ROCK-POND DATA ENGINE INSTALLATION AND SETUP GUIDE 12/27/2013 - Revision 0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Rock-Pond Data Engine (DE) Overview... 2 Installation Requirements... 2 Software Requirements... 2 Hardware Requirements... 2 Network Requirements... 2 Installation Overview... 3 Installation Procedures... 3 Configuration Procedures... 4 Monitoring Activity... 4 Maintenance... 5 Installation Guide Page 1 of 5
ROCK-POND DATA ENGINE (DE) OVERVIEW The Rock-Pond Data Engine is a powerful yet simple component that is responsible for the automated movement of data for the purposes of reporting and analytics. Data can be compiled from a database at your company into a centralized database on your SQL Server called ROCKPOND. Reporting and analytics can then be generated using this summarized data rather than hitting your live production databases, enabling reporting and analytics to run much faster, and the load on your servers to be drastically reduced. INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS The Rock-Pond Data Engine is an installed desktop application written using Microsoft.NET technologies that also contains a Windows service that is responsible for automated data processing. The following outlines the software, hardware, and network requirements for the Rock-Pond Data Engine. Software Requirements The Rock-Pond Data Engine will work with the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows XP or Later (32 or 64 bit) Microsoft Windows Server 2000 or Later (32 or 64 bit) Prior to installing the Rock-Pond Data Engine, you must ensure that the Microsoft.NET 4.0 Framework is installed and up-to-date, which can be downloaded at the following URL: http://resources.rock-pond.com/software/rpde/dotnetfx40_full_x86_x64.exe Hardware Requirements There are no specific hardware requirements for the use of the Rock-Pond Data Engine. The control panel requires less than 50MB of disk space. For the Rock-Pond Data Engine, depending on the amount of data that it is working with, the new ROCKPOND database on the same server will require sufficient space. The footprint of the ROCKPOND database will be minimal as it contains summarized data, but you should monitor your system to ensure you ve allocated the appropriate space for the ROCKPOND database files. The Rock-Pond Data Engine are 32 bit applications and will operate on both 32 & 64 bit workstations and servers. Network Requirements The Rock-Pond Data Engine obtains various configuration information via the Internet. This allows for the addition of new features to be put into place. The communication takes place using an industry standard encrypted connection as described below. This connection is only used for Installation Guide Page 2 of 5
obtaining data feed configuration from the Internet and is in no way used to transmit your private information. INSTALLATION OVERVIEW IP Address Protocol Default Port 74.206.97.84 TCP 22 Installation of the Rock-Pond Data Engine is quick and simple. The following steps must take place: 1. Download the installation program and run the installation. 2. Open the Rock-Pond DE control panel and complete the setup wizard. 3. Change default settings if necessary. 4. Install and start the Windows Service. INSTALLATION PROCEDURES Once you have ensured that the installation requirements are met, you can proceed. The first step is to download the installer file, which is a standard Microsoft Installer (MSI) file. It is available at the following link: http://resources.rock-pond.com/software/rpde/rpde_current.msi The link above always points to the most recent installation file. Once you have downloaded this file to the target system, simply double-click and go through the installation. After the installation is complete, you will find a new icon called Rock-Pond DE on the desktop. To launch the application, simply double-click it. You will be prompted to run the setup wizard, click Yes. Click Begin Now on the setup wizard, and be sure to read each prompt. You will first need to enter the license number that was provided to you by Rock-Pond Solutions. After the license number has been accepted, you will need to enter the connection information for your company s database. After your database connection information has been accepted, you will have the option to either create the new ROCKPOND database via the setup wizard, or you may opt to do it manually. Installation Guide Page 3 of 5
Whichever method you decide to use, the SQL Server credentials must have a minimum of READ- ONLY access to the main database, and FULL access to the ROCKPOND database. These permissions will be validated when you continue. Once the setup wizard has accepted your configuration, it will close. CONFIGURATION PROCEDURES Launch the Rock-Pond Data Engine control panel, and you will be presented with the main control panel. The main control panel allows you to configure settings as well as install and control the included Windows service that will automatically perform data processing. The following picture shows the various areas of the Rock-Pond DE control panel: NOTE: Options my only be changed when the Windows service is stopped. MONITORING ACTIVITY Installation Guide Page 4 of 5
You may monitor the activity of the Rock-Pond Data Engine via the View DE Event Log option in the File menu. NOTE: After initially installing the Rock-Pond DE and starting the service for the first time, it s normal to see error messages post to the event log until the entire database build is complete, which takes up to 24 hours. Once the entire database build is complete, the errors will no longer appear. The following screen shows the event log and its functions: This will show various information about when feeds are processed and if there were any problems. The event log may be exported to a CSV file and subsequently purged at you discretion. By default, the event log shows events that happened in the current day. A date range may be specified in the tool bar to see additional entries. NOTE: Only entries in the grid will be exported to CSV. Make sure you set your date ranges before exporting. MAINTENANCE The automated Windows service will perform maintenance on the ROCKPOND database on a nightly basis. The main function is to truncate the SQL Server transaction log to prevent it from continually growing. This is possible because transactions are not taking place in the ROCKPOND database therefor truncating it nightly will keep its footprint as small as possible. This feature can be turned off by un-checking the Run Nightly DE Database Maintenance checkbox. The event log will show the truncation activity. Installation Guide Page 5 of 5