SEB Server: Monitoring a Live Exam

What this product is for

An online exam is only useful if you can be sure students are connected, doing what they should be doing, and able to ask for help when something goes wrong. The monitoring view is your control panel on the day. It shows who is on, how their session looks, when something crosses a threshold, and lets you act on any client that needs attention. SEB Client Groups, App-Signature-Key checks and indicators all surface here.

Main features

• A live table of every Safe Exam Browser connection for an exam.
• Indicator columns showing per-client values, with colours that change when thresholds are crossed.
• Connection status, including (No ASK Grant) and ASK Grant Denied tags where applicable.
• A Client Group(s) column when SEB Client Groups are defined on the exam.
• A detailed view of a single client, with logs, the latest indicator values and per-client actions.
• Filters on the right action pane, including Client Group and status filters.
• The ability to grant an App-Signature-Key during the exam.
• A Screen Proctoring section that opens the proctoring interface in a new tab.
• A Finished Exams section for reviewing recent completed exams.
• An All SEB Client Logs view for browsing logs sent by connected clients.

How to use it

Open the live monitoring view

1. Sign in as an Exam Supporter or Exam Administrator who is assigned to the exam.
2. Open the Monitoring section from the left-hand menu.
3. Choose the running exam from the list.

The view opens on the connections table.

Read the connections table

Each row is one Safe Exam Browser connection. The columns include:

• User Name or Session. Who is connected.
• Client Group(s). Any SEB Client Groups the connection matches. Only shown when groups are defined on the exam.
• Status. The current connection state. May include tags such as (No ASK Grant) for connections that have not yet been checked, or - ASK Grant Denied for those that failed the App-Signature-Key check.
• Indicator columns. One column per indicator defined on the exam, named exactly as you set it on the indicator. Each cell shows the latest measured value, coloured to match the threshold rules.

Sort by any column by clicking the header, and filter using the inputs above each column.

Use the filters

The right-hand action pane includes filters you can apply to the table:

• Client Group Filter. Show or hide individual SEB Client Groups. Because a client can belong to several groups, the filter uses show-priority: a client remains visible until every group it belongs to is hidden.
• Status filters. Focus on active, closed or problematic connections.

This is how Exam Supporters typically focus on one exam room, one operating system, or any other slice of the cohort.

Open a detailed client view

Double-click any row, or select it and use the View action, to open the detailed view for one connection. The detailed view shows the client's most recent indicator values and a list of log events sent by Safe Exam Browser. From here you can:

• Read the client's log history to see what has been happening.
• Use the Grant App Signature Key action to approve an ASK that was previously denied. A pop-up shows the ASK hash and asks you to give the grant a name.
• Take other client-level actions made available on the action pane.

An ASK grant applied here also covers any later clients that connect with the same ASK.

Open screen proctoring

If screen proctoring is enabled on the exam, the monitoring view shows a Screen Proctoring section. Use the action there to open the screen proctoring interface in a new browser tab. See the screen proctoring article for what you can do once it is open.

Review a finished exam

Use the Finished Exams section to look at exams that have already ended. You can open a finished exam to see its final indicator values and client logs, even after students have disconnected.

Browse all SEB client logs

The All SEB Client Logs view, also in the monitoring section, lets you search across logs sent from connected Safe Exam Browser clients. This is useful for spotting recurring issues across many clients rather than just looking at one.

Common tasks

Make sure everyone is connected at the start. Open the monitoring view a few minutes before the exam's scheduled start. As students start Safe Exam Browser, rows will appear in the table. Compare the row count against your expected number, and use the filter to spot any rooms with fewer connections than expected.

Spot a lost client. Watch the Last Ping Time indicator. A connection that has stopped pinging will quickly cross your warning threshold and change colour. Open the row to see when the client last reported in and what the last log events were.

Approve a Safe Exam Browser build that came in unknown. Open the row that shows "(No ASK Grant)" or "- ASK Grant Denied" once you have confirmed the client is legitimate. Use Grant App Signature Key, give the grant a clear name (for example SEB 3.6 macOS, Room 4) and save. The grant will also apply to any further connections with the same ASK.

Focus on a single exam room. Open the Client Group Filter on the action pane and hide every group except the room you are looking after. Remember that a client belonging to two groups stays visible unless both groups are hidden.

Check a fault after the exam. Open the Finished Exams section, choose the exam, and look at the client logs. Use the All SEB Client Logs view if you want to search across exams for the same error.

Things to know

Only users assigned to the exam as Exam Supporters, or Exam Administrators with access to the exam, can open monitoring for it.

Indicator columns and Client Group columns are driven by what you set up before the exam. If you spot something missing during a live exam, you cannot add new indicators or groups without disrupting the session. Plan thoroughly during preparation.

App-Signature-Key checks run in batches, not the moment a client connects. A new connection may briefly show as "(No ASK Grant)" before the check completes.

The Client Group Filter is a display filter only. Hidden clients are still being monitored by SEB Server and still appear in logs.

The detailed view of a client is read-only history plus a small number of actions. SEB Server does not let supporters change SEB lockdown settings live; that has to be done through the Exam Configuration, and only when no clients are connected.

Where supporters do need to act, they do so through the actions on the detailed view and the right-hand pane, rather than by changing settings.

Troubleshooting

The monitoring view is empty even though students should be on. Confirm the exam is in Running status. Check the Start-Time and End-Time pulled from Moodle. If you are testing before the real start time, use Test-Run on the exam first.

The indicator colours are not changing. Check the thresholds on the indicator. A threshold value that is much higher than any value ever measured will never trigger. Adjust the thresholds during preparation and rerun a Test-Run.

Clients keep dropping and pings spike for everyone. This is often a network problem rather than a Safe Exam Browser issue. Check connectivity in the room, and see the troubleshooting article for guidance on a known issue around access token expiry in older SEB Server releases.

An ASK grant did not take effect. ASK checks are batched. Wait a moment and refresh. If the client still appears denied, open the detailed view and re-check that the grant was saved with the correct name.

A client appears in the wrong group. Open the exam and verify the IP range or operating system on the SEB Client Group. Remember that one client can match more than one group, which is intentional.

Frequently asked questions

Can I message a student through SEB Server?
The supported supporter actions are those exposed through the monitoring view's detail page and right-hand action pane. They do not include a free-form chat. Use whatever invigilation channel your institution normally uses for student communication.

Can I quit a student's Safe Exam Browser remotely?
Use the actions available on the detailed view of the client. The exact set of remote actions depends on the SEB Server and Safe Exam Browser versions in use at your institution.

Why is a supporter not seeing the exam?
They need to be assigned to the exam as an Exam Supporter. Check the exam's Exam Supporter list and add them if missing.

Are the indicator values stored after the exam ends?
Yes. You can return to the exam through Finished Exams and review the client logs and indicator history.

Does the monitoring view refresh automatically?
Yes. The view updates as new pings, logs and screenshots arrive. You do not normally need to reload the page.

Summary

The monitoring view is your day-of-exam control panel. It shows every connected Safe Exam Browser, applies your indicators in colour, lets you filter by SEB Client Group, and gives you a detailed view of any individual client. Combined with screen proctoring, it is how supporters keep an exam running smoothly.