Web+Center For Linux

Installation and Configuration Guide

Version 4.5

(3) Tech Free Version

© 1996-2003 Internet Software Sciences

September, 2003

 

Installation Overview

 

Welcome to the Web+Center Installation and Configuration guide.  This document contains the information necessary to install and configure the Web+Center web-based customer support  Help Desk and contact management application in a Linux-based environment.  This document only contains initial installation and configuration information.  Please refer to the Web+Center User Guide for complete information on how to use Web+Center product. 

 

Installation Support is provided by:

·         Web-based FAQ, Help Desk Knowledgebase at http://www.inet-sciences.com/support/

·         Emails at support@inet-sciences.com

·         Phone based support at (650) 949-0942 (9 AM -5 PM PST  Pacific Standard Time)

 

What is Web+Center?

 

Web+Center is a suite of four web-based applications consisting of Customer+Center, a customer self help web application, Tech+Center, a Tech Staff Help Desk web application, Business+Center, a web Customer Relationship Management CRM application and Pocket+Center, an alternative Tech staff application designed to run on a Pocket PC PDA type device for remote and wireless applications.   The application is entirely a web-based application where the server software is installed on one machine  and then clients access the application through any web browser (IE or Netscape or others) over the network just like any website.

 

 Hosting Options for Web+Center

 

Web+Center can be hosted on your own internal Linux Server or there are several ISP (Internet Service Providers) and website hosting companies that offer Linux-b Based hosting services that can also be used to host your  Web+Center application.  Listed in Appendix B is a list of  web hosting companies that provide Linux with ASP and mySQL database options.  Hosting the Web+Center application at an ISP/Web Hosting company offers a lowst cost (typically $10-$30/Month) high bandwidth and low security -risk option for small businesses and organizations.

 

Licensing Options

 

The product can be used for FREE for (3) techs or less.  A license must be purchased if you use the product for more than (3) techs.  The FREE version does not time out nor is it limited by the number of customers or cases, but it is only limited by the number of registered technicians.  For more information on licensing the Web+Center product, please visit on our on-line pricing at:

 

http://www.inet-sciences.com/prices.htmling.html

 

 

Requirements to Run Web+Center on Linux

 

Web+Center is a web-based  ASP (Active Server Pages) database application.  Web+Center requires each of the additional components listed below:

 

Sun ONE Active Server Pages 4.0 (Formerly Chilli-Soft)*

                For Information on Sun ONE Active Server Page, please visit:

http://store.sun.com/catalog/doc/BrowsePage.jhtml?catid=61836

*Note: The Sun ONE Active Server Pages product must be purchased separately.

 

MySQL  (Recommended Version X.X3.2)

                For Information on MySQL running on Linux, please refer to the website:

http://www.mysql.com/documentation/index.html

 

                Apache Web Server for Linux

                                The product has been tested and designed using Apache Web Server Version…  1.3.27

 

Hardware and Software recommendations

 

Web+Center is a web-based client/server support system.  Web+Center is the software that is installed on a Linux  server running Apache Web server, Sun Microsystems “Sun One Active Server Pages” ,and MymySQL database  software.  Internet Software Sciences does not provide any client software since each client user must install and use their own web browser.  Web+Center is designed to be compatible with almost every web browser and does not require special plug-ins, java  or extensions or special versions of Netscape or IE or any browser.

 

The Web+Center application  installation only requires about 10 MB of disk space including all of documentation.  As your database grows, database files will require some additional hard disk space.  We recommend allowing for a disk space requirement of 20 MB to 50 MB.

 

To help maintain high availability and reliability, it is recommended that “production” uses of Web+Center reside on a machine that is dedicated as a web server where the proper backup, server maintenance, full time connectivity, and reliable power issues are handled. 

 

 

 

Installation Procedures for Web+Center for Linux

 

There are 9 steps to configure Web+Center on a Linux platform running Apache Web Server,  MySQL and Sun One Active Server Pages Product.  Please perform the follow steps in the order summarized below:

 

Step 1 – Install Apache Web Server

Step 2 - Install mySQL Database Application

Step 3 – Install Sun One Active Server Page Product

Step 4 – Download and Run the Web+Center Installation Program on a Windows machine

Step 5 – Transfer ing or network Web+Center files from the Windows based machine to Linux Server

Step 6 - – Create the Web+Center database and load the database with default values from the database create/load SQL scriptInstantiate the Web+Center Database and define the ODBC connectivity string.

Step 7 - - Configuring the ODBC Database Connection for Web+Center databaseDefine Database Table Schemas and populate with default values

Step 8 – Configuring Configure Database Connectivity String for ODBC connection

Step 9  - Verify Web+Center Operation and Set your SMTP Host address and organization name and reply email address

Step 10  - (Optional) Change the URL directory names of the applications

 

 

 

Step 1 – Install Web Server – Apache Web Server

 

Apache Web Server must be installed on Linux.  Installation and configuration of the Apache Web Server is beyond the scope of this installation guide.  For more information about the Apache Web Server for Linux, please refer to the Apache Web Server Website at:

 

http://www.apache.com

 

If the Apache Webserver is already installed in your Linux environment, then please skip this step.

 

Step 2 -Install MySQL Database Application

 

Web+Center is a web-based database driven application and requires a “backend” database to run all the database record creation and SQL queries.  Web+Center  on Linux requires the MySQL version 4.0 database engine.  The Web+Center product has been tested and designed using Version 3.23.49 while other versions of MySQL should work.  Installation and configuration of the MySQL database is beyond  the scope of this document.  For information and downloads of the MySQL database product, please refer to their website at:

 

http://www.mysql.com

 

If the MySQL database is already installed in your Linux environment, then please skip this step.

(Comment: you mention version 4 MySQL is required – we are apparently running v. 3.23.49)

 

Step 3 – Install the Sun One Active Server Pages Version 4.0

 

 

http://store.sun.com/catalog/doc/BrowsePage.jhtml?catid=61836

 

If Sun One Active Server Pages Version 4.0 is already configured in your Linux environment, then skip this step.

 

Step 4 – Download and Run the Web+Center Installation Program on a separate Windows based machine.

 

Download the Web+Center self-extracting executable installation program from the Internet Software Sciences Web site into a local directory on a separate MS Windows based machine. When selecting a download, be sure to select the Web+Center  4.5 version. Earlier versions will not be Linux compatible.

The Web+Center installation program can be downloaded from the Internet Software Sciences web site at:

 

http://www.inet-sciences.com/evaluations.html

 

The file that should be downloaded is called webcenter45.exe.

 

Once the installation executable is downloaded to a local directory, run the application by selecting Start -> Run -> Browse and select the executable file where that you just downloaded.

 

 

Complete all of the installation steps.  The Web+Center installation program only creates directories and places files into those directories.  The default installation directory is:

 

 c:\program files\Internet Software Sciences\web+center 4.5\

 

Step 5 – Transfering the Web+Center files from Windows Machine to the Linux Machine

 

The Web+Center files must be transferred from the Windows files directory to the Linux machine and placed under the appropriate web server root directory so it can be accessed as a website directory.

 

Using either FTP or a network file share, copy all of the files and directories BELOW the web+center 4.5 directory into the httpdocs or your webserver directory.  Once this transfer is completed, you should have the following directory structure on your Linux machine:

 

                (Apache Web Server root)

                                httpdocs

                                                techcenterTechCenter

                                                customercenterCustomerCenter

                                                businesscenterBusinessCenter

                                                pocketcenterPocketCenter

                                                Language

                                                DatabaseSQL  (or do you mean “Database”????)

                                                Documentation

 

Step 6 – Creating Instantiate the Web+Center database and loading with default values.define the ODBC connectivity string (DSN)

 

(Please insert table create and load default data info here Jitze)

 

At this point, a new database must be instantiated and registered within the system. See the Operating System and MySQL documentation for details on how this is accomplished. As part of that exercise, you will be asked to provide a database name together with a username and password for the database. These values together with some others will be used to create a “DSN string” which, depending on system details, will probably end up looking something like

 

(Jitze – You must have a connect string now…  can we only have the MYDBNANE, MYUSERID and MYPOWRD be “variable” here so we won’t confuse the users?  What if the database is on another server? )

"driver={MySQL};server=localhost;database=MYDBNAME;uid=MYUSERID;pwd=MYPWORD"

 

 

… where the values for MYDBNAME, MYUSERID, and MYPWORD, will of course need to be changed to reflect your particular environment.

 

Make a note of this DSN string as it will be required in step (8).

 

If you are using a remote-hosted service provided by a third-party…

 

If you are running your system on a remote-hosted service provided by a third-party vendor, then very likely this step will already have been performed for you by the vendor when you established your service with them. In this case look in their documentation or ask them for details on what this DSN string should look like. A common practice is for the value of MYDBNAME to be the same as the domain name this vendor established for you, while the values for MYUSERID and MYPWORD will be the same as the user-name and password established by the vendor for you to access their web-based “Control Panel” facility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 7 -  Configuring ODBC Database connection to Web+Center DatabaseDefine Database Table Schemas and populate with default values

 

Jitze – please add information here…

In the folder called “Database” (or is it called SQL?) is a file called Createwc45LinuxCreateMySQLDatabse.sql. This is an ordinary text file (that may be examined and edited by any standard text-editor if you need to). This contains the script that will define the database (declare the tables and the columns they contain). This script  must be executed once the database has been successfully registered with the system. It will instantiate all the necessary tables and insert a few default values in certain configuration-oriented tables.

 

If you are using a remote-hosted service provided by a third-party…

 

If you are running your system on a remote-hosted service provided by a third-party vendor, there is a good chance that support for the creation and maintenance of the database is provided via a web-based utility called phpMyAdmin that is accessed via a menu choice labeled “Database Manager” or something similar.

Look for this button as one of many choices on a screen called “Hosting Control Panel” or similar.

 

In this case, if you click on the button labeled “Database Manager”, a fresh screen window will appear containing two panels side-by-side.  At the top of the left-hand panel is a link called “Home” and underneath it the name of your database. Click on this name and the right-hand panel will now display a number of options that include the ability to type SQL commands into a text box or to upload a text file containing a script with SQL commands. You can use either option – either “upload” the file called Createwc45Linux.sql (click the “Browse” button) or copy/paste the text contents of this file into the text box, and then click on the button labeled “GO”.

 

 

(Jitze… how did you do this step… can you explain at least the shared hosted environment approach maybe with a screen shot?)

 

Step 8  Configuring Database Connectivity String

 

The Web+Center applications uses an ODBC connector to provide connectivity between the Web+Center application and the Web+Center database running under MySQL.  This takes the form of a character string containing certain parameters that will have been defined in step (6) above.

 

To connect to the database, a default “DSN name of “webcenter45_db” with UserID = “wc30” and password of “wc30pass” is pre-configured.  If you can not or do not wish to use this default DSN name for your database connectivity, follow the steps below to change the connect string to a different DSN.

You must now insert this character string in certain code modules by editing them – which can be done with any standard text editor.

 

This string must be edited into two code modules – each of which exists as a text file in each of the four application folders. (A total of 8 files). It is suggested that you first modify these two files in the  folder called TechCenter and then see if the Tech+Center Application works. Once you have established that you have a correct and operational DSN string, then it is a simple matter to replicate these two files by making copyiess of them in the other three folders – namely BusinessCenter, CustomerCenter and PocketCenter.

 

The two files that need to be edited are called global.asa and SetGlobal.asp. Edit the DSN string into global.asa at the appropriate spot (after the equal sign in approximately line 42) and SetGlobal.asp  (after the equal sign in approximately line 65)

 

To change your database DSN connect string, edit the (4) Global.asa files located in the techcenter, customercenter, pocketcenter and businesscenter directories using a plain text editor.

Remember that this edit must be performed on all four (4) global.asa files as well as all four (4) SetGlobal.asp files (one of each in each of the four application directories). Because these files are identical across all four directories, it is sufficient to only edit one pair in one of the directories, and then replicate that pair to the other three directories. The four directories involved are called TechCenter, CustomerCenter, PocketCenter and BusinessCenter

 

 

Modify the default DSN connect string at line number 21 changing the bolded DSN,  userid (uid) and password (pwd):

 

  Application("myDSN") = "DSN=webcenter45_db;uid=wc30;pwd=wc30pass"

 

    Modify  DSN name webcenter45_db to your own DSN name

 

    Modify UserID from wc30 to your own database userID

   

    Modify Password from wc30pass to your own database password

 

Important: You must modify (4) Global.asa files located in the techcenter, customercenter, businesscenter and pocketcenter directories.

 

Step 9  Verify Web+Center Operation and Set your SMTP Host address and organization name and reply to email address

 

 

Step 9.1 Verify Web+Center Operation

 

To access the Tech+Center application, enter the following URL into your web browser:

 

http://<YourHostName>/techcenterTechCenter/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

Login into the Tech+Center

 

Tech+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Tech+Center comes configured with (3) default tech staff accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

               

Tech Username

Password

Access Level

CSS-1000

Config

Configurator (highest)

CSS-1001

Admin

Administrator

CSS-1003

Tech

Read/Write tech level

 

These default tech staff accounts are automatically available with the initial seed database.   They should only be used to access the system initially and they should be immediately modified or deleted once other tech accounts are created.  Refer to the Web+Center Users Guide on how to edit or add Tech+Center accounts.

 

You should see the Tech+Center login page static HTML page.  In the Login box, enter “CSS-1000” for the Tech ID field and “config” for the password, and press the login button.  This will log you into Tech+Center as a “configurator” which is the highest level of access into the system.

 

Once you log into the Tech+Center you should see a (3) Frame document similar to the image below.

 

 

 

 

Note: If the Tech+Center application does not appear, please review Appendix A for common installation and configuration problems.

 

Step 9.2 Configure Web+Center outgoing SMTP mail address, organization from name and reply to email address

 

Important: Before registering any customers or entering new support cases, we recommend you first configure your local SMTP host address and organization from name and reply to email settings inside of Web+Center.  These Web+Center helps define and send  all of the automatic email notification messages to this outgoing SMTP host  address.  Typically this will be provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or corporate mail server and typically defined as the “outgoing SMTP mail address”.  For example, for Earthlink ISP users, the SMTP mail address might use

 

smtp.earthlink.net

 

To set these value follow the steps below:

 

·                     Log into the Tech+Center using a “configurator” level password.  The system is initially configured with a “configurator” level account with Tech ID = css-1000 and password of “config”.

·                     Click on the Administration button in the left hand control panel

·                     Click on the System configuration menu text link at the top of the System Administration page

·                     Click on the Configuration options link on the Systems Configuration page

·                     Scroll the window down if necessary to the Email Addresses option area.

·                     Set your local SMTP address into the box labeled SMTP Mail Server Address.  Replace any previous values that may have been entered into the field.

·                     Set the Default Reply-To Address to a “reply to” email address like support@mycompany.com

·                     Enter your organization or company name into the Organization From Name field.

·                     Press the Submit button located at the bottom of the page to process these changes

·                The same page appears again after processing the submit so that any changes can be verified. 

·                Verify that the SMTP Mailer server address is successfully entered and press the Cancel button.

·                     Close your browser to completely log out of Tech+Center application

 

Step 9.3: Accessing Customer+Center web application

 

To access the Customer+Center application, enter the URL of:

 

                http://<YourHostName>/customercenterCustomerCenter/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

 

Self register a customer by clicking on the New User button.  Enter all of the registration information as instructed.

 

If the registration was completed successfully, your Customer+Center application has been properly installed and configured.

 

Step 9.4: Access the Business+Center web application

Business+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Business+Center uses the same 3 pre-configured tech accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

               

Tech Username

Password

Access Level

CSS-1000

Config

Configurator (highest)

CSS-1001

Admin

Administrator

CSS-1003

Tech

Read/Write tech level

These default tech staff accounts are automatically available with the initial seed database.

 

To access the Business+Center application, enter the following URL:

 

http://<YourHostName>/businesscenterBusinessCenter/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

Step 9.5: Access the Web+Center on-line documentation

 

 

There are still numerous configuration options available for site customization.  Please refer to the Web+Center Users Guide for information on additional configuration options.

 

The Web+Center user guide and this installation guide are both installed as part of the Web+Center installation and it is available on your local Web+Center system at:

 

http://<hostname>/Documentation/

 

If you have any questions or problems, please check Internet Software Sciences Support options at www.inet-sciences.com.

Step 9.6: Access the Pocket+Center (Tech+Center Interface for Pocket PCs)

 

Pocket+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Pocket+Center uses the same 3 pre-configured tech accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

               

Tech Username

Password