How to Use Session Management & Recording on a Switchboard (User Guide)

  Version 6.0

Applies to Platform: Switchboard 6.9.x 
Last update: 18 Dec 2025
 

A new major feature for the Endian Switchboard in 6.9.x is a session management and recording feature was created to support advanced user/usergroup restrictions to endpoint resources (applications) including monitoring and auditing these session activites to provide for policy enforcement and compliance. The actual result of using this feature is that when a user logs in, any resources that require session approval will now allow the user to “request access” where the user then fills out a short form including time window of when they wish to access the resource. Once approved (by a user with approval permissions), the user can then login and connect to the resource to perform their job duty during the defined time window. If the session policy has recording enabled and the activity the user performed was supported for recording, then the activity is recorded by the Switchboard and made available to the users with appropriate session permissions.

Requirements

Before you begin you will need the following in order to complete this process:

1. An Endian Switchboard that is already setup and accessible on a public IP or FQDN.
    
2. A valid user account on the Endian Switchboard.
    

Request Access to Endpoint

Login to your Switchboard using it's fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address as provided to you by your organization.

Once logged in, click on the endpoint you wish to connect on the main Dashboard screen. You will receive a modal pop-up which shows the applications which are accessible on the selected endpoint. If they have a session policy which requires approval, you will see a button to Request Access. Click this to continue

Next you should complete the access request form using the following information:

1. When to Access:  Enter the date and time you wish for your session to begin (when you want to connect and access the endpoint)
2. How Long to Access (Duration):  Here you can enter the amount of time you need to complete your session. Once selected, you will see a preview of when your session will end and your ability to connect to the endpoint will be terminated.
3. Describe Why You Need Access:  Here you can enter a description to provide to the approver to outline why you need access to the requested endpoint.

Click Send request button to send the access request to be approved. 

You will then see your approval status as Pending.

Session Approval

At this point, a user with session approval (or administrator) should be able to view and approve the access request. In addition, any user who has session approval will also receive an email notifying them of the access request and providing a link to the approval page.

To view and approve/decline, you can navigate to Switchboard > Sessions > Approvals

Here the approver can make a decision regarding the request

Approve the Request

If you choose to approve the request, you will receive a modal pop-up with the following information:

1. Session Start/End:  Here the proposed date and time of the session start and end are provided for confirmation. If desired, you can alter the request start/end time as well.
2. Approval Response:  Here you can enter the descriptive response to provide to the requestor.

Decline the Request

If you choose to decline the request, you will receive a modal pop-up with the following information:

1. Disapproval Response:  Here you can enter the descriptive response to provide to the requestor.

Connect to Endpoint

If the request was approved, the original user should see the approval status change to Approved and will then see an option to Connect & Open a connection to the remote endpoint device and can proceed as normal.