OTRS
Encyclopedia
OTRS, an initialism for Open-source Ticket Request System, is a free
and open-source
trouble ticket system
software package that a company, organization, or other entity can use to assign tickets to incoming queries and track further communications about them. It is a means of managing incoming inquiries, complaints, support requests, defect reports, and other communications.
OTRS is part of the Lisog
open source stack initiative.
notification system for ticket requests.
Every ticket generated by the system has persistence or "history" showing what happened to the ticket within its life cycle. OTRS has the ability to merge multiple requests about the same incident, thus making it possible to work on an incident rather than on singular requests. OTRS is a multiuser system which means that multiple agents may work simultaneously on the tickets in OTRS, reading the incoming messages, bringing them in order, and answering them. OTRS is highly scalable, capable of handling thousands of tickets per day and a nearly unlimited number of simultaneously working agents.
OTRS has integrated functionality for creating, reworking and searching FAQ
texts. The FAQ texts may be incorporated into the agents' answers on tickets.
By using a multilingual web user interface, OTRS is usable independently from the respective operating system
s since it is operated from a web browser
. Furthermore, this facilitates the usage of OTRS by external agents or even customers participating in, working on or contributing to tickets.
OTRS establishes a framework of functions. For example, the incident handling system SIRIOS of BSI, Germany, is based on OTRS.
Since its beginnings OTRS has been implemented in the programming language Perl
. The web interface is made more user-friendly by using JavaScript
(which can be switched off for security reasons). Different functionalities are implemented as reusable backend modules, making it possible to create custom modules to extend the functionality of the OTRS system.
The web interface itself uses its own templating mechanism called DTL (Dynamic Template Language) to facilitate the display of the systems output data.
Originally, OTRS worked only on MySQL
databases. Support has since been added for PostgreSQL
, Oracle
, DB2
and Microsoft SQL Server
. OTRS may be used on many UNIX
or UNIX-like platforms (e.g. Linux
, Mac OS X
, FreeBSD
, etc.) as well as on Microsoft Windows
.
The scalability of OTRS systems may be increased by using mod perl
for the Apache
Webserver or by separating the database and web server systems, allowing a large number of simultaneously working agents and high volumes of tickets.
In UNIX
and UNIX-like environments OTRS works closely with system programs like the mail transfer agent Postfix
or the mail filter procmail
.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and open-source
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
trouble ticket system
Issue tracking system
An issue tracking system is a computer software package that manages and maintains lists of issues, as needed by an organization...
software package that a company, organization, or other entity can use to assign tickets to incoming queries and track further communications about them. It is a means of managing incoming inquiries, complaints, support requests, defect reports, and other communications.
OTRS is part of the Lisog
Lisog
Lisog is a German open source non profit business development organization founded in 2005 in Stuttgart. Lisog has about 120 members and branch offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Zurich, Palo Alto and Toronto. The members are providers, user companies, and scientific partners like universities.In...
open source stack initiative.
Overview
The Open-source Ticket Request System (OTRS) is more than a mailing listMailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
notification system for ticket requests.
Every ticket generated by the system has persistence or "history" showing what happened to the ticket within its life cycle. OTRS has the ability to merge multiple requests about the same incident, thus making it possible to work on an incident rather than on singular requests. OTRS is a multiuser system which means that multiple agents may work simultaneously on the tickets in OTRS, reading the incoming messages, bringing them in order, and answering them. OTRS is highly scalable, capable of handling thousands of tickets per day and a nearly unlimited number of simultaneously working agents.
OTRS has integrated functionality for creating, reworking and searching FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
texts. The FAQ texts may be incorporated into the agents' answers on tickets.
By using a multilingual web user interface, OTRS is usable independently from the respective operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s since it is operated from a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. Furthermore, this facilitates the usage of OTRS by external agents or even customers participating in, working on or contributing to tickets.
OTRS establishes a framework of functions. For example, the incident handling system SIRIOS of BSI, Germany, is based on OTRS.
Technology
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
. The web interface is made more user-friendly by using JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
(which can be switched off for security reasons). Different functionalities are implemented as reusable backend modules, making it possible to create custom modules to extend the functionality of the OTRS system.
The web interface itself uses its own templating mechanism called DTL (Dynamic Template Language) to facilitate the display of the systems output data.
Originally, OTRS worked only on MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
databases. Support has since been added for PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
, Oracle
Oracle database
The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
, DB2
IBM DB2
The IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition is a relational model database server developed by IBM. It primarily runs on Unix , Linux, IBM i , z/OS and Windows servers. DB2 also powers the different IBM InfoSphere Warehouse editions...
and Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
. OTRS may be used on many UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
or UNIX-like platforms (e.g. Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, etc.) as well as on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
The scalability of OTRS systems may be increased by using mod perl
Mod perl
mod_perl is an optional module for the Apache HTTP server. It embeds a Perl interpreter into the Apache server, so that dynamic content produced by Perl scripts can be served in response to incoming requests, without the significant overhead of re-launching the Perl interpreter for each request...
for the Apache
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
Webserver or by separating the database and web server systems, allowing a large number of simultaneously working agents and high volumes of tickets.
In UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
and UNIX-like environments OTRS works closely with system programs like the mail transfer agent Postfix
Postfix (software)
In computing, Postfix is a free and open-source mail transfer agent that routes and delivers electronic mail. It is intended as a fast, easier-to-administer, and secure alternative to the widely-used Sendmail MTA....
or the mail filter procmail
Procmail
procmail is a mail delivery agent capable of sorting incoming mail into various directories and filtering out spam messages. Procmail is widely used on Unix-based systems and stable, but no longer maintained; users who wish a maintained program are advised to use an alternative MDA, such as...
.
History
The OTRS.org project was founded in 2001 by Martin Edenhofer. OTRS has been installed over 80,000 times worldwide.See also
- Comparison of help desk issue tracking softwareComparison of help desk issue tracking softwareThis article is a comparison of notable issue tracking systems used primarily for help desks and service desks rather than for bug tracking or project management.- External links :* * * * * *...
- Comparison of ticket-tracking systems