Microsoft SharePoint(TM) Portal Server 2001 Resource Kit (Examples & Explanations Series)

This section reviews all the steps necessary to deploy RapPort. There are four tasks you must perform to use RapPort to deploy SharePoint Portal Server:

• Review the installation requirements.
• Design the architecture.
• Prepare accounts.
• Customize configuration settings based on your architecture.

The following sections describe each of these planning tasks.

Reviewing the Installation Requirements

RapPort is an application designed to run on a computer running SharePoint Portal Server. Consequently, you must meet the requirements for SharePoint Portal Server in addition to those for RapPort.

• Review the hardware and software requirements, including coexistence issues, outlined earlier in this chapter.

Designing the Architecture

Although you can deploy RapPort by using a minimum of two servers, it is recommended that you use a single server for each function for optimal performance. You must have at least one server acting as the RapPort server and template server and at least one destination server.

RapPort Server

In general, you only need one RapPort server per deployment, although you may choose to create additional servers for separate geographical locations. Creating more than one RapPort server per deployment requires careful upfront planning. For more information about this planning, see Appendix B.

Template Server

You can design a template server by using one of three methods:

• You can use a single SharePoint Portal Server computer as the RapPort server and the template server. To do this, you must create the workspace templates on the RapPort server.
• You can use one or more separate SharePoint Portal Server computers to store workspace templates.
• You can use any of your existing SharePoint Portal Server computers as a template server. To do this, you must add an appropriate administrative account as detailed in the following template installation procedure.

Destination Servers

To determine how many destination servers you need, estimate the number of workspaces you predict there will be across your deployment and per region. With this information, determine the number of servers required based on the estimated number of workspaces and locations. For more information about determining server capacity, see Chapter 7, Planning Server Capacity. This provides the number of destination servers you need.

RapPort supports the concept of regional servers. This allows destination servers to reside closer to the users in order to improve performance. Regional servers typically reside in a regional data center or a similar facility. By using the configuration files, you can present to users a list of these regional locations to select during the request process. RapPort can then create the workspace on a destination server at the appropriate regional location.

Preparing Accounts

During installation, you must provide the following information:

• User name and password. This domain account must be a member of the local Administrators group for all servers in this deployment. In addition, you must assign this account to the role of coordinator for each workspace on the template server.

  This enables the RapPort server to perform remote calls to the template and destination servers as needed.

• Two e-mail accounts. RapPort requires that you specify two e-mail accounts. You can specify these accounts in mails.xml. RapPort uses the first e-mail account to send notifications to users. RapPort uses the second e-mail account to receive status e-mail messages.

  For descriptive purposes, this chapter refers to the first e-mail account as RapPort Admin and to the second e-mail account as RapPort Support.

• Name of an SMTP server. RapPort requires an SMTP server to which it can send e-mail notifications.
• A person or group e-mail account for WINS/DNS entry. RapPort sends an e-mail message to a person or group requesting a WINS entry for a virtual server name when creating a new workspace. This message includes the name and IP address of the server where the workspace resides. You must determine the appropriate person or group to receive this message.

Figure 14.9. Sample WINS e-mail notification

Customizing Configuration Settings

RapPort uses a set of XML files to customize the application for a particular deployment. By default, RapPort stores all configuration files in the following location on the RapPort server:

Drive:\RapPort\AutoSetup\Configuration

XML supports the same conventions that the file system supports for naming folders and items. XML files support Unicode characters but should not contain special characters such as those listed here. # : \ ? * < > % / | " ~For a complete list refer to XML specifications available on MSDN.

The following describes each of these files and the required information you must include. For specific procedures to modify these files, see RapPort Administration and Maintenance.

RapPort Configuration Settings

When editing the XML files, do not delete or change any of the node tags. Change only the text between the > and </ signs for the nodes. Do not add any XML-sensitive special characters (such as &, <, > etc.) while editing the contents in the XML files. Always confirm that the XML file is valid by opening the edited XML file in Microsoft Internet Explorer and confirming that the file opens without errors.

You can customize RapPort for your own deployment. The application, RapPort, maintains all configuration information for the RapPort and destination servers in XML files. You can edit the files to modify these settings. For example, you can add a new destination server by editing ServerConfig.xml, or adjust time-out settings by editing Constants.xml. This section provides procedures for editing these configuration files.

Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Back up the current version of the registry before making any changes. You should also back up any valued data on the computer.

To specify e-mail settings:

You must specify the e-mail settings for your RapPort deployment.

• SMTP Server Configuration. You can modify the Smart Host name for relaying and delivering e-mail messages from the default SMTP virtual server. For more information, see RapPort Installations.
• Mails.xml Configuration. Located in the RapPort\AutoSetup folder on the RapPort server. This file contains settings for five automated e-mail messages sent by using the RapPortAdmin account. It also includes the SMTP server name. You can identify the beginning of each message by locating the <mail> tag. The "id" attribute of the MAIL element identifies each message by number. The <description> tag identifies the purpose of the message.

You can only modify existing e-mail messages. You cannot add additional boilerplate messages.

To change SMTP mail server name, edit the XML node <smtpservername> and replace it with the appropriate SMTP server name.

You can modify the following parameters for each message in context with the description.

Some tags include macros beginning with two underscores, for example, <name>__REQUEST_URL_USER_MAIL__</name>. Do not modify these macros.

Name. The following tags include <name> tags. You can modify the <name> tags as required:

• <from>
• <to>
• <cc>

You can also add additional <name> tags in case you need to notify additional people. Alternatively, you can include names, separated with semicolons, in the same <name> tag.

• Subject. You can modify the <subject> tags also.
• Message Body. You can modify the <mailbody> tag. This tag includes the body text of the HTML e-mail message.
• Account. You must specify the account to which WINS entry requests are sent. To do this, specify the appropriate user or group name in the <to><name> tag.

To change the domain name for notifications, you must edit Constants.xml.

To change the domain name for notifications:

1. In Notepad, open Constants.xml.
2. Modify the domain name in the following node as appropriate:

<Constant const>@adventure-works.com</Constant>

3. Save the file.
4. Edit CreateWorkspace.asp on each destination server.
5. Search for the string "@adventure-works.com" and change the domain name as appropriate.
6. Save the file.
7. Edit FinishPage.asp on the RapPort server.
8. Search for the string "@adventure-works.com".
9. Change the domain name as appropriate.
10. Save the file.

To modify settings in ServerConfig.xml:

• ServerConfig.xml file is located in the RapPort\AutoSetup\Configuration folder. The following is a sample configuration:

  - <root> - <entry> <servertype>shared</servertype> <region>R</region> <servername>destination_server_name</servername> <capacity>10</capacity> <current>0</current> <available>y</available> <comment /> </entry> </root>

• Server Name. You can modify the names of destination servers from this file. If you add a new server, then copy the entire <entry> node for one server and paste it under <root> node to indicate that server. There is no need to make an entry for the dedicated server. AutoSetup makes an entry on its own to this file if it does not find the dedicated server entry in this file.
• Workspace Capacity. The <capacity> tag indicates the maximum number of workspaces that this server can host. Change this value to the appropriate value.

  You must enter a numeric value in this field. Do not leave it blank.

• Server Status. You modify the availability status of a destination server by using the <available> tag. To change the status, specify Y or N. When you specify Y for the value, AutoSetup uses this destination server when creating workspaces. If the RapPort server marks a destination server as unavailable, then no additional workspaces can be created on it until the status changes to "available." For more information, see To reset the status of a destination server:.
• Server Type. By default, the <servertype> tag is set to Shared only.
• Region. The <region> tag indicates the region value of the server. You can view the region value in RegionCode.xml.

To modify TemplateConfig.xml:

You can locate TemplateConfig.xml in the RapPort\RapPortWeb\Configuration folder. The following is a sample configuration:

<template> <name>Your_Template</name> <url>http://templateserver/templateworkspace</url> </template>

You can edit this file to add, modify, or remove any workspace templates from your RapPort deployment.

Template names should be limited to 50 characters or less, for display purposes in the RapPort Request Wizard.

To modify an existing template:

1. Change the <name> tag to the appropriate value. This value displays in the list of templates in the RapPort Request Wizard.
2. Change the <url> tag to contain the path to the workspace.
3. Save the file.

To create an entry for a new template:

1. To add a new template, copy the entire <template></template> tag and paste it under the <root> tag.
2. Change the <name> tag to the appropriate value. This value displays in the list of templates in the RapPort Request Wizard.
3. Change the <url> tag to contain the path to the workspace.
4. Save the file.

To modify RegionCode.xml:

The RegionCode.xml file is located in the RapPort\RapPortWeb\Configuration folder. The following is a sample configuration:

<regions> <region code="R">Redmond</region> </regions>

1. To change the region name modify the text in the <region> tag.
2. To add a new region, insert a new <region> tag and set appropriate code value.
3. When you change the code value for any of the existing regions then you also must modify ServerConfig.xml for all corresponding destination servers.

To modify time-out settings:

RapPort specifies time-out settings for the SERVERXMLHTTP requests in Constants.xml under RapPort\AutoSetup\Configuration folder.

You should modify time-out settings prior to running AutoSetup.exe. All time-out settings are in milliseconds (ms).

• ResolveTime. This value applies to mapping hostnames (such as "www.adventure-works.com") to IP addresses. The default value is 300000 ms.
• ConnectTime. The value applies to establishing a communication socket with the target server. The default value is 60000 ms.
• SendTime. This value applies to sending an individual packet of request data (if any) on the communication socket to the target server. RapPort typically divides a large request into multiple packets before sending it to a server. The send time-out applies to sending each packet individually. The default value is 300000 ms.
• ReceiveTime. This value applies to receiving a packet of response data from the target server. RapPort typically divides large request into multiple packets before sending it to a server. The receive time-out applies to fetching each packet of data off the socket. The default value is 1800000 ms. The following are initial values specified in the constants file:

  <Constant const>300000</Constant>

  <Constant const>60000</Constant>

  <Constant const>300000</Constant>

  <Constant const>1800000</Constant>

You can modify the session time-out setting for the RapPort virtual directory.

To modify session time-out:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the server name.
3. Expand Default Web Site.
4. Right-click the RapPort virtual directory and then click Properties.
5. Click Configuration. The Application Configuration dialog box appears.
6. Click the App Options tab.
7. In Session Timeout, type a value.
8. Click OK.
9. Click OK to close the Properties page.

To modify ASP Script time-out:

Change the ASP script time-out settings for the RapPort virtual directory of each destination server. The default value is 600 seconds. You can increase this value if CreateWorkspace.asp is taking too long to execute.

To modify ASP script time-out for the Active Directory virtual directory:

1. On the RapPort Server, click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the server name.
3. Expand Default Web Site.
4. Select the RapPort virtual directory and expand.
5. Select AD then right click Properties.
6. Click Configuration. The Application Configuration dialog box appears.
7. Click the App Options tab.
8. In ASP Script timeout, type a value.
9. Click OK.
10. Click OK to close the Properties page.

This value is in Seconds. During the installation, the default for this is set to 600 seconds.

To modify a scheduled task:

1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Scheduled Tasks.
3. Right-click the RapPort scheduled task, and then click Properties.
4. On the Schedule tab, modify the schedule as appropriate. You can click Advanced to specify advanced schedule options.
5. On the Task tab, you can modify the user account and password as required.

   You must change the password when the password for this account changes.

6. Click OK.
7. Close Scheduled Tasks.

You can modify the user account used for running the COM+ package. The new account must be a member of the local Administrators group on the destination server.

To configure COM+ security settings on the destination server:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Component Services.
2. In Component Services, expand the Component Services node and its subnodes.
3. Expand COM+ Applications.
4. Right-click RapPort, and then click Properties.
5. Click the Identity tab.
6. Click This User.
7. In User, enter username.
8. In Password and Confirm password, type password for username.
9. Click OK to close the Properties page.

To modify system settings for the destination server:

You can edit the registry by using the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Back up the current version of the registry before making any changes. You should also back up any valued data on the computer.

1. Add the appropriate domain account to the local Administrators group on the destination server.
2. On the Start Menu, click Run.
3. Type regedit and then click OK.
4. In Registry Editor, navigate to the node:

   HKEY_LOCAL_COMPUTER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\RapPort

5. Click the node and confirm that all the entries are correctly shown in the right pane. The following values should be configured as outlined:
   • If the IP address of the destination server is changed, modify the IP address as appropriate. For example, "IP"="192.168.114.201"
   • Change the name of the proxy server to the new proxy server. For example, "Proxy"="proxy_server"
   • Change the proxy port to appropriate value. For example, "ProxyPort"="80"
   • Edit the value of the CommonAdmin to the new domain account, such as domain\user_account.

   This account must be a member of the local Administrators group on all servers in this deployment.

6. Close Registry Editor.
7. On the destination server, open Component Services, and then open property pages for RapPort COM+ application.
8. Click the Identity tab and enter the user name and password of the appropriate domain user account.
9. Run Proxycfg prior to running a request as described in "Installing RapPort."

To configure system settings on RapPort server:

Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Back up the current version of the registry before making any changes. You should also back up any valued data on the computer.

1. Add appropriate domain account to the local Administrators group on the RapPort server.
2. From the RapPort server, click Start, and then click Run.
3. Type regedit and then click OK.
4. In Registry Editor, navigate to the node:

   HKEY_LOCAL_COMPUTER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\RapPort

5. Edit the value of the CommonAdmin to the new domain account, such as domain\user_account.

   This account must be a member of the local Administrators group on all servers in this deployment.

6. Close Registry Editor.
7. On the RapPort server, open Component Services, and then open property pages for RapPort COM+ application.
8. Click the Identity tab and enter the user name and password for the appropriate domain account.
9. Run Proxycfg prior to running AutoSetup. For more information, see Installing RapPort.

To configure the domain account on the template server:

1. Add appropriate domain account to the local Administrators group on the RapPort server.

To reset passwords when the account password changes:

When any of the accounts used for either the COM+ package or the scheduled job changes, you must manually change the account and password information in two locations. To reset the passwords complete the following steps:

1. On the RapPort server, open Component Services, and then open property pages for RapPort COM+ application.
2. Click the Identity tab and enter the user name and password for the appropriate domain account.
3. Edit the Scheduled job on the RapPort server.
4. Click the Set Password button.
5. Enter the user name and password for the appropriate domain account.
6. Repeat these steps on each of the destination servers.