Installing PARS Connect

The PARS Connect network topology

There are two versions of PARS: PARS Connect & PARS .Net. PARS Connect is web-based and accessible via a web browser, meaning PARS Connect does not need to be installed on workstations and potentially can be accessed offsite. PARS .Net is only available on machines onto which it has been deployed using an msi file.

In either case, installation is performed on the IIS server. To install PARS on your web server, the server will need the following components installed:

• SIMS .Net Workstation
• IIS (version 7 or higher)
• Microsoft .Net Framework (version 4.0 or higher)
  
  

Installation

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

Please note that the installer must be run on the IIS server, not any other machine.

Prerequisites

This tab will check that you have the required prerequisites in order to install or update PARS. If any components are missing, install them 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.

Installation

If you are installing PARS you will be asked for your SQL System Administrator (sa) password.

Enter your SQL sa password then click "Connect".

Updating

If you are updating PARS and you have recently migrated your server, you may be asked for your SA password. If you have not recently migrated your server and you are being asked to provide an SA password when updating PARS then do not proceed any further and contact our helpdesk immediately.

Application

This tab allows you to configure the PARS application.

Installation

You should see a message box asking whether you wish to perform a new install. If you do not see the window below, contact our helpdesk.

You will see "Default Web Site" and "Create new website", as well as the names of any other websites hosted by this IIS server. We recommend installing PARS as a new website. However if you do not know where to install the files for the PARS website, you can use the Default Web Site instead.

Updating PARS

If you see a message box like the one below, please contact our helpdesk.

You will see a list of websites here, one of which should have an asterisk (*) after its name. This is the website you should select. If you can see multiple sites with an asterisk their names then PARS has been installed more than once.

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.

If you are server farming, you can click the "Details" button to mark this server as either the main server in the group, or a secondary server.

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>