HaloPSA

HaloPSA Guides

Documentation to assist with the setup and configuration of the HaloPSA platform

Guides > N-able N-central Integration

N-able N-central Integration

Configuration


To enable the N-able N-central integration, go to Configuration > Integrations, and enable the module using the plus icon in the top right hand corner of the N-central menu icon. Once the module has been enabled, click the menu icon to begin configuring it.


After clicking into the integration module for NCentral, there will be the N-Central Accounts Button, click into this to begin configuring the N-Central Account.


You can set an asset matching field so that when the integration syncs assets, it will match onto existing assets and update the information, instead of creating new assets. The "Asset Matching Value Exclusions" refers to values that you would like to be ignored when the system is trying to match onto existing assets. For example you could use 'None' in this list of exclusion's, which would mean when importing/ syncing, any row where the value of the matching field (Where the matching field would be a column header on the import spreadsheet) set above, which is set to 'None' will not match existing assets and will instead create new ones.


Begin by populating the initial setup fields with your N-central URL and the credentials of one of your N-central user accounts. These details are used to retrieve customer, site and device data from N-central to import into Halo.


Customer and Site Imports

Customers and sites can be imported from N-Central into Halo. Customers/ Sites can be mapped via the mappings table found in the customers tab of an N-Central Account(Tenant) in Halo


If you are using top levels in Halo for categorising your customers, an option is available to choose which top level N-central customers should be assigned to (Top level is found in the customers area of Halo, it must first be enabled from Configuration > Users > General Settings). If your customer database is already populated in Halo, to assist with the unnecessary duplication of data, you can also enable the checkbox allowing you to match customers and sites based on their names. 


You will also have an setting, against each site and customer mapping, called 'Do not change the Site of existing HaloPSA Assets when they are found against this Site in N-Central'


When this setting is enabled any assets at this site in N-central will be imported to the mapped site in Halo, but if they are later moved to a different site in N-central they will not move sites in Halo. Essentially 'locking' the asset to the Halo site based on the initial import. This allows you to move assets around N-central freely without changing their Halo site.


This also applies to customer mappings, when this setting is enabled for a customer mapping the asset will not move customer is changed in N-central. 


Once you are happy, press the Import Customers and Sites button to open up the importer screen, where your clients and sites from N-central will then be retrieved and displayed. This shows an example of the formatting of clients and sites when importing. If you import without setting mappings, the mappings table will automatically generate based off of the columns specified for customer/ site in the import:



Device Imports

Devices can be imported from N-central into Halo. In N-central, each device is given a device class. During an asset import, Halo looks for an asset type with the same name as the device's class. If one does not exist, a new asset type will be created for you. An option is available to choose a group that new asset types should be assigned to.


If your asset database is already populated in Halo and contains some assets that exist in N-central, you can use the asset matching option to choose a field that imported assets can match against, to prevent unnecessary duplication of data. You must ensure that a field mapping has been created to populate your chosen field for this functionality to work. 


N-central device fields can be mapped to asset custom fields and also asset fields in Halo. To add a new field mapping, press the plus icon in the top right corner of the field mapping table. This will display an input screen with three options.


The first option allows you to choose what type of field you would like to map to. Custom fields must be created before you can map to them. Asset fields can be created automatically during the next import as shown in the screenshot above. Each N-central field can only be imported once. When a device is imported, the device's field value in N-Central will be saved to the Halo field that you have mapped it to for that device.


Once happy with your configuration, click the Import Assets button to open up the importer screen, where your N-central devices will be listed. Note that devices will only be returned for customers and sites that have been imported prior to the device import. If a customer or site is not imported, then their devices will not be returned.


When opening an imported device in Halo, a new button will now be available so that you can open the device in N-central.




Alert Management and Delivery Methods


Previously, alerts could be managed in Halo using emails. An option has been added to allow you to choose whether to continue using email for your alert management, or whether to start using the Halo API. Be aware that changing the delivery method setting from Email to API should only be done once the API configuration has been completed in N-central, as changing this setting will instantly stop alerts via email from being processed in their usual way.



As using email is now considered a legacy method, the configuration of this is not covered in this guide. Please speak to member of the Halo support team if you would like assistance configuring this option.


By changing the delivery method to API, you will be presented with new options in Halo, along with some pre-requisite details. 




Firstly, you must be using a version of NHServer that is 13.10 or above. Please speak to the Halo Support team to get this upgraded if you are a cloud customer, or unsure what this means. This pre-requisite is important, as it prevents the backend Halo server processes from interfering with alerts logged via the API.


The second pre-requisite requires that you have the text Device: {{DeviceName}} in your alert template in N-central. This text must also have it's own line and should not share a line with any other text (this will be configured by default unless you have previously changed this template). Failing to do this will result in the correct device not being linked to the newly created ticket. You must also ensure that the longname field from N-central has a field mapping and is being imported for each device.


Alert Management and N-central Configuration


Once the API delivery method has been chosen, new options will now be available. Firstly, you are required to choose a ticket type for new alerts that are created via the API, and also a user that the new alerts should be assigned to. It is a good idea to create a separate user specifically for this functionality, rather than using a general user.



You now need to configure a PSA integration in N-central. This will tell N-central where alerts should be sent so that they can be successfully created as tickets in Halo. In N-central, navigate to Administration > PSA Integration > Configure PSA Integration. Enable a Custom PSA integration, and populate all configuration options using the details displayed in the N-central module in Halo.


Make sure to put the full URL in the "Base Endpoint URL" and simply "/notify/n-central" in the "Ticketing Endpoint" field.


Once you have chosen a password under the "API credentials for communicating with MSP N-central" heading, copy the username and this password into the two fields in Halo to complete the configuration. This allows Halo to communicate back to N-central when tickets are resolved or re-opened.


When saving the PSA Integration in N-central, a test ticket will be created in Halo if configured successfully. Any failures will result in an error being given in N-central, and the save will be unsuccessful. Once saved, you must then enable the PSA Integration for customers and sites in N-central, and also create at least one ticketing recipient. This can be done in Administration > PSA Integration > Customer Settings/Ticketing.


Custom Tags can be added to a ticketing recipient so that the request type, status and priority can be overriden when an alert is received into Halo. The request type and status field must be the name of the entity in Halo, whereas the priority must be the ID number of that priority. Please note that the custom tag field names are case sensitive and must be configured exactly as shown in the below example.




Once configured, you will then start to see alerts created as tickets in Halo via the API. An example alert that was created using the integration can be seen in the below screenshot.



By resolving this ticket in Halo, an update will be sent to N-central informing that the ticket has now been resolved. Similarly, if you reopen a ticket created via an alert, an update will be sent to N-central informating that the ticket has been reopened.


If the issue is updated or resolved in N-central, new alerts sent to the Halo API will update the inital ticket that was logged and will add an action with the details of the update, and close the ticket automatically if the problem has been resolved. Should an issue be re-opened in N-central, the linked ticket will then also be reopened in Halo.


Halo Integrator:


It is possible to run customer, site and device imports on a schedule using the Halo Integrator.




The Halo Integrator can be downloaded using the link provided. You can also choose which entities should be automatically imported during a sync. Each time the Halo Integrator imports from N-central, the last sync date and the last error (if there was one) will be saved and displayed within the Halo web application.


Once the Halo Integrator has been downloaded, the configuration check should be performed on the N-central tab of the integrator. This will alert you to any potential issues or configuration changes that may be required. The general configuration of the Halo Integrator is not covered in this guide.


If all points return a green tick, then you are ready to import from N-central via the Halo Integrator. To manually perform an import via the Halo Integrator, switch to the Processes tab and click the Start Processing button. This will process all integrations that are enabled for the integrator.


Alternatively, if you have already configured Halo Integrator to run on a schedule, the N-central integration will be processed the next time the integrator runs. Even if you do not want to import manually within the Halo web application, it is recommended that you still click the import options to check that you are happy with your field mappings and that there are no connection issues to N-central, before proceeding with an import via the Halo integrator.

Popular Guides