Single-Server Deployment for a Small Workgroup: Smart Client-Only Installation

In a workgroup setting, you can use one workstation as the host that can support:

If your needs grow such that the program gets heavy network demands, then you will want to instead use the procedure covered in Deployment Strategies.

The enterprise installation:

Procedure

To set up a small workgroup, follow this procedure.

Step 1:  Install the Standard Single-User Version

On the host workstation, perform the typical installation as described in Sample Single User Installation. This procedure uses Tomcat and MS SQL Express.

Step 2: Install the Remote Smart Client Setup

As part of Step 1, you will have installed Smart Client on the workstation designated as the host.

Copy the Archibus Smart Client xx.exe file to the c:\users\public\archibus\remote-client-install folder on the host workstation.

Step 3: Share the Projects Folder

The standard setup program runs the "Sharing" command to create a file share to the projects folder (e.g. to the c:\users\public\archibus\projects\) on your workstation.

With this share name, peer workstations that are working with drawings or building models can access the projects folder. They would address this project folder as \\<workgrpsvr>\AIPROJECTS from within their CAD programs or from within the Windows Explorer, where <workgrpsvr> is the computer name of the host workstation. This share gives peers the ability to share project files, but not the ability to see any other part of your workstation or of the Archibus program folders.

To establish the share, open the Windows Explorer: navigate to the c:\users\public\archibus\projects folder, right-click, and select the Properties command. From the Sharing tab, select "Share this folder" and enter AIPROJECTS as the share name. Use the "Permission" button to grant read/write permission to this folder.

Share the Projects Folder: Advanced Users

  1. Type "cmd" in the Start Menu.
  2. Right click on the "cmd.exe" program that appears in the list.
  3. Select "Run as Administrator"
  4. Use a command-line invocation like the following:

    NET SHARE AIPROJECTS=c:\users\public\archibus\projects /GRANT:Everyone,FULL

Step 4: Send an Installation Email Notice

Send an email message like the following (indented text below) to users on peer workstations.  This sample message provides a link to access Web Central and a link to run the remote Smart Client-only installation:

Use this link to access Archibus Web Central in your Web browser:

http://<workgrpsvr>:8080/archibus

If you wish to use Archibus Smart Client only (without Web Central), run the following installation:

\\<workgrpsvr>\AIPROJECTS\remote-client-install\Archibus Smart Client xx.exe

You must have administrator privileges to run the installation program, although you do not need these privileges to run Smart Client itself.

You can use the above Archibus Smart Client xx.exe installation program if you have not previously installed Web Central and Smart Client. If you have already installed these programs and wish to install only Smart Client (without Web Central), use Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs to remove Smart Client and Web Central. Then, run this installation.

Step 5: Install the Client

Updating Remote Clients

If you copy a new version of the remote Smart Client-only installation onto the host computer, you can have the Smart Client prompt each user to reinstall from the host the next time they start the program.

To do so:

If you find the default URL of remote clients in the Smart Client Sign In form is not being set correctly for newly installed peer workstations, check the host computer name listed in projects\remote-client-install\smartclient.install.properties.

Using "Push"-style Installation for the Remote Clients

Enterprise installations with many clients workstations can use a different means of updating the remote clients. They will incorporate the remote-client-install\msi\Archibus Smart Client xx.msi file   into their push installation to update the client workstations with no user intervention required. .

Client Deployment

The System Administrator sends out a link to the setup.exe program for the Smart Client on the network (e.g. \\fileshare\tools\archibus\projects\remote-client-install\setup.exe).

The setup program and the smartclient.install.properties file must be in the folder prior to starting the Smart Client setup.

The Admin must set the URL to Web Central in the smartclient.install.properties file by updating the variable below:

smartClient.applicationServerLocation=http://workgroupsvr:8080/archibus

The setup.exe reads the smartclient.install.properties file and updates the Archibus\xx.x\SmartClient\*.dll config file with URL address.

The Admin has two options for deploying the client application over the network:

Client Prerequisites

Client Deployment over the Network

The Administrator has two options:

Note: You might want to activate the logging feature prior to deployment. See the Logging section below.

Command Line

Note: For information on forming the Command Line, see How to Form the Command Line and the below examples of Silent Install/Uninstall through the command line.

Installing or removing the program can be done through the command line window or through a batch file. Note the following:

Set the following properties:

WEBC_URL="http://<serverName>:<port>/archibus/"

TRANSFORMS=<language code>.mst

See the Transforms section below.

Active Directory

Before deployment, open the provided msi db and manually set the above properties (for instance, use Orca to edit the msi db).

Transforms

A transform is a collection of changes applied to an installation. The transforms (files with MST extensions) can be found along with the Archibus Smart Client XX.msi file. Its name and number represent a language (see the Language Codes section below). To install other than the ENGLISH (EN) language, you should send the TRANSFORMS property to msiexec with the assigned value of a desired language, for instance TRANSFORMS=2052.mst.

Logging

Before providing the log argument and log file for install (/l*v ".\msi_SETUP.log"), you should activate the logging feature.

Create and run a file with extension reg. See below. You should launch the file prior to starting the installation of the application.

Reg File Content

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]

"Logging"="icewarmupv"

Language Codes

Example: Silent Install

msiexec /i "Archibus Smart Client XX.msi" WEBC_URL="http://"<serverName>:8080/archibus/" TRANSFORMS=1033.mst ADDLOCAL=ALL /qn /l*v .\msi_SETUP.log

Example: Silent UnInstall

msiexec /x<Productcode> /qn

{<Productcode>}

Upgrade Procedures

Upgrades within the same product version

The System Administrator distributes them in the same way as for Installation. Only version-signed deliverables are being updated; the preferences files are preserved. See the Minor Upgrades discussion, below.

Version upgrades

The major version upgrade installation and the parallel deployment are not supported. To upgrade to a new version, the Admin has to uninstall the previous one and install the new one.

Minor upgrades

Minor upgrades are fixes within the same version. There are two situations: