Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Installation and Configuration Guide

www.alterian.com

Installation and Configuration Guide

Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1(x86 x64)

Issue Date: 18 January 2013

www.alterian.com

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of the vendor or its representatives.

Copyright © Alterian 2013. All rights reserved.

Documentation feedback and comments: [email protected]

AMS and the AMS logo are trademarks of Alterian. Windows XP, SQL Server, ASP.NET, Visual Studio .NET and C# are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other products named herein may be trademarks of their respective manufacturers and are hereby recognised. Trademarked names are used editorially, to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intent to infringe on the trademark.

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Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Installation and Configuration Guide.docx i of iii

Document Control

Version History

Date Author Version Change reference

18 Jan 13 Lisa Watts 1.0 Service Release

Related Documents

Name Location

Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Release Notes.pdf

For Use By

This document is intended for use by staff installing and/or administering the Alterian applications. It assumes existing knowledge of ‘Windows’ style applications and familiarity with the general use and installation of the Alterian suite. It also assumes general knowledge of Windows Operating Systems.

Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Installation and Configuration Guide.docx ii of iii

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ......................................................................... 1

2 Prerequisites ......................................................................... 2

2.1 Supported Platforms ................................................................................................... 2

2.2 Supported Configurations ......................................................................................... 2

2.3 Software Prerequisites ................................................................................................ 2

2.3.1 ASP.net version 3

3 Upgrading Analytical Dashboard .................................................. 4

4 Installing Analytical Dashboard ................................................. 11

5 Configuration Steps ............................................................... 20

5.1 Enabling External Processing .................................................................................. 20

5.2 Configuring DCOM for User Accounts .................................................................. 20

5.3 Configuring Email Settings ....................................................................................... 21

5.4 Running Quickstart Manually .................................................................................. 24

6 Multiple Machine Installation Example ........................................ 26

6.1 Business Storage Server ............................................................................................ 26

6.1.1 Installation Example 26

6.1.2 Configuration Example 26

6.2 Engine Server .............................................................................................................. 27

6.2.1 Installation Example 27

6.2.2 Configuration Example 27

6.3 Web Server ................................................................................................................. 28

6.3.1 Installing IIS Example 28

6.3.2 Install Engine 4.3 (x86 x64) 28

6.3.3 Installing Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) 28

6.3.4 Update Injected.ini 29

6.3.5 Setup Web.Config 29

6.4 Configuring SQL Server ............................................................................................. 30

6.4.1 SQL Server and Web Server in the same domain 30

Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Installation and Configuration Guide.docx iii of iii

6.4.2 SQL Server and Web Server in different domains 32

6.5 Configuring DCOM ................................................................................................... 32

6.5.1 Engine Server and Web Server in the same domain 32

6.5.2 Engine Server and Web Server in different domains 32

6.6 Set up Analytical Dashboard .................................................................................. 33

6.7 Default Ports ............................................................................................................... 34

6.8 Additional Information and Known Issues ............................................................ 35

6.8.1 Citrix 35

6.8.2 Multi-tenant Installations 35

6.8.3 SMTP 35

6.8.4 Engine Configuration 35

7 Application Configuration ....................................................... 37

7.1 External Data Connector ........................................................................................ 37

7.1.1 Configuring a Connection 37

7.1.2 Configuring a gadget to use an External Connection 37

7.1.3 Using Custom Attributes 38

7.1.4 Points to note 38

8 Troubleshooting ................................................................... 39

9 Issue and Problem Reporting .................................................... 40

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1 Introduction This document provides instructions on upgrading, installing and configuring the Alterian Next Generation Platform and Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) application.

The process of installing these applications on a three box architecture is also described. This does not cover all possible variants of a deployed three box solution, but is intended to establish the necessary communication between the three boxes to enable the solution to function in a non-production environment.

For information on implementing and administering Analytical Dashboard, refer to the Analytical Dashboard Online Help.


2 Prerequisites The requirements detailed in this section must be met before installing or upgrading Analytical Dashboard version 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64).

2.1 Supported Platforms

As Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) is accessed via the internet, it is supported on Internet Explorer 8 and 9 and Firefox 18

Note This release of Analytical Dashboard is supported on a single tenant, single server setup.

2.2 Supported Configurations

Supported configurations:

For Engine 5.1:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 ©

• SQL Server 2008 R2 © - Administrator rights required to install

For Engine 4.3:

• Windows Server 2003 © – Service Pack 2 recommended.

• SQL Server 2008 R2 © - Administrator rights required to install

Please note that for Engine 4.3 it is recommended that AMC 3.1 or later is installed to simplify the configuration process.

2.3 Software Prerequisites

Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x 64) requires the following software to be installed:

• Engine. Please see the versions listed in section 2.2

• SQL Server. Please see the versions listed in section 2.2

• IIS as supplied with the OS listed (should be installed prior to .NET 4.0).

• .NET version 4.0 on which you must have configured an application pool for the AD Website

• SQL Server 2008 SP2

• MSXML 6.0


• Internet Explorer 8.0 or 9.0 or Firefox 18.0

• ASP.NET must be enabled.

2.3.1 ASP.net version

Before you can install or upgrade Analytical Dashboard you must ensure that you have installed ASP.NET version 4.0 or later.

If you have an earlier version of ASP.NET you must upgrade to version 4.0 or later, which you can download from the Microsoft website.

To check your version of ASP.net

• In your command prompt enter aspnet_regiis -lv


3 Upgrading Analytical Dashboard The steps in this section describe how to upgrade an existing Analytical Dashboard installation.

Note You must ensure that you have installed .NET version 4.0, as described in

section 2.3.1 (p3), before proceeding with the upgrade process.

When the upgrade is complete, you must perform any required configuration steps as described in section 5 (p20).

To upgrade Analytical Dashboard:

Step 1

Create backups of the following:

• the SQL server database referenced by the web.config file.

• the URE lexicon information contained in the ure.dat file (stored in the relevant Engine Project folder).

• the web.config file.

• any custom settings that have been applied to the website following the initial installation, for example host headers, port settings, application pools and so on.

Step 2

Exit all Windows applications before commencing the upgrade. Ensure that atom.exe, molecule.exe and nucleus.exe are not running. Ensure you run the installation as the admin by right clicking on the .exe and selecting run as admin. Double click on the file Setup.exe then click [Next].


Step 3

The Installer detects your existing installations and displays the upgrade option. Select Upgrade and then click [Next].

Step 4

Select whether you want the installed machine to perform a Web Application Server or Business Storage Server role. If you want a single machine to perform both of these roles, select both options. Click [Next].


Step 5

Details of all existing Analytical Dashboard installations are displayed. For example:

Select the installation that you want to upgrade then click [Next].


Step 6

The applications in the selected installation are displayed along with their current version and the version they will be upgraded to. For example:

Select each application that you want to upgrade and then click [Next].


Step 7

Review the selected upgrade options and if required, click the [Back] button to return to the previous screen to make changes. If you want the installer to display a log once complete, leave the Enable install logging checkbox selected.

Step 8

The success screen is displayed when the upgrade process is complete. If you selected the Enable install logging option in the previous step then this screen will contain a log of installation information.


Step 9

Click the [Finish] button on the upgrade wizard to launch Quickstart in a browser window, from which you can complete the upgrade process. For example:

Click the [Upgrade] button and wait for an Upgrade Completed prompt. You can then login to the application using the same login credentials as were used in the previous version of AD.

Note If you experience a problem with the upgrade and need to run Quickstart

manually, refer to section 5.4 (p24).

Step 10

Custom settings should not be affected by the upgrade, but it is best practice to check that all site-specific settings from the web.config file (Engine Project name, connection strings and so on) have been retained. If necessary, reinstate any custom settings on the website.


4 Installing Analytical Dashboard The steps in this section describe how to perform a new installation of Analytical Dashboard.

Note You must ensure that you have installed .NET version 4.0, as described in

section 2.3.1 (p3), before proceeding with the installation process.

When you have finished the installation process, refer to section 5 (p20) for instructions on how to configure your install.

To install Analytical Dashboard:

Ensure you run the installation as the admin by right clicking on the .exe and selecting run as admin.

Step 1

Exit all Windows applications before commencing the install. Ensure that atom.exe, molecule.exe and nucleus.exe are not running. Double click on the file Setup.exe to launch the installer then click [Next].


Step 2

Select the Install option and click [Next].

Step 3

Select either Web Application Server or Business Storage Server, depending on the type of role that you want the installed machine to perform. If you want the machine to perform both of these roles, select both options. Click [Next].


Step 4

Select the applications that you want to install from those listed. Dependencies are built into the installer. For example, if you require Alterian Dashboard you will also need Framework and Alterian Engine Web.

Step 5

Use this configuration screen to specify the physical location, web site name and application pool that you want to use for the Analytical Dashboard website. Alternatively, accept the defaults provided. Ensure that the selected application pool is running .NET Version 4 only. If necessary, use IIS Manager to create an application pool and restart the installer.


To simplify the configuration, it is recommended that you use the same name for the virtual directory and application pool.

When you have finished configuring these settings, click [Next].

Step 6 (Business Server Storage Installs only)

The following screen is only displayed if you selected the Business Server Storage role in step 3.

It enables you to run the SQL script required to create the SQL business storage database, by selecting the available instance from the drop-down menu. You can then accept the default authentication, or select ‘Mixed Mode’ and enter a valid username and password. For example:


When you have finished configuring this screen, click the [Run Script] button.


Step 7

Enter the domain name of your SMTP server in the field provided. See section 6.3.5 for further SMTP configuration details.

Next, update the Database Server name by specifying the data source name or ip address, followed by the database name and the required integrated security setting:

For example, in the connection string above, the database is running on the local machine and is named ‘Alterian.NGPv25’. Integrated security is set to true, which means that the Windows credentials of the user running the application pool process are passed to the database for authentication.


Step 8

Review the selected options and click the [Back] button if you want to return to previous screens to make changes. Leave the Enable install logging checkbox selected if you want the installer to display a log once complete.

Step 9

The following screen will be displayed when the application has been successfully installed. If you accepted the Enable install logging option in the previous step then the screen displays the install information.


Note that the command line statement shown in the log can be used to automate the installation of Analytical Dashboard on additional machines. This can be done by cut and pasting the relevant information from the command line to each target machine with “msiexec<commandline>”

Step 10

Click the [Finish] button on the upgrade wizard to launch Quickstart in a browser window, from which you can complete the installation process. For example:

Click the blue button. You must then follow the prompts to create an administrator account.

Note

The password of the administrator account must be at least six characters long and contain at least one non-alphanumeric character. For example, ‘password!’ is a valid password.


You must also specify a valid email address that will be used to mail password reminders and resets.

When you have finished the user configuration, click [Create User]. A confirmation screen is then displayed, from which you must click [Continue] to progress to the main application screen.

Note

Your browser security settings might prompt you with a warning message. Add the website to your list of trusted sites to prevent this warning from being displayed in the future.

Analytical Dashboard will be displayed but note that the Engine repository will not be connected to the application until the DCOM configuration steps have been completed. Refer to sections 5.1 and 5.2 (p20) for these configuration instructions.

If required you might also want to configure the e-mail settings for AD, as described in section 5.3 (p21).

Note If you experience a problem with the install and need to run quick start

manually, refer to section 5.4 (p24).

.


5 Configuration Steps This section describes the configuration steps required to connect Analytical Dashboard to Engine, as well as instructions for configuring the e-mail settings and running Quickstart manually.

5.1 Enabling External Processing

For Analytical Dashboard to function correctly in conjunction with Engine, the External Processing option available in Engine has to be turned ON. This should be on by default, but if not, it can be switched on by adding the following entry to the [CONFIGURE] section of Engine’s Cerberus.ini file.

ALT_UseExternalFunctions=1

5.2 Configuring DCOM for User Accounts

The following changes are required to give the appropriate user permissions for Engine, Engine Surrogate and the Connection Broker. For a Windows Server OS the user is ‘NETWORK SERVICE’, for Windows XP the user is ‘ASPNET’.

1. Select Start > Run

A command prompt is launched.

2. Enter ‘DComCnfg’ then click [OK].


3. Expand the Component Services node and locate DCOM Config as illustrated below:

4. Right click on Alterian Engine Server and select Properties.

5. Select the Security tab.

6. Under Launch and Activation Permissions select Customize and click Edit.

7. Add the user ( ‘ASPNET’ in Windows XP or ‘NETWORK SERVICE’ in Windows Server) with Local Launch and Local Activation permissions.

8. Under Access Permissions select Customize then click Edit.

9. Add the same user with Local Access permissions.

10. Repeat steps 3 to 8 for Alterian Engine Surrogate and ConnectionBroker.

5.3 Configuring Email Settings

You can customize the title and body content of emails sent from Analytical Dashboard, such as account creation and reset password emails, using the email configuration fields in the Web.Config file.

These fields can be configured manually in Web.Config or using the IIS ASP.NET Configuration Settings interface, in which they are listed under Application settings. For example:


Please note the screen shot refers to earlier versions of IIS. To undertake this in IIS7 or later please refer to your IIS documentation.

To configure email settings in IIS Manager:

1. Open the IIS Manager from the Windows Administrative Tools menu.

2. Under Websites > Default Web Site, right click on the application pool node, for example ADv25, and select Properties.

3. Select the ASP.NET tab.

4. Click the [Edit] button.

The ASP.NET Configuration window is displayed.

5. In the Application Settings area, update the values of the email configuration key fields as required.

6. Click [Apply].

Note

As soon as you apply your changes the Web Application is reset and any users working with Analytical Dashboard are automatically logged out.

To configure email settings in Web.config:

1. Navigate to the root directory of your website and open the Web.config file in an editor.

2. Locate the following key entries in the file:

 <add key="AccountCreatedMailTitle" value="Your account has been created."/> <add key="AccountCreatedMailBody" value="Welcome to the Analytical Dashboard system. Your user name is {0} Your initial password is {1} Once you log on, you will be required to change this password." /> <add key="AccountUpdatedMailTitle" value="Your account has been updated."/> <add key="AccountUpdatedMailBody" value="Changes to your Analytical Dashboard account have been made. Your user name is {0} and your registered email address is {1}. Please contact us immediately if you did not request these changes." /> <add key="ResetPasswordMailTitle" value="Your password has been reset."/> <add key="ResetPasswordMailBody" value="Changes to your Analytical Dashboard account have been made. Your user name is {0} Your new password is {1} Please change your password immediately on logging into the system." />

3. Make the required configuration changes.

For example, to change the title of password reset e-mails from “your password has been reset” to simply “password reset”, you would change the value of the “ResetPasswordMailTitle” entry to the following:

<add key="ResetPasswordMailTitle" value="password reset."/>

4. When you have finished configuring the email settings, save and close the file.

The web application will now be recycled by IIS which will require all current users to log in again.


5.4 Running Quickstart Manually

The Quickstart screen should be displayed automatically upon completion of upgrading or installing the application. If there is a problem and you need to run Quickstart manually once the fault has been resolved, this can be done as described below.

To manually run Quickstart:

Using IIS Manager, right-click on the newly installed AD virtual directory, and select Browse. For example:


The QuickStart screen is launched. For example:


6 Multiple Machine Installation Example This section provides an example installation of Analytical Dashboard into a three machine environment. It is intended as a starting reference, covering the basic steps of installing the necessary components. Further technical issues such as configuring firewalls or installing into DMZs are not covered, although Section 6.7 (p34) gives information on which port numbers are used by AD.

The example installation was done on three boxes all running a clean install of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition R2. The installation was done using a full Engine installation with the Demo repository. Analytical Dashboard does not require AMC or AMS to be installed, but for housekeeping and management purposes we would recommend installing AMC. In instances where existing installations are in place (i.e. SQL Server, Engine) it is recommended to review the installation notes to ensure correct configuration.

Some familiarity with SQL Server, DCOM and OS admin is assumed.

The software required for each machine is as follows:

Server 1 - Business Storage Server - SQL Server 2005 Express; .NET Framework Version 4.0

Server 2 - Engine Server – Engine 4.3 (x86 x64) or later

Server 3 - Web Server – AD 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Engine 4.3 (x86 x64) or later.

6.1 Business Storage Server

6.1.1 Installation Example

1. Install Microsoft .NET Framework Version 4.0

2. Install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition accepting the default options

3. Install SQL Server 2005 Management Studio Express accepting the default options. This is not a requirement but is recommended for ease of configuration.

6.1.2 Configuration Example

Enable Remote Connection to SQL Server Database

For SQL Server 2005 Express, remote connections are disabled by default. The SQL Server instance needs to accept remote connections from the web server.

To enable remote connections:

1. Select Start >Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2005 >Configuration Tools and click SQL Server Surface Area Configuration.

2. On the SQL Server 2005 Surface Area Configuration page, click Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections.


3. On the Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections page, expand Database Engine > Remote Connections > Local and remote connections > Using TCP/IP only and then click [Apply].

4. Click [OK] when you receive the following message:

“Changes to Connection Settings will not take effect until you restart the Database Engine service.”

5. On the Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections page, expand Database Engine > Service, click the [Stop] button, wait until the MSSQLSERVER service stops and then click [Start] to restart the MSSQLSERVER service.

6. Expand the SQL Server Browser node and ensure that the startup type is set to Automatic.

7. Click [Apply].

8. Click [Start] to start the service.

9. Click [OK] to close the dialog.

6.2 Engine Server

6.2.1 Installation Example

1. Install MSXML 6.0

2. Install .NET Framework 4.0

3. Install Engine 4.3 (x86 x64) or later as per the published install instructions.

6.2.2 Configuration Example

1. Check that cerberus.ini contains "ALT_UseExternalFunctions=1" in the [CONFIGURE] section

2. Check that nucleus.config contains a functionobjectclass for Pivot.Pivot, and a corresponding function object entry.

3. Check nucleus.config to ensure that external crosstabs are enabled:

4. <FunctionObject id="2" transport="DCOM" enabled="yes"/>

5. Run AMC, select your Project and click Manage Project.

6. Navigate to the Data Management folder and use the Engine Repository applet to ensure the Demo repository is visible and can be accessed. If AMC is not installed Engine Administrator can be used, but this is not valid in a multi-project environment as this tool is not project aware.

7. Perform additional steps to load and configure data for the client as necessary.


6.3 Web Server

6.3.1 Installing IIS Example

Please note that this example is applicable to Windows Server 2003 ©

1. From the Start menu, click Control Panel.

2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs.

3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.

4. In the Components list box, click Application Server and then click the [Details] button.

5. Check ASP.NET

6. Click Internet Information Services.

7. Click Details to view the list of IIS optional components.

8. Check Internet Information Services Manager.

9. Click World Wide Web Service.

10. Click Details to view the list of WWW Service optional components.

11. Check the Active Server Pages and World Wide Web Service options.

12. Click [OK] to dismiss the World Wide Web Service dialog.

13. Click [OK] to dismiss the Internet Information Services dialog.

14. Click [OK] to dismiss the Application Server dialog.

15. Click [Next] to start the install. You will need the OS installation cd or a network location where the required files can be copied from.

6.3.2 Install Engine 4.3 (x86 x64)

Engine 4.3 (x86 x64) or later must be installed on the web server to allow Connection Broker to be configured to start up on the remote machine.

• Install Engine 4.3 (x86 x64) or later as per the published installation instructions.

6.3.3 Installing Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64)

MSXML6 and .NET Framework 4.0 are prerequisites for this install. These should have been installed as part of the Engine 4.2 (x86 x64) installation in the previous section.

1. Run the Alterian Next Generation Platform 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) installer by running the Setup.exe file.

2. Follow the installation instructions in section 4 (p11) of this document.


3. Navigate to Alterian\Program Files\Nucleus. Check that injected.ini contains a line for Alterian_Ure_Service.UreFactory

4. Copy this file over to the Nucleus folder on the Engine Server.

6.3.4 Update Injected.ini

1. Locate the injected.ini file in the Nucleus folder under the Alterian folder. Add the following line to it:

Alterian_Ure_Service.UreFactory

2. If injected.ini doesn't exist, then create this file and add the above line to it.

6.3.5 Setup Web.Config

1. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. Expand the node for the local computer

3. Expand Web Sites

4. Expand Default Web Site

5. Click on ADv25. This should populate the right hand pane with the folders and files of the website.

6. Locate Web.Config, right click and select Properties.

7. Click the ASP.Net tab.

8. Ensure the ASP.NET version is 4.0.30319. Update if required and click Apply.

9. Click Edit Configuration.

10. Edit the configuration settings to set the appropriate Engine User and Password. Leave Project blank (for single tenant /default project setup).

11. Click [Apply then [OK] to close the configuration dialog.

12. Click [OK] to close the Web.Config properties dialog.

13. Right click on the Alterian Next Generation Platform Node and select Properties.

14. Under the Documents tab, ensure Enable default content page is checked and remove all files apart from Workbench.aspx. Click [Apply].

15. Click [Cancel] on the dialog asking to apply changes to Quickstart.aspx.

16. Go to the physical location that the web site is installed to. Typically this will be c:\Inetpub\wwwroot\ADv25

17. This step is only necessary if the SMTP server was not configured during the installation of AD (See Installing Analytical Dashboard (p11)) - Open web.config, locate the


<system.net><mail settings> section and edit the smtp settings to the location of the smtp server, then edit the following example values in red to be valid:

<smtp from="[email protected]"> <network host="your-mail-server-name" userName="your-user-name" password="your-password" /> </smtp>

This functionality is used for emailing new passwords to users.

18. Save the file and close.

6.4 Configuring SQL Server

The business storage database needs to be set up in SQL Server to store the configuration data for objects used by AD (Users, Gadgets, Dashboards etc).

If a firewall is present between the two servers, refer to the Default Ports section (p34) for details of the ports used by AD.

6.4.1 SQL Server and Web Server in the same domain

To create the Database

Note

The database can be created as part of the installation process on a Business Storage Server. See the section on Installing Analytical Dashboard (p11) for further details.


Creating the database manually

Create an empty database on the SQL server instance then add a user based on the login created in the preceding step, granting db_owner rights on the database. This can be done by running the following script through SQL Server Management Studio, specifying the appropriate domain and server name for the login:

The format of the login name is important. If the SQL Server machine is on the same domain as the web server then a login needs to be created on the SQL Server instance of the form DomainName\IISServerMachineName$ (note the dollar symbol). Further information can be found in the following article:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998320.aspx#paght000015_sqlserver

If the database has been already created using the installer, then omit CREATE DATABASE [Alterian.NGP] and execute the remaining statements.

Configure AD to connect to the database

1. On the Web Server, click Start > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. Expand the node for the local computer.

3. Expand Web Sites.

4. Expand Default Web Site

5. Click on ADv25. This populated the right hand pane with the folders and files of the website.

6. Locate Web.Config. Right click and select properties.

7. Click the ASP.Net tab

8. In the Connection string manager section. Click on the "Alterian.Framework.Business.ConnectionString" line and select [Edit].

9. Change the Data Source part of the connection string to point to the remote SQL Server instance. The resulting connection string should be similar to the following:

Data Source=BR-DEV-NGP2\SQLEXPRESS;Database=Alterian.NGP;Integrated Security=True

10. Click [Apply] then [OK] to close the configuration dialog.

11. Click [OK] to close the Web.Config properties dialog.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998320.aspx#paght000015_sqlserver


6.4.2 SQL Server and Web Server in different domains

This scenario has not been tested. However, you can access the following link in a browser for further information: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998292.aspx#paght000008_trustedsubsystems

6.5 Configuring DCOM

AD talks to engine via DCOM, so the correct permissions need to be set up. The set up varies greatly depending on whether the two machines are in the same domain or not.

If a firewall is present between the two servers, see the section on Default Ports (p34) for details of the ports that are used by AD.

6.5.1 Engine Server and Web Server in the same domain

Engine Server

Configure DCOM as per a standard AMS installation. Also configure ConnectionBroker as per a standard AMS Engine server configuration, to run as your domain common account (nuclog).

Web Server

Configure DCOM as per a standard AMS installation.

Configure ConnectionBroker to start on the Engine Server.

1. Load DComcnfg. Expand the DCom Config node under Component Services->Computers->My Computer. Locate the ConnectionBroker node, right click and select Properties.

2. Under the Location tab, ensure Run application on the following computer is checked and click [Browse] to search for the Engine server. The Run on this Computer option must be unchecked.

3. Under the Security tab, ensure the local machine NETWORK SERVICE account is given Access and Launch/Activation permissions to ConnectionBroker.

6.5.2 Engine Server and Web Server in different domains

When the Engine Server and the Web Server are in a different domain, NT Pass through security needs to be used. This involves creating two local nuclog accounts – one on the Engine Server and one on the Web Server. The detailed steps are:

Engine Server

1. Set up a standard Engine DCOMCNFG for NTPassThru as per the Installation and Administration training course

a. Set up local nuclog account.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998292.aspx#paght000008_trustedsubsystems

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998292.aspx#paght000008_trustedsubsystems


b. Set up standard DCOMCNFG configuration at a default security level (application level has not been tested yet).

c. Run ConnectionBroker under the local nuclog account.

d. Give the local nuclog account security permissions to your repository, UNC share of the Alterian projectbase and security rights on your project(s).

Web Server

1. Set up a local nuclog account. This account MUST have the same password as the local nuclog account set up on the Engine Server.

2. Set up a standard DCOMCNFG configuration at a default security level (application level has not been tested yet).

3. Keep ConnectionBroker under launching user but redirect it to the IP address of the Engine server

Note

You do not need ‘NETWORK SERVICE’ in DCOMCNFG on this setup as the IIS launch order is going to be changed, as described in the Application Configuration section.

4. Setup IIS to run under the local nuclog account:

a. Add a new application pool to IIS.

b. Move the NGP website to that pool.

c. Change the identity of the new pool the local nuclog account.

d. Grant IIS permissions for the local nuclog account by running aspnet_regiis –ga <servername>\nuclog (see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998297.aspx for more details).

5. Setup AD to a Default Server:

a. As AD doesn’t have a Server Switch for the ConnectionBroker configuration, you have to define this in the DefaultServer registry setting in HKLM\Software\Alterian. Otherwise, any application uses the local ConnectionBroker configuration. As the recommended best practice is to have Projects in different ProjectBase locations, this switch needs to be applied.

6.6 Set up Analytical Dashboard

The final step is to run the AD Quickstart process to set up the Business Storage database and the Administrator user. Instructions for this are provided in section 4, Installing Analytical Dashboard (p11) within the last step.


6.7 Default Ports

When installing AD into an environment where firewalls are present, such as a DMZ, you need to know which ports are used. The default ports are illustrated in the following diagram:

Configuring DCOM for firewalls

DCOM uses dynamically assigned ports in the range 1025-65535 for method calls and callbacks. In order to setup DCOM to work with firewalls, the range of ports that DCOM can use should be restricted to reduce the number of ports needed to be opened. As a callback might be on a different port than the method call, the range should be configured on both machines.

The following steps show how to set up an example DCOM port range of 5500-5700. Best practice recommendations from Microsoft specify a minimum range of 100 ports above 5000 (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/217351). Follow these steps on both the Web Server and the Engine Server:

1. From the Start menu, click Run. Type in dcomcnfg, then click [OK].

2. Expand Component Services then expand Computers.


3. Right click on My Computer and select Properties.

4. Click on the Default Protocols tab.

5. Ensure that Connection-oriented TCP/IP is present and top of the list. Click to select it.

6. Click Properties.

7. Click [Add].

8. In the port range field type in 5500-5700. Click [OK] to close the Add Port Range dialog.

9. Click [OK] to close the Properties for COM Internet Services dialog.

10. Click [Apply] on the My Computer Properties dialog.

The firewall should then be configured to allow bi-directional traffic on the specified range of ports.

6.8 Additional Information and Known Issues

6.8.1 Citrix

Problems have been experienced with installing the NGP virtual directories into the default web site when Citrix has been installed. Citrix seems to prevent access to the NGP application using a standard URL. These problems can be resolved by installing NGP to a separate web site as described above.

6.8.2 Multi-tenant Installations

URE requires that certain entries are added to cerberus.ini and nucleus.config. In a multi-tenant installation, these files will be located in the corresponding Engine Project location.

Note It is important that the correct Engine Project is updated.

6.8.3 SMTP

An SMTP server is required for emailing user passwords. It is possible to use Telnet to do some basic checks on the specified SMTP connection: http://www.simplescripts.de/smtp-check-port-25-telnet-command.htm.

6.8.4 Engine Configuration

If you are getting unexpected results for aggregate functions other than count, and/or you get entries like the following in the cerlog:

[000025][03976] 03/07 15:01:10 INFORMATION External function 2 disabled.

[000026][03976] 03/07 15:01:10 INFORMATION SYSTEM Invalid Call: ICrosstab.NucleusDisp(17103).

http://www.simplescripts.de/smtp-check-port-25-telnet-command.htm

http://www.simplescripts.de/smtp-check-port-25-telnet-command.htm


You need to enable external crosstabs. If external crosstabs are disabled, Engine will fall back to the internal variant - this will sometimes appear to work but it cannot deal with multiple aggregate functions per sheet.

Note External crosstabs are disabled by default for backwards compatibility

with older Engine installations.


7 Application Configuration

7.1 External Data Connector

The purpose of the Analytical Dashboard External Data Connector is to provide the ability to render gadgets using data derived from alternative data sources, for example SQL servers.

7.1.1 Configuring a Connection

Connections are configured using the web.config file, by adding an appropriate connection string in the <connectionStrings> section.

The connection string must be a valid ODBC connection string, for example:

<add name ="TFS on Defiant" connectionString="DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=.\SQLEXPRESS;Trusted_connection=yes;DATABASE=Sales" />

However, it must not start with the name ‘alterian’ or ‘localsqlserver’ (as these names are explicitly removed from the connections available to the framework.

7.1.2 Configuring a gadget to use an External Connection

To configure a gadget to use an external data connection in Analytical Dashboard, you must modify the properties of the gadget in the following way:

1. Select the General properties.

2. Dropdown the Data Source and select External Data Source.

3. Select the External Data Source properties.

4. Under the configuration heading, select the Source Connection (as configured in the web.config file).


5. Enter a title to be displayed as the gadget title in the Gadget Title field.

6. Enter the relevant data source statement that will be used to retrieve the gadget data.

7. To verify that the statement you have entered, or to test the data connection, click on the [Verify] button.

7.1.3 Using Custom Attributes

Both the connection string (specified in web.config) and data statement supports the use of user based Custom Attributes.

Once you have configured the relevant attributes within the Alterian Marketing Platform, assigned them to the user properties, you can then modify either the connection string or database to include the custom attributes. A custom attribute is denoted by using {{ }}

Example Data Connection using Custom Attributes <add name ="Sales Database" connectionString="DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=.\SQLEXPRESS;Trusted_connection=yes;DATABASE={{UserDatabase}}" /> Example SQL Server Data Statement Connection using Custom Attributes SELECT VendorID, {{EmployeeNumber}} AS Sales FROM (SELECT PurchaseOrderID, EmployeeID, VendorID FROM Purchasing.PurchaseOrderHeader) p PIVOT ( COUNT (PurchaseOrderID) FOR EmployeeID IN ( {{EmployeeNumber}} ) ) AS pvt

ORDER BY pvt.VendorID;

7.1.4 Points to note

• When naming custom or dynamic attributes, ensure that the name does not duplicate an existing column name in the table referenced by the SQL statement. This will cause a syntax error and the query will not return results.

• When analyzing data from an external data source, if the column header is shorter than the values in the column, then values in the resultant grid can appear to merge together and become difficult to read. It is recommended that the column headings specified in the SQL statement are sufficiently long to ensure adequate spacing between column values.

• When publishing a dashboard that contains one or more gadgets that analyze data from an external data source, any criteria that are applied to the dashboard will not apply to these gadgets and will only affect gadgets with a Data Source of ‘Unified Reporting Engine’.


8 Troubleshooting If you get the following error when accessing the Analytical Dashboard website for the first time, check that IIS has been correctly configured to run against ASP.NET version 4.0. See section 2.3.1 of this document for further detail. Also check the event logs for details.


9 Issue and Problem Reporting Before contacting Technical Support, please have the following information available:

• Contract number

• Problem description

• Symptoms

• If possible give instructions on how to re-create the problem

• Known causes

• Product information

• Software and hardware versions

• Be ready to send logs, data files or other relevant information.

Any issues arising from this version of the application should be reported to:

Alterian Technology Ltd Support Department The Pithay All Saints Street Bristol BS1 3LG Tel: +44 (0)117 970 3202 E-Mail: [email protected]

North American Head office Alterian Inc. 35 East Wacker Drive Chicago IL 60601 USA Tel: +1 866 608 5582 E-Mail: [email protected]



www.alterian.com

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Analytical Dashboard 2.5 SR1 (x86 x64) Installation and Configuration Guide

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