Client Monitor (16.0+)

What

The FileWave Client Monitor is a tool that provides administrators with real-time insights into device connectivity and status. It helps diagnose and resolve issues efficiently, ensuring seamless communication between clients and the FileWave server. FileWave 16.0 introduces a major upgrade with a streamlined interface, improved Network Address Translation (NAT) compatibility, and enhanced security features.

When/Why

Use the Client Monitor to monitor and troubleshoot device connectivity, whether on local networks or remote environments. The enhancements in FileWave 16.0 improve:

NAT Compatibility – Visibility into devices across remote networks without additional configuration.
Security – Strengthened authentication and encryption for safer device management.
User Interface – A modernized layout for easier navigation and usability.
Troubleshooting – Detailed logs and insights for faster issue resolution.

How

You can access Client Monitor from both FileWave Central as well as FileWave Anywhere. In FileWave Central you can either use the "Client Monitor" button in the toolbar or the button when looking at Client Info.

In FileWave Anywhere you can select a client and then pick the "Client Monitor" button. In FileWave Anywhere you can also use the Device Actions menu when viewing a device to launch it. Both methods provide quick access to the Client Monitor.

Now that the Client Monitor is open, you might be wondering how many computers you can monitor simultaneously. FileWave supports monitoring up to 50 devices at once, which should be more than enough for most use cases. However, if you regularly need to monitor more than 50 devices at the same time, let us know!

The Client Monitor has two main tabs—let’s take a closer look below.

Details & Logs

This tab provides real-time information about how the FileWave Client is performing on macOS or Windows devices.

One of the biggest improvements in the new Client Monitor is its use of a NATS connection, allowing you to monitor devices even if they are on a different network. This eliminates the need to manually enter an IP address and removes the limitation of only monitoring devices you can directly connect to within your local network.

Key features in this tab:

Last Successful Connection - useful to determine when your monitored client last communicated with the server. Additionally, the green dot seen on the top left next to the client name indicates that the device is currently online and in contact. If the dot is red, it means the device is offline, and the dialog will reflect its disconnected status
Server Model Number vs. Client Model Number - important for ensuring your client is receiving updated manifests.
Status - updates live as the FileWave Client works through items that are assigned to it.
Logs - displays various log files that can now be retrieved from macOS and Windows clients. The available logs differ by platform; for example, system.log and install.log are specific to macOS. Grabbing a log is as easy as clicking the download icon.

The Preferences tab in Client Monitor makes it very easy to set client settings. We have been streamlining this to try to be simple and effective so for instance;

Boosters only lists the Booster DNS name and assumes the default port is used. If you are using a custom port then a Superpref is still the best way to set that.

Debug Level doesn't have numbers to put in but instead simply has the log level as Normal, Debug and Trace.

Verify, Free Space, and Heartbeat work the same as before. For Heartbeat the default is 120 and in some environments you may want this to be a larger number. Rarely would you want it to be a smaller number.

Disable Personal Data Collection can be referenced here and can be used to set that at the device level. Most people who use this set it via the license level which is mentioned in that article.

Location Refresh Interval defaults to 15 minutes, and only collects location if you have taken care of the prerequisites.

Enable TeamViewer Remote Control will allow you to enable the TeamViewer integration if you have deployed the TeamViewer Agent to the device.

Prompt Client for Remote Control Access will make it so that the end user is prompted before you connect to their machine or is not prompted.