SimpleSetup vs Self-Hosted

Server Administration
1

Hi, we’re currently using a self-hosted version of SimpleHelp and are considering moving to the cloud-hosted version, SimpleSetup.

Our current version is available for internal access only. We’re working on opening that up for external access, and as part of that, are exploring SimpleSetup. I feel the cloud version would be LESS secure, as we’d have less control over it, but it certainly would be easier to get setup.

Anyone have thoughts on pros vs cons?

2

I’m not sure I understand. I thought there was just one product, and you could either self-host it or rent a VPS or something and host it there. You’ve got as much control of one over the other.

We used to self-host, i.e. we had a server that was at my house, but a couple of years ago we decided to host at a VPS. It’s definitely more reliable and faster.

3

SimpleHelp used to supply an AWS EC2 t2.micro template. I think they removed that download. Any similar VPS solution would work great and should be able to be secured as well as a server in your office.

4

The way we run SimpleHelp right now is by installing the SimpleHelp server software on our own Windows Server 2016 VM. It’s just an application that gets installed and then runs its own web server.

From what I can tell, SimpleSetup is a cloud-based option, where SimpleHelp hosts the server software on their own servers. You then point your machines to that server, and you logon to that server to then access those machines. So, you don’t deal with VMs, or a VPS, or anything like that. You just connect to the website URL they provide to do everything. I admit that I could be entirely incorrect in regards to the nature of “SimpleSetup”.

My two initial concerns with SimpleSetup are:

  1. Not having control over the server that SimpleHelp is setup on. Is it a dedicated machine? A dedicated VM? What if a flaw crops up that allows one to jump from one SimpleHelp instance to another?
  2. Passing LDAP credentials through this hosted instance. We use LDAP for logging into the technician console right now. Will that even be possible with SimpleSetup? If so, I’m concerned about opening that traffic up through our firewall.
5

I don’t believe this is correct. SimpleHelp doesn’t offer a hosted version of SimpleHelp, however they have an integration for Ocean Digital that will accomplish this. Thanks!

6

So, would the integration with Ocean Digital raise the same concerns that I’ve outlined?

7

Point 1 - Yes is it a dedicated server

Point 2 - You could still use LDAP, but you would need to build a IPSec VPN from Ocean Digital to your DC in order for this functionally to continue to function.

8

If security is a concern (and it should be) self host it.
Setup takes literally 5 minutes, and you can secure as much as you’d like
I’m on AWS for the trial period, and I have had no issues with the config, security and access management
Whatever bugs I found I opened up a ticket, but unrelated to the setup & config

9

FWIW - we use a $10 digital ocean droplet ($12 if you count the weekly backups it keeps) - It’s secure and cheap and fast.

The security is kinda up to you, keep the OS/SH updated, keep firewall ports closed that don’t need to be. Level up the security by having technician access locked down to vpn interface/network.

10

Yes Simple Help offers a cloud version at $400.00 per session per year. (allows one tech to connect to multiple machines) as well as their self-hosted version. Needless to say the self hosted version is less expensive, especially when you need multiple tech using it. See https://simple-help.com/pricing

I would think the simple Help cloud version would be secure but this would be a question for support and they don’t monitor this forum. Why not put in a ticket to find out and then post the information here?

I have never had a quick response when contacting Simple Help support so that would be a concern for me if I was moving to their cloud version.

11

I think it depends. They seem to read the messages, and if it’s a bug report, they’ll often reply within hours or less, but if it’s a complex general questions, they seem to put it on the back burner for a bit. They’re a small team. My only concern is the speed at which fixes are put out. There’s a massive time gap between updates, and although they fix a lot of problems/issues in each release, it does mean that some blocking or annoying bugs are things we have to live with for weeks.