Installation

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Prerequisites before installing INSIGHT

You will need to install Insight onto a Web Server with Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft.Net Framework 4.0 installed, and the SIMS workstation framework. The local CONNECT.INI file in %Program Files%\SIMS\SIMS .net additionally must not be a 'redirect' type - it must be an 'end-point' type, explicitly specifying the server instance and database name.

IIS7 / IIS7.5

Web Server

Common HTTP Features
Static Content
Default Document
HTTP Errors
HTTP Redirection
Application Development
ASP .NET
.Net Extensibility
ASP
ISAPI Extensions
ISAPI Filters
Security
Windows Authentication
Management Tools
IIS Management Console
IIS Management Scripts and Tools
IIS 6 Management Compatibility
IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

NOTE: It is important that on the IIS server the order of installation is Windows -> Webserver software -> .net software

IIS8 (Server2012)

1. On the Start page, click the Server Manager tile, and then click OK.
2. In Server Manager, select Dashboard, and click Add roles and features.
3. In the Add Roles and Features Wizard, on the Before you begin page, click Next.
4. On the Select installation type page, select Role-based or feature-based installation, and click Next.
5. On the Select destination server page, select Select a server from the server pool, select your server, and click Next.
6. On the Select server roles page, select Web Server (IIS), and click Next.
7. On the Select features page, click Next.
8. On the Web Server Role (IIS) page, click Next.
9. On the Select role services page, note the preselected role services that are installed by default, expand the Application Development node, and then select ASP.NET 4.5. (If you installed .NET 3.5, select ASP.NET 3.5 also.)
10. On the Summary of Features to Install page, confirm your selections, and then click Install.
11. In the Add features that are required for ASP.NET 4.5? box, click Add Features.

The following additional features are added:
.NET Extensibility 4.5
ISAPI Extensions
ISAPI Filters
.NET Extensibility 3.5 (If ASP.NET 3.5 was selected)

12. Click Next.
13. On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install.
14. On the Installation progress page, confirm that your installation of the Web Server (IIS) role and required role services completed successfully, and then click Close.
15. To verify that IIS installed successfully type the following into a web browser: http://localhost

SIMS accounts

Approximately five SIMS accounts are required by Insight to access data in the SIMS database. Each account needs to have a username and password but does not need specific permissions. The username and password of each account need to be entered during installation. If the passwords for these accounts are changed, the credentials entered in the Insight service controller will need to be changed also. Therefore using accounts for which the passwords do not change will require the least amount of maintenance.

Installing INSIGHT

Downloading the service pack

Service packs for Insight are available via the TASC Software website, www.tascsoftware.co.uk. An account is needed to access the website. Accounts can be created by our support team who are available on 01902 824281.

The downloads button at the top of the page is used to access service packs for various products. The Insight service packs are used to installed and/or update Insight.

Running the service pack

  • If all prerequisites have been met then main Service Controller window will open. You can also view the Service Controller using \\simscentralservername\SIMSROOTFOLDER\SIMS\INSIGHT from now on (i.e. when you update).


The Service Controller is the program used to actually install the Insight database, and the web site or sites. There are a number of nodes on the left hand side, each revealing a page with a specific purpose in mind. In general, you should work from the top button down in turn.


  • Data tier node: In here you will need to direct the service controller to a SIMS connect.ini file. Depending on the rights associated with your login you may have to enter the SQL server's username and password (this is not your Insight/SIMS password or your Windows login). Once the correct details have been added the service controller will display a successful login message.


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  • Then, click on the Application tier node to configure a website. You can either use one of the existing web sites listed in the left hand panel, or add a new site. If you add a new site you will be asked to specify the site name, the listening port (This port should not collide with any existing sites or services.), and an SSL certificate if any such are present (or choose (none) if you are to be installing this at a later date). Additionally, you need to specify a folder on the IIS server where the application files will be stored. It is important to choose a location that the IIS user (NetworkService) will have permissions to read. It is recommended to create a folder called INSIGHT inside inetpub\wwwroot.

Once you have chosen your site, you can add an application to that site. There are no options for this stage.


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  • Then, click on the SIMS node where you will need to specify some SIMS usernames and passwords which Insight will use internally. These do not need to have any SIMS .net permissions set, although they do need to exist. Use the Add and Remove buttons to manage the SIMS users. Normally, only between one and three users will be required, dependent upon expected load. A warning - the passwords are not tested at this stage, so if you want to enter them here now and create them later you can, but type carefully if the users you enter here do already exist.


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  • Then, click on the Commit node. You will have options to:
  • Enable a link to PARS, if in use.

If you enable the PARS-Link option, as is displayed in the screenshot below, more options will appear
Shared SIMS Database option should be ticked only if you are certain that your PARS database is shared with SIMS (most "new" PARS/INSIGHT schools will not want to tick this option)
If you have a separate PARS database, you will need to specify the server instance, database name and SA account details for your PARS database in the options provided.

You will then be able to commit your selections to the application by clicking the Begin button. This same process will need to be performed each time an Insight service pack is downloaded, to apply the changes to the web server.


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Following a commit process, a browser window is opened, on the server, to the default starting page of Insight. The first attempt to load Insight following one of these processes can take up to one minute, where it will appear not much is happening, but you should soon see a login page. You will come back to this later and login.


Within the Services node is a pair of Windows services supporting the main application. The Keep alive and SIMS updater nodes allow you to install and configure these Windows services.

Keep Alive service

The Keep Alive service "prods" the web site to keep the application loaded in memory on the web server. To use this feature, click on the Install button, and then, when the service is installed, click on the Start button.

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SIMS Update service

This SIMS updater service is there to watch the central SIMS file server for SIMS updates. IF you are using SOLUS3 this service should not be necessary. Because of this requirement to read information from a remote file server, this service must use a network account rather than a local system account. As part of the installation, you will be prompted for a username in the format DOMAIN\username and a password. To use this service effectively it is important that your %windir%\sims.ini file is accurate, having the correct UNC path specified for SIMSSetupsDirectory.

Sc simsupdater2.jpg


Test Log-in

On the browser window which was displayed earlier use the username and password, received by email, to login.

  • If the default starting page of Insight does not open it may be because the software referred to in the NOTE at the top of this page has not been installed in the correct order. Fix this as follows:

Go to start -> run and in the Open field box enter %windir%\microsoft.net\framework\v4.0.30319\aspnet_regiis -i

Click Ok (this will re-install the .net software for you)

  • If this is your first log on, you will most likely be taken to a 'No license found' page. This screen will prompt you to retrieve a licence. There are two options:

Method 1 (Preferred option) Click on the ‘here’ link to attempt this. If proxy authentication is required, enter your proxy details into the boxes provided and click the "Update" button. Retry until a licence can be obtained.

Method 2 In extreme circumstances, you can also collect a licence key manually. Click on the 'this' link to collect your licence key (a new window will open); in this new window click on Copy to Clipboard. Back in the Unlicensed - Windows Internet Explorer window paste the key in the box under method 2 and click submit.

  • You can close the browser window once you can log in completely.


Insight Configuration

Preferences

Preferences are set once, and are used identically by all users of the system. The preferences you will want to concentrate on at this stage are:

'Email settings' Insight should be able to email out from your network in order to, for example, remind users of their passwords. To do this it needs information about your SMTP server. You can also set up an address specifically to ‘collect’ replies to outgoing emails. Some SMTP servers will require that the Reply to address of an outgoing email actually exists, so you may have to create either and address or an alias to handle this. Some SMTP servers will need a username and password to authorise before they will send outgoing email and you can enter these here too. Similarly, other complicated arrangements can be handled by modifying the Port used, and whether the server requires encryption. Please go to Preferences -> Email to add these settings.

'Proxy' You may have had to modify your proxy details in order to download a licence key. If so the settings are displayed here. If not, you should enter any necessary proxy details. Entering DEFAULT for the proxy name will use standard Internet Options from Windows. Otherwise, enter the proxy in the form 10.0.0.1:8090. If your proxy requires authentication, enter the username and password below, and if the authentication is based on domain credentials, enter this here also. Please go to Preferences -> Proxy to add these settings.

'SMS' Insight can use the TextAnywhere SMS gateway or teachers2parents API to send text messages. If you already have an account with TextAnywhere or teachers2parents, enter the authorisation information here. The two providers offer different services. If you are using TextAnywhere and want replies to outgoing SMS messages to be collected by an email address, enter that address in the ‘Email address for SMS replies’ field. You will also be able to specify a fixed originator string. Please go to Preferences -> SMS to add these settings.

  • Once Insight has been fully installed, it will next need to be configured.

Configuring External Route

When you are happy that your users and preferences are configured, you will need to ensure that a route is configured from outside to the Insight IIS server. Although the details will change according to the environment your Insight server operates in, the principle remains the same. Your school will have a static IP address that it presents to the Internet, and you will have to forward requests to this address, on the port chosen for Insight when installing, to the internal network address of the Insight server on the same port, for example:

Assuming your schools external IP address is 21.22.23.24, and your Insight server's internal network address is 192.168.1.12, and that Insight is installed to listen on TCP port 1590, the forwarding rule would be 21.22.23.24:1590 is to be forwarded to 192.168.0.12:1590.

This rule would normally be configured either at the school's main incoming router, or you may have to put in a change request to your LA to have this facility enabled - again, details will vary according to circumstance.

When you know the external address you will be using, you can either embed this in your schools main web site as a link, or distribute it as is.

As a final note, it is strongly suggested that you install and use an SSL certificate on the Insight server, and also that it is not a self-signed certificate, unless you will be also using the server as a root certificate authenticator.

Although not authoritative, the example below may help you to with this stage.


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Where schools are linked via a Grid for Learning Network managed by their Local Authority slightly different procedures may be required. In this case talk to TASC and to your Local Authority Technical Officers.