable/disable USB Redirection.
Load Balance Info loadBalanceInfo string Load balance information for the use of multiple gateways.
Single Sign-on sso boolean true Use single sign-on for this specific server/connection.
VNC
Name in config.html Attribute in servers.json Type Default Description
Port port number 5900 VNC port to use
Password password string Password (optional, since solved via user/users.json)
Encoding encoding number 16 Coding for the VNC connection. Can be 16 (ZRLE), 7 (Raw) or 0 (Tight).
JPEG Quality quality number 5 Quality of the transferred images (in JPEG format). Significantly affects the performance.
ZIP/Tight Compression compression number 6 Level of compression. Significantly affects the performance.
Use CopyRect encoding UseCopyRect boolean true Enables/disables CopyRect Encoding. The CopyRect encoding is efficient when something is being moved. CopyRect could also be used to efficiently transmit a repeated pattern.
Colors color number 32 Displayed colors during the VNC connection. 256 colors should be used for slow connections with limited bandwidth.
Share the server share boolean true Share the session with other viewers.
Clipboard redirection mapClipboard boolean true Enables/disables clipboard redirection.
Session Recording sessionRecord number 0 Enable/disable session recording. 0 = no session recording; 1 = record graphics only; 3 = record graphics and sound.
SSH
Name in config.html Attribute in servers.json Type Default Description
Port port number 22 SSH port to use
User username string User name (optional, since solved via user/users.json)
Password password string Password (optional, since solved via user/users.json)
Font Size fontSize number 13 Font size used in the displayed terminal.
Clipboard mapClipboard boolean true Enables/disables clipboard redirection.
Session Recording sessionRecord number 0 Enable/disable session recording. 0 = no session recording; 1 = record graphics only; 3 = record graphics and sound.
Key File keyfile string Full path to the key file in PEM format incl. file name. For more information on SSH authentication via keys, see chapter 5.7.
Password of Key File keyfilePwd string Key file password
Terminal Type terminalType string "xterm" Terminal type
Telnet
Name in config.html Attribute in servers.json Type Default Description
Port port number 23 Telnet port to use
Font Size fontSize number 13 Font size used in the displayed terminal.
Clipboard mapClipboard boolean true Enables/disables clipboard redirection.
Session Recording sessionRecord number 0 Enable/disable session recording. 0 = no session recording; 1 = record graphics only; 3 = record graphics and sound.
HTTP/S
Name in config.html Attribute in servers.json Type Default Description
Scheme scheme string "https" Scheme used. Only HTTP and HTTPS are possible here.
Port port number 443 HTTP/S port to use
Replace absolute links replaceAbsoluteLink boolean false
Add forward headers addForwardHeaders boolean false Add X-Forwarded-For and X-Forwarded-Proto HTTP headers to request.

See chapter 3.30 for more information on the HTTP/S proxy.

User

With SparkView, you basically have several options to integrate users:

You can use config.html to import users from an Active Directory (once) and create users manually from the beginning. Please make connections to Azure AD, Active Directory, LDAP or RADIUS directly in the users.json file. For the sake of simplicity, there is a SparkView Customizer that creates the users configurations for the users.json file.
Click here to get to the customizer →

Import users

To import users from Active Directory, enter all the details in the fields provided and then click the Import Active Directory Users button. In addition to an organizational unit (OU), you can also define a group (5) from which the users are to be imported. You can also assign servers to the new users during import (8) so that this does not have to be done manually for each user.

SCR-20240116-ipfg.png

Add users manually

To add users manually, click the "Add" button. Then you have the following configuration options. The name corresponds to the attribute name, which can be written directly to the users.json file.

Name in config.html Attribute in users.json Type Default Description
Name name string Username (recommended without special characters and spaces)
Password password string Password of the user. If it is a domain user, enter *** as the password.
Servers servers array Shared servers for the user. Enter the server IDs comma-separated and without spaces, or select them from the list.
Domain user isDomainUser boolean false Specify whether the user is a domain user.
Domain Server domainServer string Full address of the domain server
Transfer Credential to Connection transferCredential boolean false Forward connection data to the connecting targets. For this purpose, the user name and password entered here must match the access data on the target device.
Host Name (RDP) clientHost string Displayed name of the client/user for RDP connections.
Edit/delete users

In the list view, users can be edited via the edit icon (1) and deleted via the delete icon (2).

SCR-20240116-iqkz.png

Name in config.html Attribute in symlink.json Type Default Description
ID id string Dynamic value Unique ID of the symlink. This ID is generated automatically and should not be changed.
Password password string Password that is given to the symlink as a parameter.
Resource (Server) resourceId string ID of the target system. Can be entered manually or selected from the list.
Valid From validFrom string Validity of the symlink: From when
Valid Time validTime string Validity period of the symlink, e.g. "2d". y = year; M = month; d = day h = hour; m = minute.
or Valid To validTo string Alternatively to the validity period: Until when
Parameters for target parameters string Additional parameters for the symlink. To be entered in URL-encoded form (e.g. user=userName&domain=local).
Comment comment string Comment that is displayed in the edit view.
Access link Using the Access link, you can call the symlink directly from the form and the symlink does not have to be saved first.

In the list view, symlinks can be edited via the edit icon (1) and deleted via the delete icon (2).

SCR-20230317-lvxu.png

Session

In SparkView können Sie über den Session-Tab alle aktiven Session beobachten. Außerdem können Sie über eine JavaScript Konsole Nachrichten an einzelne oder alle Session schicken:

sparkConfig.notify('My message');
→ Sendet eine Nachricht an alle aktiven Sessions.

sparkConfig.notify('My message', [123456789, 123456788]);
→ Sendet eine Nachricht an die aktiven Sessions „123456789“ und „123456788“.

Server Group

Individual servers can be grouped into server groups for better and easier organization. The created server groups are stored in SparkView in the /data/servergroups.json file.

To add a new server group, click the "Add" button. You will then get a modal window again with the following configuration options:

Name in config.html Attribute in servergroups.json Type Default Description
Name name string Name of the server group
Servers servers array Servers to be entered into the server group. The server IDs are entered comma-separated, or selected with the help of the list.

In the list view, server groups can be edited via the edit icon (1) and deleted via the delete icon (2).

SCR-20230317-lmtz.png

User Group

Individual users can be grouped into user groups for better and easier organization. User groups can be given access to server groups. The created user groups are stored in SparkView in the /data/usergroups.json file.

To add a new user group, click the "Add" button. You will then get a modal window again with the following configuration options:

Name in config.html Attribute in usergroups.json Type Default Description
Name name string User group name
Users users array Users to be entered into the user group. The user IDs are entered comma-separated, or selected with the help of the list.
Server Groups servers array Server groups to which the user group should have access. The server group IDs are entered comma-separated, or selected with the help of the list.

In the list view, user groups can be edited via the edit icon (1) and deleted via the delete icon (2).

SCR-20230317-lona.png

4.2 – file.html

You can use the /file.html page to establish a secure connection to an SMB2 or SFTP destination. All file operations can then be performed through the currently used browser, you do not need a separate client.

After you open the page, you have the following configuration options:

4.3 – join.html

You can join an existing session as a support or spectator via the /join.html page. You will receive the join ID from the session owner. The session owner can view the session information via the small "i" icon at the top of the screen:



The session owner can also specify whether you can control the session or not.

4.4 – login.html

You can log in to SparkView via the /login.html page.
Logging in can be done via various services:

🎨 Customization desired?

You want to have your login screen customized to your company/brand? No problem, just contact us by creating a ticket.

Create support ticket →

4.5 – player.html

You can use the /player.html page to play previously recorded session recordings from localhost. For security reasons, access to this page is limited to the localhost. If you want to play recordings from outside the localhost, please use the /playeremote.html page.

4.6 – rdp.html

The /rdp.html page is the heart of the SparkView installation and can be used to connect to a remote RDP server. The connection runs entirely within the browser used, thanks to SparkView.

⚠️ Important!

Normally, the connection to RDP servers and applications is controlled via the portal. The direct call of the /rdp.html should only be used if a target is to be addressed once or temporarily and not saved.

After you open the page, you have the following options to configure the connection to the desired destination:

Tab „General“:

Tab „Display“:

Tab „Local“:

Tab „Programs“:
Optionally, a program or a dedicated RemoteApp of the RDP server can be opened directly after the connection is established. This can prevent access to the "normal desktop", for example.

Tab „Advanced“:

Tab „Multi-Monitor“:
To use the multi-monitor feature of SparkView, please follow these steps:

  1. Open a new window for each monitor. Please use the "Open" button in the multi-monitor tab.
  2. Set all windows to be used to full screen
  3. Enter your connection data and click on "Connect".

4.7 – report.html

On the /report.html page you have the opportunity to get important and up-to-date information about the usage and license of the current SparkView server.

Enter the management password under the gateway address and click the desired button to get the corresponding result/statistic:

Get Report
Get the current number of (concurrent) sessions on the SparkView server.

Get License
Get information about the currently imported license:

4.8 – shadow.html

By calling the /shadow.html page, you can join an existing RDP session and view it, or even control it.

Please note the requirements that must prevail on the RDP server for session shadowing to work:

  1. Start gpedit.msc and call the following directory:
    Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Remote Desktop Services / Remote Desktop Session Host / Connections
  2. Activate the policy "Rules for remote control of Remote Desktop Services user sessions"
  3. Enable file and printer sharing

After opening the page, you have the following options:

4.9 – ssh.html

The direct call to ssh.html can be used to quickly establish direct SSH connections to remote destinations via SparkView. Please note that a responsive SSH server must be running on the target system.

SparkView supports authentication via username/password or via public key. To enable public key authentication, please follow the instructions in 5.7 - SSH authentication with keys.

After opening the page, you have the following options:

Tab "General":

Tab "Advanced":

4.10 – telnet.html

The direct call to telnet.html can be used to quickly establish direct telnet connections to remote destinations via SparkView. Please note that a responsive telnet server must be running on the target system.

After opening the page, you have the following setting options:

Tab "General":

Tab "Advanced":

4.11 – vnc.html

The direct call to vnc.html can be used to quickly establish direct VNC connections to remote targets via SparkView. Please note that a responsive VNC server must be running on the target system.

After opening the page, you have the following settings options:

Tab "General":

Tab "Advanced":

For connections through the VMware HTML Console, please use the yoursparkview.com/vmware.html page. For more information, see 4.13 - vmware.html.

4.12 – Further files and views

assist.html

Join an existing session for support via this file. Please note that the partner will provide you with the file, as well as the username and password. The invitation file is created by the help seeker via the file msra.exe and should be in the format .msrcIncident.

cname.html

Works with the gateway.conf parameter asHost. If this parameter is set to on, the value of the HTTP header host is set as the server. For example, if you call https://server1/cname.html, an RDP connection to server1 is automatically established. This can be useful when multiple virtual hosts are in use.

faq.html

Learn more about errors that can occur during installation, configuration, and ongoing operation. The notes shown here largely apply to older and legacy versions of SparkView.

joinssh.html

Join an existing SSH session as an outsider using the session ID and a freely assignable name. You receive the session ID from the host of the session to be joined. The host can also choose whether you have read-only or control rights.

jointelnet.html

Join an existing Telnet session as an outsider using the session ID and a freely assignable name. You receive the session ID from the host of the session to be joined. The host can also choose whether you have read-only or control rights.

joinvnc.html

Join an existing VNC session as an outsider using the session ID and a freely assignable name. You receive the session ID from the host of the session to be joined. The host can also choose whether you have read-only or control rights.

keyboard.html

Test the keyboard layout that is currently being used for input here. This allows you to match country and keyboard settings with servers and remote hosts for smooth operation.

monitor.html

This page works analogously to the multi-monitor function of the /rdp.html page and should not be called manually. Please always make multi-monitor connections via the portal or the /rdp.html.

monitordashboard.html

🚧 Experimental feature

This feature is still under development and therefore still in productive mode. Please use with caution!

The monitoring dashboard can be used to view and analyze past actions of the following areas:

The views of the scopes can be filtered by user, start time, end time and hostname if required.

new.html

View version changes and release notes for major versions of SparkView here. Similarly, you can find a granular changelog at /release.txt.

playeremote.html

View previously recorded footage here, even from outside your network. The normal player.html works only from localhost for security reasons, the playeremote.html from anywhere.

rail.html

Open a RemoteApp within another RemoteApp in the same session.

sessiondashboard.html

View all active sessions of the current gateway here. You can filter and sort the sessions.

sshdirect.html

Connect directly to an SSH server here without going through the SparkView dashboard.

sso.html deprecated

Used in older versions to verify credentials via SSO and then forward traffic. These features are now integrated in the login.html and rdpdirect.html files/views, making the sso.html obsolete and should no longer be used.

vmware.html

Provides the ability to establish a direct (VNC) connection to a VMware HTML Console via SparkView. Please note that the callback is done via the /vnc.html file.