Hostedsims
Using Hosted SIMS
Launching SIMS
Once you have logged in you see the SIMS ID launcher screen which shows the tiles that you have been given access to. Clicking on a labelled tile such as SIMS.net will launch the application you require.
*Please note: *
Customers using tablets or smartphones will not use https://hosted.sims.co.uk to access Hosted SIMS and FMS but will need to use it initially to set their security questions and to change their password.
For more details for alternative access methods please see the section “Logging into Hosted SIMS from a Mac, iPad or Android device”
What Hosted Applications are available?
▪ SIMS .net: Click the ‘SIMS .net’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. SIMS .net will automatically open without any further login prompts. The speed it takes to open SIMS from the icon will be comparable to the amount of time it takes to power on a modern PC.
▪ FMS: Click the ‘SIMS FMS’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. FMS will automatically open and display an additional login prompt. This login prompt requires your FMS credentials, as provided to you as part of your Hosted SIMS handover.
▪ Discover: Click the ‘Discover’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. Discover will automatically open without any further login prompts.
▪ Explorer: Click the ‘Explorer’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. A File explorer screen will appear so that you can manage your hosted files, and move files and folders between a local drive or mapped drive and your hosted folders.
▪ Users: Users is only available to SIMS ID Site Admins of your school and is used to reset staff passwords and grant permissions. Please see the Site Admins chapter for full details of these features.
The first time you login, you may receive a yellow pop-up box, tick the box “Don’t ask me again” and click yes. Click Connect on the next RemoteApp pop-up box.
If your SIMS.net screen does not appear after a few seconds, look for the SIMS icon in your task tray, it could be that SIMS is hidden behind another window.
When SIMS has launched it will display just as if SIMS were running locally.
To Logout simply close SIMS and from the SIMS ID click Log off.
Logging into Hosted SIMS from a Mac, iPad or Android device
If you are using a Mac, iPad or Android device to access Hosted SIMS you will need to follow the same steps to first setup your security questions and answers as described at the beginning of this guide.
Unlike a Windows machine, you will not launch the applications through the SIMS ID launcher screen. Instead, you will need to download and use the free Microsoft Remote Desktop application as detailed below.
Open the Apple App Store or Android Play store and search for Microsoft Remote Desktop. Install the app
Open the new App by clicking the red Microsoft Remote Desktop red App icon on your device
Once opened, click the Remote Resources button at the top and complete the fields as per below:
URL: https://hosted.sims.co.uk/rdweb/feed/webfeed.aspx
User name: <Username@Hosted.SIMS.co.uk>
Password: <ChosenPassword>
Click Refresh. Once the message ‘Successfully loaded remote resources’ shows close the open window. You will then be presented with your available applications.
*Please note: The applications displayed will depend on the access level your user account has. *
To launch an application, select:
▪ SIMS .net: Click the ‘SIMS .net’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. SIMS .net will automatically open without any further login prompts. The speed it takes to open SIMS from the icon will be comparable to the amount of time it takes to power on a modern PC.
▪ FMS: Click the ‘SIMS FMS’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. FMS will automatically open and display an additional login prompt. This login prompt requires your FMS credentials, as provided to you as part of your Hosted SIMS handover
▪ Discover: Click the ‘Discover’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. Discover will automatically open without any further login prompts
▪ Explorer: Click the ‘Explorer’ icon and accept or tick any login prompts on screen. A File explorer screen will appear so that you can manage your hosted files, and move files and folders between a local drive or mapped drive and your hosted folders.
Advanced use of Hosted SIMS
Importing files
To import a file, select the menu route in SIMS or FMS and select the file explorer button. In the example below the Fileset import has been selected to demonstrate this:
Select Hosted SIMS from the left hand column to present your local drives, S:\ and U:\. From here you can drill down into the relevant directory to locate your file.
To export a file follow the same routine to navigate to your desired location and export the file.
Changing import / export directories
Your SIMS/FMS database(s) store some of the import/export directories. As such, if these directories have been setup prior to Hosted SIMS the destinations may now be invalid and should be changed. The required steps for changing the CTF directories are shown below:
Launch Hosted SIMS and navigate to ‘Tools | Setups | CTF’.
On the ‘CTF Export Directory’ and ‘CTF Export Directory’ click the spyglass icon.
On the ‘Browse for Folder’ window expand ‘Hosted SIMS’. A list of your local drives and Hosted drives will appear. Select the required destination.
Click ‘OK’ and save the changes within SIMS.
Using other software with SIMS and FMS
We found that most schools have some local software that connects to SIMS to extract information. In order to continue to do this securely when you move to the Hosted SIMS service we install a secure VPN connection to make sure that only you can access your data.
*Please note: The VPN service will be installed onto a machine or server in your school by a Capita engineer. *
What to consider when choosing where your VPN service is installed:
▪ Does your local software run an automated synchronization task in which no user interaction is required? If so, would an existing server in the school be the best place for it?
▪ Does your local software require user interaction? If so, can users who require access to the local software easily access the chosen machine?
▪ Will the machine need to be running 24/7? For example, if the local software runs a synchronization task at 03:00AM it will need to be on at this time.
▪ Will the local software need to be re-installed onto the chosen machine if it is currently located elsewhere? If so, do you need to contact the vendor?
How to setup your local software to use the VPN service
Typically your local software will be configurable in one of three ways:
Via a configuration screen/area where you can define where the SIMS server and database are located
Via configuration files which define where the SIMS server and database are located
By sharing the SIMS/FMS configuration files which in turn define where the SIMS server and database are located Regardless of the method used, the details will need to be updated to reflect where we now host your SIMS/FMS database(s).
*Please note: During your Hosted SIMS handover you would have been left with the server name(s) and database name(s). These details must be used when setting up/reconfiguring your local software applications. *
In addition, most software will ask you to provide credentials which must be a valid SIMS or FMS account. You will need to make sure this is created within SIMS or FMS.
*Please note: Your portal logins will not work for this. Instead, a ‘normal’ SIMS/FMS account must be created. This can be completed through SIMS in the normal manner (Focus | System Manager | Manager Users). When the SIMS account has been created, you must also then login to SIMS .net as that user in order to set a permanent password. You will need to login as this user via the installation of SIMS .net on the machine where your local software is installed, and not through the portal. *
Please note: For FMS, you will have been provided during your handover a FMS username and password for use with local software applications. Any additional users will need to be requested via a case to your usual SIMS Support Partner*. *
Hosted SIMS Troubleshooting
Why does it take a while to load SIMS & FMS?
Have you tried removing any unnecessary mapped drives or networked printers from your PC, each one increases the time it takes to load hosted SIMS and FMS as it establishes a connection while it loads.
I lose connection at times during the day to the Hosted platform, why might this be?
This can sometimes be caused by the RDP client on the affected machines not being upgraded to the latest version. It is important to keep machines up-to-date with the latest fixes and enhancements from Microsoft and the RDP client can be upgraded through Windows Update. However the following updates are required as a minimum and can be applied manually using the links below or via Windows Update:
Windows 7:
▪ Service Pack 1
▪ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2574819
▪ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2830477
▪ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2923545
Windows 8 (not 8.1):
▪ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2911101
Hosted SIMS Frequently Asked Questions
Logging in
| Q: | What do I do if I’ve forgotten my password?
| A: | Please use the SIMS ID Login button to reset your forgotten password.
| Q: | Why do I receive the error message ‘Another user of your computer is
| A: | currently using this connection.’? You must disconnect the Remote Desktop session from your system tray fully before logging in again.
| Q: | Can I login using Google Chrome?
| A: | You will not be able to launch Hosted SIMS using Chrome directly. We recommend using Internet Explorer. Or see the user guide to setup a permanent shortcut directly to your Apps.
| Q: | Why can’t I login to FMS from an iPad or android device?
| A: | Because of the printing dependencies of the FMS module it is not currently possible to launch FMS from a tablet device. You will receive an error that will stop FMS from launching.
| Q: | Will I have to change my password on a regular basis?
| A: | Yes you will be prompted to change your password if you have used the same password for more than 180- days.
| Q: | Can the system prompt me for my password every time I login with a Mac, IPad or Android device?
| A: | The default setting of Microsoft Remote App is to save your username and password to speed up future logins to services such as HostedSIMS. If you would like to be prompted for your password the next time you login please go into your Microsoft Remote App account settings and remove your password.
| Q: | Why am I prompted for my credentials again when launching an application?
| A: | This can occur if you are attempting to launch an application through a non-Internet Explorer web browser, such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc...Due to the way these web browsers work and how they support Remote Desktop applications, you will lose your "single sign-on" capability when trying to launch an application through these web browsers and will therefore need to re-enter your login details to continue. For more details please see knowledge base article https://myaccount.capita
Managing users
| Q: | Does SIMS ID change the way I use SIMS?
| A: | No, SIMS ID does not alter the way you use SIMS. It simply enhances the way a user logs in, launches the application and manages their passwords
| Q: | Can I reset my own password?
| A: | Yes. You can reset your own password once you have completed the security questions.
| Q: | Can I access SIMS ID from anywhere?
| A: | Yes. You can use SIMS ID from anywhere with an Internet connection.
| Q: | My site does not have a SIMS ID site administrator, can we have one?
| A: | Yes. Please log a call with your service desk they will be able to arrange for a user to be elevated to a site administrator following some necessary security checks.
| Q: | When I go to reset my security questions I cannot see my previous answers, is this correct?
| A: | Previous answers are not shown to protect your sensitive data. If you have forgotten a security questions answer you are able to reset them once you are logged into SIMS ID
| Q: | I see users in SIMS ID that are deactivated in System Manager, is this correct?
| A: | Yes we create a user ID for all entries in System Manager in case you wish to re-enable them. As long as they are deactivated the user will not have any access.
| Q: | When I enter someone in System Manager it asks me for an account name, what do I put?
| A: | You should be able to proceed without filling this in, SIMS may place a temporary name in to this field. This will be overwritten with the correct username when the SIMS ID account is created.
| Q: | **I have tried to recover my password but I have forgotten my security questions, what can I do?
| A: | If you are unable to answer the security questions correctly three times, your account will be locked. You can either ask a SIMS ID Site Administrator to reset your password or log a call with your service desk to do this. Please note if you are a SIMS ID Site Administrator you will need to log a call with the service desk.
Technical
*How do I run a patch? *
The application of patches to either your SIMS or FMS database(s) is performed by Capita. In order for a patch to be applied you will need to raise a case with your support unit stating the patch number(s). Please note that you will be asked to confirm a date and time for when you wish the patch to be applied. It should be noted that if users are logged in during the agreed time, these users may be kicked out of the system and any unsaved work may be lost. Patches can be applied at any time. For more details please see knowledge base article; https://myaccount.capita
How do I perform a backup?
Capita will manage all backups for SIMS and FMS. For more details please see knowledge base article; https://myaccount.capita
| Q: | Can I have multiple VPN connections to our hosted database(s)?
| A: | Typically, only one instance of the VPN service will be setup in your school. If you would like additional connections, please let us know when you complete your Customer Information Form.
| Q: | Why do the drop down menus in SIMS and FMS look collapsed?
| A: | This is because a SIMS or FMS screen has been dragged to another monitor. You can make your external monitor the main desktop to remove this display scenario.
| Q: | How do I use reports that have embedded Macros?
| A: | All SIMS reports including SIMS school improvements reports are digitally signed to work in the Hosted SIMS platform. By default all other reports with embedded Macros will have the macros disabled by hosted SIMS. Please contact the SIMS Service desk to enquire about your usual SIMS Support Partner digitally signing your report before it is imported into Hosted SIMS.
Support
| Q: | Who do I contact if I need help?
| A: | Please contact your usual SIMS Support Partner.
| Q: | Will I still need to purchase a support contract for SIMS if I use Hosted SIMS?
| A: | Yes. Hosted SIMS is completely separate to support costs. Although the costs for support is unaffected by the purchase of Hosted SIMS, there is the possibility to reduce the schools level of support i.e. removing support for a server as Hosted SIMS will replace this part of the system.