Frequently asked questions
Where is our project data kept?
Where you choose: locally on each computer, in your own PostgreSQL database reached over your VPN, in SharePoint lists on your own Microsoft 365 site, or on Orbelle Server on your own network. Your project data remains within your sovereignty.
Do we need Forecast, Clarity, Jira or SharePoint?
No. All four are optional. Orbelle reads projects, phases, tasks and team members from Forecast; projects with their schedule, risks, issues, change requests and team from Broadcom Clarity; and issues, releases and epics from Jira. All three are read-only: Orbelle never changes anything in them. SharePoint is one of two ways to share a register; the other is your own database.
Can we run Orbelle on our own server?
Yes. Orbelle Server installs on Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 or 9, or a container platform such as OpenShift or Kubernetes. Staff use it in the browser or the desktop app, administrators manage it from an admin console, and it is licensed by the number of users.
Do we need Active Directory for Orbelle Server?
No. Users can sign in with Orbelle accounts that an administrator makes in the admin console, with Active Directory, or with either. Orbelle accounts can use multi-factor authentication with an authenticator app, and the administrator decides whether it is optional or required.
Does Orbelle Server need a database?
Not to start. The server keeps its own records itself. For the shared register, the administrator chooses your own PostgreSQL database or SharePoint lists, and can keep the other up to date as a copy. Only the server connects to the database, so users don’t need database accounts.
Does it work without a network connection?
Yes. With a shared register, work carries on locally when the connection drops and is sent when it comes back. If two users change the same record, their changes are combined field by field. Orbelle also runs on networks with no internet access at all. Orbelle Offline, a separate installer for those sites, never contacts the internet, and updates come as a signed file brought in on approved media.
Can it hold classified information?
Orbelle can show a protective marking, such as OFFICIAL: Sensitive or PROTECTED, at the top of the app and in every Word and Excel export. Whether a system may hold information at a given classification is decided by your organisation’s security assessment. The security overview gives your administrators what they need to start one.
Does Orbelle use PHP?
No. The desktop app and Orbelle Server are built in Rust and JavaScript, and Orbelle Server runs as a single program with no PHP, web server add-ons or plug-ins. PHP vulnerabilities don’t apply to Orbelle.
What devices does it run on?
The desktop app runs on current versions of macOS (Apple silicon and Intel) and on Windows 10 and 11. With Orbelle Server, users can also use Orbelle in a current browser such as Edge, Chrome, Safari or Firefox. A hosted edition, run for you, is in development.
How do updates work?
Orbelle checks for updates when it opens and every six hours, and installs only updates signed by Orbelle. Projects and settings are kept, and nobody needs to uninstall or reinstall. On a site with no internet connection, each update is also available as a signed file with release notes and checksums, installed from Data and settings with the same signature check. Orbelle Server takes new app features from its admin console, online or from a signed file, without reinstalling the server.
Can we import our existing registers?
Yes. Registers kept in Excel or CSV can be imported into a project. Orbelle matches each sheet to a register and each column to a field, shows what will be added or updated, and changes nothing until you confirm. Importing the same spreadsheet again updates the records rather than adding them twice. Projects and their teams can also be brought in from Forecast. Forecast tasks and Jira issues labelled as risks, issues, actions and so on are offered for review before they are added.
What happens when a licence ends?
Orbelle becomes read-only. Everything stays visible and can still be exported to Word, Excel or a backup file, so nothing is ever locked away. The same applies if a licence key is cancelled.
How do we remove Orbelle and its data from a computer?
First, in Orbelle, select Remove local data in Data and settings. It deletes the projects, lessons and backups saved on that computer and replaces the encryption key, so no copy left behind can be opened, and it works even after a licence has ended. Then uninstall Orbelle as usual: on a Mac, move it to the Bin; on Windows, uninstall it from Settings and tick Delete the application data if offered. The built-in user guide (Help, section 14) gives the commands that remove the remaining app folders on a Mac and on Windows. Reports and backup files users saved themselves, and the shared register in your database, SharePoint or Orbelle Server, are not affected.