Installing PARS Connect

The PARS Connect network topology

PARS Connect is a web based version of PARS .net. Installation is performed on one or more webservers on which the webpages are hosted and can be accessed from client machines via a web browser.

To install PARS Connect on the webserver, you will need the following installed on your IIS server:

• SIMS .net
• IIS (version 7 or higher)
• Microsoft .Net Framework (version 4.0 or higher)
• ASP.NET (version 4.5 or higher)
  
  

Installation

Download the latest PARS service pack from our website, [www.tascsoftware.co.uk| www.tascsoftware.co.uk] and run it on the IIS server. A window will open. Follow the instructions below to install PARS.

Prerequisites

This tab will check that you have the required prerequisites in order to install or update PARS. Also note that this must be performed on the IIS server. PARS will need:

• Version 7 or higher of IIS to be installed
• SIMS .net to be installed on this machine
  
  

If both of the prerequisites have ticks next to them, then you can move on to the next step of the installer. To do this, click the "Next" button at the bottom right of the window. Otherwise, install the missing components then rerun the PARS installer.

Database

At this stage the installer will check the connection to the SIMS database. If the installer cannot find your SIMS database, you will need to find out why then resolve the issue before running the PARS installer.

Click "Next" at the bottom-right of the window and you will be asked for your System Administrator (sa) password.

Enter your sa password then click "Connect". You will then see a window asking you to confirm that you wish to perform a new install. Click Yes.

Application

Generally we would recommend installing PARS under the Default Web Site, but you can create a new website if you feel this would be more suitable. None of the websites should have an asterix after their name; if they do, please contact our helpdesk.

Session State

This tab gives options for handling the session state of logged in users. If you are unsure of which option you need to select, or do not know the pros and cons of each option, then you should choose the top option.

Commit

As long as there are no errors, you will not see this tab. The installer will skip past this tab and perform all of the steps for you.

Auxiliary

You can click the "Details" button if you want to see your PARS Connect URL. Otherwise, click the "Finish" button to complete the PARS installation.

Extras

CAPTCHA

If you wish you can set a CAPTCHA which will be required for users to log in to PARS Connect. To enable this, find the web.config file on the IIS server (by default it is found in c:\inetpub\wwwroot\pars) and open the file in Notepad. Find the lines of text below and make sure that "value" is set to "On".

<setting name="CAPTCHA" serializeAs="String">
  <value>On</value>
</setting>

PINS

Each user can be assigned a temporary PIN that is required along with their password in order to log in. The PIN is valid for 5 minutes after it is issued and is send to a person's email address or as an SMS message when a person tries to log in. To enable this, find the web.config file on the IIS server (by default it is found in c:\inetpub\wwwroot\pars) and open the file in Notepad. Find the lines of text below and make sure that "value" is set to "On".

<setting name="PINS" serializeAs="String">
  <value>On</value>
</setting>