Expressway Installation Guide - TSR

Please find the Expressway Installation Guide attached for full details on how the server should be configured as well as installing and updating your Passageways Portal.

Expressway can be accessed by going to https://mysoftware.passageways.com

Please see this article for information on how to install Expressway. 

Did you run in to issues installing or after the installation of the portal? If so, please see this article for possible resolutions or contact support@passageways.com to open a ticket with our support team. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

As of 2/20/2020, Expressway is now a software you will install on the web server and it will then reside there without having to continue to download and run it each time. 

Due to this, the web server now requires .NET 4.8 to be installed. In addition, for new portal installations, the IIS 6 Compatibility must also be installed.

Here is a quick rundown of the Expressway Installation Guide:

Server Requirements

• Details for Application Server:
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
• Details for SQL Server:
• Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Edition
• Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Edition
• Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Edition

Configuring your server(s) for Expressway

2a. Make sure Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x64) is installed

2b. IIS will need to be installed

2c. Install .NET v2-v4.6, as well WCF & Windows Identity Foundation 3.5 Features

2d. SQL will need to be installed. Make sure to install Full-Text indexing.

Web Server Setup 

Please see this article for more information on setting up your application server. 

NOTE: These instructions are for using Windows Server 2012 R2. If you are using a different server version, the interface may be slightly different.

Server 2012 R2

(1) Install Required Programs

Preparing your server is easy. A majority of pre-requisite software is automatically installed. Click the Server Manager icon in the taskbar, or go to Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Server Manager. Select Manage in the upper right corner and then click Add Roles and Features.

1. Click Installation Type.
2. Installation Type: Role-based or feature-based installation > Next
3. Server Selection: Select the server > Next
4. Server Roles: Expand Web Server (IIS)
   • Check Include management tools (if applicable) and Click Add Features > Next
5. Features:
   • Expand .NET Framework 3.5 Features. Make sure that the following are checked:
     • .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0)
     • HTTP Activation (then Click Add features for HTTP Activation)
     • Non-HTTP Activation
   • Expand .NET Framework 4.5 Features
     • Under WCF Services, check HTTP Activation > Click Add Features
   • Scroll down and Check Windows Identity Foundation 3.5 > Next
6. Web Server Role (IIS) > Next > Role Services:
   • See screenshot below for a full list of Role Services to install.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Every item that is checked in this screen shot MUST be checked.

The following items MUST be unchecked:

• WebDav Publishing (under Common HTTP Features)
• IIS 6 Management Compatibility (under Management Tools)

The following items may be checked or unchecked; they do not affect the OnSemble usage:

• ODBC Logging (under Health and Diagnostics)
• Performance, and its sub-items: Static Content Compression, Dynamic Content Compression
• IP and Domain Restrictions (under Security)
• Application Initialization (under Application Development)
• ASP (under Application Development)
• CGI (under Application Development)
• Server Side Includes (under Application Development)
• WebSocket Protocol (under Application Development)
• FTP Server, and its sub-items: FTP Service, FTP Extensibility
• IIS Management Scripts and Tools (under Management Tools)
• Management Service (under Management Tools)

For Windows 2016

• Click Next.
• Click Install.

Last Step for Server Setup: Run Windows Update and apply all recommended and important updates at this time.

(2) Additional Configuration

NOTE: The next 2 steps require knowledge of network administration. If you need assistance, please contact your network administrator.

1. Create a Windows Identity Account.

You need to create a Windows Identity that is a user account in your Active Directory server. It can be named whatever you want. This user should not have administrative privileges in Active Directory. This user needs to be made a local administrator on the web-server. This account should have a non-expiring password.

2. Setup the DNS, and have the SSL Certificate available.

Decide what website name you want for your OnSemble website. For example, OnSemblePortal.com, or CompanyPortal.com. If your OnSemble website will be external, have your external DNS ready. If your site will be secure, have your SSL Certificate prepared and available ahead of time. Also, have your internal DNS record ready if you plan to use one.

3. Get the IP Address or Domain Name of your Active Directory server.

You need the IP Address or Domain Name of your Active Directory server if you plan on using Windows Active Directory user accounts for logging into OnSemble.

4. Get the IP Address or Domain Name of your SMTP server.
5. Delete the Default Website in IIS, if it is not currently being used.
   • Go into IIS.
   • Expand Sites.
   • Select the Default website, and click Delete.
6. Determine the Installation Path
   • For the OnSemble Portal—decide what drive you want to install the portal on.
   • For Data Files—this could be the same path as your install path, or a different one.
   • For Common Files (Agent and DT Search)—this is the location for common files used for all the OnSemble portals installed on the same server.

 SQL Server Setup

Please see this article for more information on how to set up your SQL server for the portal. 

(1) Check Settings for Full Text Search and Mixed Mode Authentication

NOTE: We assume that you already have SQL Server installed. These instructions are for using SQL Server version 2012.

1. Make sure Full-Text and Semantic Extractions for Search is on.

If you are not sure whether or not this feature is turned on, connect to the SQL instance in SQL Server Manager, and run the following query on any database:

SELECT FULLTEXTSERVICEPROPERTY(‘IsFullTextInstalled’)

If the query returns 1, then Full-Text Search is enabled.

If the query returns 0, then Full-Text Search is not enabled and you will need to run SQL Server Installation Center to add this feature.

During installation, choose “New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.”

Click OK and Next through the remaining windows until you get to the Installation Type window. In the Installation Type window, select the correct SQL instance. In the example below, we are choosing the MSSQLSERVER instance.

Click Next.

In the Feature Selection window, under Database Engine Services, select Full-Text and Semantic Extractions for Search.

NOTE: For other versions of SQL Server, select the item that begins with “Full-Text.”

After choosing this option, simply click Next through the remaining windows.

2. Make sure Mixed Mode Authentication is on.

In SQL Server Management Studio, Right-click the server name at the top of the Object Explorer window and choose Properties.

In the Server Properties window, on the left side, click on the Security page.

Select SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode, and click OK.

Restart the SQL service by going to Windows Services. To open Services, click on the Windows icon, and search for “Services.”

Find the service called “SQL Server” with the instance name in parenthesis. Right-click on it, and choose Restart.

(2) Create a User for SQL Server Authentication

Decide what type of authentication you are going to use for the OnSemble portal to access the SQL server: either SQL user authentication, or Windows authentication.

NOTE: We recommend using SQL User Authentication.

SQL User Authentication—Follow this section if you are using SQL User Authentication

Create a SQL user.

• In SQL Server Management Studio, expand the Security folder. Right-click on Logins and select New Login…

• Enter a Login name. For this example, we are using the Login name, “passageways.”
• Choose SQL Server authentication.
• Enter the password you want for this user, and enter the same password in Confirm password.
• Check Enforce password policy.
• Uncheck Enforce password expiration.

• Click OK.
• In the Object Explorer window, expand Security, and Logins. Right-click on the new user you just created—for example, “passageways.” Choose Properties.

• On the left side of the Login Properties window, select Server Roles.
• Under Server roles, select dbcreator.

• Click OK.

Windows Authentication—Follow this section if you are using Windows Authentication

Create a new user that will have the Windows Identity User Account credentials. The Windows Identity User Account is the user you created during Web Server setup.

1. In SQL Server Management Studio, expand the Security folder. Right-click on Logins and select New Login…
2. Enter the name of your Windows Identity User Account, or click Search and select the user. The format of this name has to be: <Domain>\<User name>
3. Choose Windows authentication.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Object Explorer window, expand Security, and Logins. Right-click on the new user you just created—for example, “MyDomain\WindowsUser.” Choose Properties.
6. On the left side of the Login Properties window, select Server Roles.
7. Under Server roles, select dbcreator.
8. Click OK.

Tips for Running Expressway

• Run all available Windows Updates and reboot server before installing/updating
• Server 2008: Ensure that Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration is disabled (Server Manager > Security Information section > Configure IE ESC > Disable for Administrators)
• Run Internet Explorer as an administrator, even if logged on to the server as an administrator account

Contact Passageways Technical Support to create a community account, based off of your customer account number.

• Please contact Passageways Technical Support if your portal is on PFW v4.7.2 or any prior versions for update assistance!

FAQs

Does the Portal support SQL Server 2000?

In part because Microsoft has discontinued mainstream support for SQL Server 2000, we no longer support SQL Server 2000. SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition is the recommended version of SQL Server.

Can the same server be used for both the web application and SQL?

It is highly recommended that different servers are used for both the SQL server and the application server. If the ability to use separate servers does not exist, please ensure that adequate resources are available for both including up to 16-32 GB of RAM and at least 500 GB - 1 TB of disk space

Can different servers be used for the web application and SQL?

Yes, the web application and SQL can be installed on different servers. The same hardware and software requirements will apply to both servers. If separate servers are used, the web server must be able to connect to SQL. If you are planning on using database documents it is recommended that you increase the Hard Disk space on the SQL server to accommodate this additional storage.

Do we need a full SQL license?

Yes, a full SQL License is required. Passageways software is not compatible with SQL Express. For more information please see Microsoft's "How to Buy" page located here.