Silverlight Management Upgrade Guide Updating the application to the fully Silverlight-based version (versions above 12.3)

Transcription

1 Silverlight Management Upgrade Guide Updating the application to the fully Silverlight-based version (versions above 12.3)

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Minimum system requirements... 2 Guide Pre-requisites... 3 Stage 1: Running the Wizard... 4 Stage 2: Updating the Application Settings... 8 License Tab... 8 Proxy Tab... 9 Library and Scheduler Database Tabs Database Upgrade Stage 3: IIS Settings Authentication Settings Application Pool Settings Active Directory (Optional) Reminders (Optional) Stage 3: Trying the Site and the Client Computers Client Installation Frequently Asked Questions

3 Introduction This guide explains how to upgrade an existing 12.3 installation of Eclipse/Junior.Net to the latest version. The new version includes a Management back end that is based on Microsoft Silverlight. The instructions in this guide should be followed on the server where the application has been installed. The minimum hardware and software requirements are shown below. Before starting, ensure that both the server and client computers meet these requirements. Minimum system requirements The table below shows the computer requirements for the server hosting the application and the SQL database. Component Computer and Processor Memory (RAM) Hard Disk Server Operating System Requirement 2.3 gigahertz (GHz) or faster x86 or x64 Dual Core CPU or better 4 gigabytes (GB) RAM (8GB is highly recommended) 10 gigabytes (GB) available Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2012 / R2** Windows Server Core is not supported SQL Server Express or Full Microsoft SQL 2005* Microsoft SQL 2008 / R2 Microsoft SQL 2012 Microsoft SQL 2014 Microsoft.NET Frameworks, including latest Service Packs. *SQL 2005 express has a 2 gigabyte (GB) database limit..net 2.0.NET 3.5.NET 4.0.NET 4.5 The table below shows the computer requirements for the client computers accessing the software. Component Computer and Processor Memory (RAM) Requirement 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) Dual Core CPU or better 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM Client Operating System Windows Vista Windows 7 / x64 Windows 8 Browser Internet Explorer 7 + 2

4 Guide Pre-requisites Before starting to follow the instructions in this guide, it is advisable to ensure that the prerequisites in the table below have been met. Making sure that the below has been carried out before the update is started, increases the likelihood that the installation will be successful and issue-free. Prerequisites IMPORTANT! Ensure that the Full Text Search component on the instance of Microsoft SQL Server where the existing database resides, is installed prior to installation. This is a required component of the system. For information on how to check this before upgrading, click here. It is imperative that this is installed as otherwise, searching will not function. If you are using a Biometric reader provided by MLS (and one that is not Biostore) then an essential part of the upgrade process is to convert the biometric data before the upgrade has taken place. See further instructions on doing this, here. Take a full backup of the existing database on the SQL Server. Full instructions on how to take a backup can be found here. Make sure the appropriate roles and services are installed before running the update. Make sure you know the path of the previous installation, e.g. C:\Program Files\Micro Librarian Systems\MLS.NET. Instructions for obtaining the path in IIS 6 and IIS 7 for the existing installation can be found in the FAQ section in this document. Have a copy of the installation file on the server. Install Microsoft.NET Framework 4.0 and Microsoft.NET Framework 4.5 onto the application server. Ensure that the latest version of Microsoft Silverlight is installed onto both the client machines and server accessing the application. Ensure that you are upgrading from version

5 Stage 1: Running the Wizard 1. Start by running the application installer on the application server. The installer will begin to check that the pre-requisites are installed. Fig When an installation of the library software is detected, the installer will first begin uninstalling it. Click Next to the prompt to continue. This will not remove the database or any custom files / settings from the previous version. Fig Once the previous version has uninstalled the wizard will prompt to install the new version. Click Next to continue. Fig 1.3 4

6 4. The license agreement will display on the next screen. Read and accept the license agreement by scrolling to the bottom then clicking next. The next button will only be available once you have scrolled to the bottom. Fig Choose or type the location to install the application to. Note that the install path to enter is always one level above the MLS.NET folder. For instance, if your existing installation path is C:\Program Files\Micro Librarian Systems\MLS.NET then the path to enter will be C:\Program Files\Micro Librarian Systems. WARNING If upgrading from a previous installation the installer will not automatically detect where the current version is installed to. As a result, it is essential to confirm it is the same directory where it was installed to previously. This step is essential to achieving a successful upgrade, enter this path carefully! If you are unsure how to find the path, see the FAQ s in the footer of this document. Fig 1.5 5

7 6. The next step is to define the site configuration. The installer will attempt to read the previous configuration but if this cannot be found a default of Default Web Site and MLS.NET will be specified. If you prefer to have the site listed elsewhere in IIS, select or type that using the text boxes. Click Next to continue. Fig Click Next and the installation will begin. Fig 1.7 6

8 The installer will begin copying files and making the necessary configuration. Fig Once the installation wizard has completed, make sure Run Server Configuration Tool Now is ticked to open the configuration tool. Click Finish. Fig 1.9 7

9 Stage 2: Updating the Application Settings During the update, the settings should automatically be picked up from the previous installation. If they are not picked up from the previous installation, then it is likely that an incorrect path has been selected in fig 1.5. Although they should be converted, it is still important to make sure that the details are correct. The instructions that follow explain what settings can be entered onto each tab. Once all settings have been confirmed and checked, click Save to initiate the database upgrade then continue with this guide. License Tab WARNING If the information on the license tab is not already filled in then it is likely that the settings from the previous installation have not been picked up. In these cases it is recommended to reinstall the application, selecting the correct path. The details that can be entered onto the License tab are shown below for completion. Type in the User Number and Post Code then click Activate. When activating the product, the application tries to connect to Service.microlib.co.uk so HTTP traffic to this internet address will need to be allowed on any proxies or firewalls. Fig 2.1 NOTE If there are problems activating the application, the proxy server details may need to be entered (if the server connects to the internet through a proxy server). See the instructions surrounding the Proxy Tab that describe how to enter the proxy settings then repeat the above. 8

10 Proxy Tab If your organization connects to the internet through an intermediary server / proxy, the settings on this tab can be used to enter the details of this. Fig 2.2 Use the table below for details on what to enter in to each text box. Server Name Enter the host name of the proxy server or IP address, e.g. Proxy1 or Port Username Password Domain Protocol Version Test Connection (Button) Specify the port used to connect to the proxy server. Type in a user authenticated to access the proxy, if authentication is required. If no user is entered then a connection will attempt to be made without one. Enter the password associated with the user entered above. Enter the domain that the proxy belongs to. For example, school.local Choose the Protocol Version either 1.0 or 1.1 to match the version that the proxy server is expecting. If unsure, try toggling between both versions. If both options work, select 1.1. This button can be used to test the connection to the services out on the Internet. Click the Test Connection button to check the connection. If an image and book details are correctly returned then the connection to MLS services is established. 9

11 Library and Scheduler Database Tabs Once the system is activated, the Library Database and Scheduler Database tabs will become active. The Library Database tab is used to enter the connection details to the main library database whereas the Scheduler database is a new database, used to track the scheduled tasks. NOTE Remember that the details in the Library Database tab should have been picked up from the previous installation so you should not need to enter anything onto this tab. However, it is still a good idea to use the Test Connection function to confirm that the application can communicate with the SQL Server. Library Database In the event that the settings need to be re-entered or changes made, the following table describes what to enter on to the Library Database tab. Server Type Server Database Port Username Password Network Library Test Connection (Button) Enter the version of SQL that is installed where the existing database is located using the drop down menu. Specify the name of the SQL server followed by the instance name. In a default installation, this is Servername\MLSEclipse where servername is replaced with the name of the SQL server. The \MLSEclipse in the example above refers to the instance where the database is held. It is possible to have multiple instances on one server so ensure the correct one is entered. Type the name of the existing database in this text box. By default this is WBLS but could have been labelled differently during the previous installation. The database to enter is the same database name that was backed up before running through this guide! Only enter a port number into the Port text box if a custom port has been defined on the SQL Server. In the nearly all configurations, this is left blank. The SQL user account that makes a connection to the SQL Server/instance as specified in the Server text box. The password associated with the user that has been entered in the Username box. Leave the Network Library selected as Automatic unless troubleshooting an issue. When clicking Test Connection, the app will try to establish a connection to the SQL Server using the details that have been entered in the boxes above. They do not need to be saved before testing the connection. 10

12 Scheduler Database The settings on the Scheduler Database tab are identical to the Library Database tab apart from the database name, which should be the name of the scheduler database rather than the library database. If you would prefer to hold the scheduler database on a separate SQL server / instance then enter these into the configuration as per the above. WARNING The name of the scheduler database must be labelled MLSSYS. An example showing some demonstration settings entered on this tab are shown in the screenshot below. Fig 2.3 The Copy from Library button will copy the settings from the previous tab. 11

13 Database Upgrade A database upgrade check will occur each time the Save button is clicked. This is to ensure the database is compatible with the latest version of the application. Once the settings on each tab have been entered correctly, click Save and the database upgrade will occur if necessary. Fig 2.5 There are multiple factors that determine how long the database takes to upgrade and as a result it may take several minutes to complete. 12

14 Stage 3: IIS Settings The instructions in this section explain some of the options that we recommend you look to configure on the website or Virtual Directory from within IIS (Internet Information Services). Authentication Settings From the Authentication section on the website you are configuring, you can select the authtentication options you wish to use to secure the access of content on that website. Commonly, two types of authentication are used; Anonymous and Windows. When you use Anonymous (only), this means that anyone who knows the URL of the library site can load the home page. In this mode, the borrowers will need to log on to their account by entering their credentials in the logon box. This is useful when the site is made accessible over the Internet as it allows anyone to access the application without authenticating. Often, when only used on the Intranet, Windows Authentication is desirable because this allows the user accessing the website to be logged in to their borrower account automatically. In addition to only selecting Windows Authentication from the Authentication section in IIS, this functionality is dependant on several factors that are discussed in the section relating to Active Directory. NOTE In the event you have both Anonyomous and Windows authentication set on the root website/virtual directory the AD integration will not work because Anonymous takes presedence. See this article on MSDN for more information. 13

15 Application Pool Settings The Application Pool defines an area where web applications can be grouped together, before being routed to the program that handles the requests of the respective website, known as the worker process. Every web application in IIS is assigned to an application pool. MLS recommended that you make certain configuration changes to the Application Pool settings during installation. Unfortunately, it is not possible for these settings to be changed by the installation package and you will need to manually intervene. The settings for the Application Pool can be changed using the Management Console, by selecting Application Pools on the left: Fig 2.6 Then select the name of the application pool and click Advanced Settings on the right menu (alternatively right click and select Advanced Settings ). Each setting that MLS recommend you change is described in this section. Rapid-Fail Protection IIS Rapid-Fail Protection is a feature that will shut down the application pool if there are a specified number of hard-failures, within the specified period of time. The default setting for this is 5 failures in 5 minutes. This can sometimes cause problems with Eclipse, specifically when the images are being retrieved from multiple sources on the internet and under some circumstances IIS internally interprets this as a hard-failure. Should there be many users using the system at one time, the maximum can quickly be reach which may cause the application pool to stop and an error 503 shown in the browser. The recommendation is to set the Failure Interval to 1 minute and to set the Maximum Failures to 1000, as shown in the example below: 14

16 Fig 2.7 Recycling As part of the settings, you can configure the application pool to recycle at a regular interval. By default, this is set by IIS to 1740 minutes. MLS recommend that you change this to a lower value of 30 minutes, which should ensure that should there be a memory leak, it is resolved without affecting the end user experience. Note that with Eclipse, recycling the pool will not disrupt existing requests made to the site and the end user will not even notice that it happens. 15

17 Fig 2.8 Enable 32-Bit Applications Finally, it is recommended to ensure that Enable 32-bit Applications is set to False because the latest version is a 64-bit compatible application. Should you set this to True, the application will run, but under a worker process in 32-bit compatibility mode. Fig

18 Active Directory (Optional) The next step of the upgrade process is to configure the Active Directory settings as these are not carried over from the previous version and are also stored in a different location. If you do not use AD integration with the library system, this part can be skipped. If you have upgraded from a previous version of the library system then you will notice that there is no longer an Active Directory tab on the configuration page. This is because from this version of the application onwards, these settings are entered and configured directly in the Management UI. The instructions below explain how to enter the Directory Services settings into the application. 1. Log in to the Management area as an administrative user and click Settings / Directory Services from the menu at the top. Fig Click the New button at the bottom of this box to start entering configuration settings if none are specified already. To change existing settings, highlight the details to change and click Edit. The following box will open. Fig

19 3. Enter the details into the appropriate field. Each field is described below. Be mindful that all are mandatory apart from the Path field. Server/Domain Entered into the Server/Domain field should be the name of the domain or the FQDN of a domain controller. It is recommended to enter the domain, only so DNS can locate an appropriate DC. An example of the domain entered into this field might be "MYDOMAIN.LOCAL" without quotation marks. Fig 2.12 Username Password Enter a username of a user who has read permission over the OU(s) that are queried. Often an administrative user is used when troubleshooting. Enter the associated password of the user that is entered in the previous field. Path The Path is the only optional field. This can be entered to query a designated OU in the Active Directory in a UNC-type format. 4. Click Save to store these settings. The task can then be scheduled by clicking Schedule and running the Directory Services task. Although the above explains how to configure the AD task, in order for the automatic login to work it is also dependant on other factors, such as: Anonymous access must not be enabled on the IIS site / virtual directory The borrowers must be Active Directory linked. The browser must be configured to pass logon with the current username and password. 18

20 In addition to the above method, where pupils are automatically logged in, it is also possible to configure the system so that the pupils can manually type in their AD credentials. What happens here is that the application queries the LDAP server and validates the user. If the user has provided the correct credentials then they are logged in to their accounts. Like the above, this also depends on the borrowers being linked to AD. The instructions below explain how to configure this method. 1. Load the settings window in Management, from Settings / Directory Services and click New to add a new entry to the table. Fig In the server/domain box, enter the text localldap:// followed by the name of the domain. For instance, if your internal AD domain is labelled school.local, you would enter localldap://school.local A username and password is not required so click save. 19

21 Reminders (Optional) It is possible to configure the application to send reminders via . Previously, it was required to install additional roles (in particular, the IIS 6 Compatibility including SMTP relay) in order to get this to function. In the new version, the configuration on the application server has been simplified, greatly. This is because the s can be relayed directly from the application to your SMTP server rather than being sent from the application to IIS and using the IIS relay agent. To configure reminders in the new update, follow the instructions below once the software has been installed. 1. Open the library Management page and click Settings \ General. In the settings box that opens, click the Settings tab. 2. Amongst the settings are the SMTP settings. Enter the appropriate options in to the text boxes. The configurable options are described in the table (under fig 2.4) below. Fig 2.14 SMTP SMTP Host Name The address that the s will be sent from. Enter the host name where the s should be relayed to and sent from. e.g. SMTPserver.mydomain.com Fig 2.15 SMTP Host username Enter a user that is authenticated to send . Note that depending on the configuration of your SMTP server, this may not be required. SMTP Host Password Enter the corresponding password for the user above. This is not required if no username has been specified. 20

22 Stage 3: Trying the Site and the Client Computers Once the update has been completed firstly ensure that the site can be accessed by trying to open the website address on the Server, using Internet Explorer. The URL of the site will vary depending on the installation but when using the default settings would normally be: The website tab, shown in fig 2.4 aims to help with this as it should expose the location of the website in IIS and the URL can be created based on this. For instance, in that example it shows the site to reside under the Default Web Site and in a Virtual Directory labelled MLS.NET. Therefore, in this case the URL is NOTE The welcome page of the library system should open when typed into a browser. This may take several minutes the first time the site is accessed. Client Installation If there is no hardware integration, the latest version does not require anything particular apart from Microsoft Silverlight. Previously, there was a small client installation so that Circulate could be used but as Circulate has now been re-designed in Silverlight this is not required. This means that any computer with access to the site can access Circulate, Stock Check and any other modules, assuming the user logged on has the appropriate permissions. Should you be using additional hardware, such as a RFID reader, IDK, Biostore or another piece of equipment then you may need to install additional software before this will function. Ideally, (as mentioned in the pre-requisites) this would be done before upgrading the application server. For further details on upgrading the client machines when using additional hardware, see the dedicated manual, here. 21

23 Frequently Asked Questions How do I check the installation path when using Server 2008 / R2 and IIS 7? What Server Roles and Role Services are required on a Windows Server 2008 / R2 machine? Can the application be configured to run over HTTPS? How is the site configured to be accessed on the Internet? How is the Biometric data extracted and converted for the new version? 22

24 Q. How do I check where the software is installed to (before upgrading) when using Server 2008/R2 and IIS7+? A. When IIS 7 or above is installed on the application server, the path the application is installed to can be found by following the instructions below: 1. On the application server, load the IIS Manager by typing inetmgr at a run command. Alternatively, load it through a MMC snap-in or Server Manager. Fig Locate where the application is installed to, using the nodes on the left menu. In a default configuration, it is installed to a virtual Directory labelled MLS.NET, under the Default Web Site but it could be elsewhere. Fig Once located, click Basic Settings from the right menu. 23

25 Fig The path to the installation files will display in the Physical Path text box. Fig 4.7 In the example above, the path is C:\Program Files\Micro Librarian Systems\MLS.NET. NOTE The path specified during installation (as per fig 1.6) is always the folder above the MLS.NET directory. So in the example above, the path to enter would be C:\Program Files\Micro Librarian Systems 24

26 Q. What Server Roles and Role Services are required on Server 2008 / R2? A. In the event you are upgrading from a previous version of Eclipse, these should already be installed but they are shown in the table below for reference. Role Feature / Role Services Application Server.NET Framework Features Application Server Foundation Web Server (IIS) Support Windows Process Activation Service Support HTTP Activation Web Server Common HTTP Features Static Content Default Document Directory Browsing HTTP Errors HTTP Redirection Application Development ASP.NET.NET Extensibility ISAPI Extensions ISAPI Filters Health and Diagnostics HTTP Logging Logging Tools Request Monitor Tracing Security Basic Authentication Windows Authentication Digest Authentication Client Certificate Mapping Authentication IIS Client Certificate Mapping Authentication URL Authorisation Request Filtering IP Domain Restrictions Performance Static Content Compression 25

27 Dynamic Content Compression Management Tools IIS Management Console IIS Management Scripts and Tools Management Service Q. what Server Roles and Role Services are required on Server 2012? A. The necessary Roles and Services and listed below. Role Feature / Role Services Application Server.NET Framework 4.5 Windows Process Activation Service Support HTTP Activation Web Server (IIS) Support and all related features Web Server (IIS) Common HTTP Features Static Content Default Document Directory Browsing HTTP Errors HTTP Redirection Application Development.NET Extensibility 4.5 ASP.NET 4.5 ISAPI Extensions ISAPI Filters Health and Diagnostics HTTP Logging Logging Tools Request Monitor Security Basic Authentication Windows Authentication Digest Authentication Client Certificate Mapping Authentication IIS Client Certificate Mapping Authentication URL Authorisation 26

28 Request Filtering IP and Domain Restrictions Performance Static Content Compression Dynamic Content Compression Management Tools IIS Management Console IIS Management Scripts and Tools Q. Can the application be configured to run over HTTPS? A. Setting the application up to use HTTPS was possible with the previous version of the library software but in the latest version the necessary configuration has been massively improved. Because of changes in the web.config; the bindings are already defined and due to the way that that the authentication has been changed, the necessary configuration can be made solely in IIS rather than in multiple locations. What is involved with making the library application useable on HTTPS, is obtaining a certificate (either from a local Certificate Authority / one on the web or creating a self-signed certificate) and then assigning this to the website using IIS. NOTE A self-signed certificate is only normally used in test environments or in other similar circumstances. It is recommended to use a certificate from a CA on your domain if it is being used internally or a public one purchased from a company that vend them such as Verisign, GeoTrust etc. if it is being used externally. This guide does not explain how to import or install certificates from third parties or how to assign a certificate to a site in IIS and it is not MLS s responsibility to implement or provide this solution. There is a lot of information online that explains how to assign a certificate to a website and a server which may help. Q. How can the site be configured so it is accessible on the Internet? A. In order to access the system outside your network you need to make the website routable on the internet. This essentially involves obtaining a static IP address from your ISP and configuring any web traffic sent to *Your Library Server Domain*.com (or that IP address) to be routed to the web server available on the 27

29 internet, much like other web sites. The configuration of the public-facing aspect and any security implications of this as a result are not the responsibility of MLS to implement, support or maintain at any point. Q. How is the Biometric data extracted and converted for the new version? A. If you are using MLS s implementation of biometrics (i.e. Identikit) you must convert the biometric data, should you wish to continue using it. This extraction/conversion must be carried out before upgrading. The instructions below explain how to convert the biometric data from an SQL database, prior to upgrading to a version later than Step 1 Install the hardware plugin onto a machine designated for running the biometric extraction. Ideally, this should be the server where the library application resides. Step 2 After the installation, the biometric migration program will open. Select the product being used and click next. Enter the name of the server that the library system is installed to. If this is the local machine, you can use the host name of that computer or localhost. Once entered, click next to continue. 28

30 The biometric conversion will then begin. Step 3 When complete, a prompt will show asking whether you wish to store the converted file locally or keep them on the server. Click Yes to this prompt and the datafile will be stored in the following location: C:\Program Files\Micro Librarian Systems\MLS Hardware Support\Bin\App_data The name of the file is in the format *customer-number*.dat. 29

31 NOTE If you are using Server 2008 or above, depending on the setup you may find that this file gets dropped into %localappdata%\virtualstore\program Files\Micro Librarian Systems\MLS Hardware Support\bin\app_data instead 30