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Installing Ektron

For information about system requirements for the current release, see System Requirements. If your system does not conform to them, you should upgrade before installing or upgrading Ektron.

IMPORTANT: Each deployment has unique requirements. Ektron recommends that you engage with a Certified Ektron Partner when making decisions about the needs of your production environment.

License keys

IMPORTANT: Read the Ektron Perpetual License Agreement before installing Ektron software.

Ektron controls the usage through a license key, a unique code assigned to your domain. Your license key is included in the email that is sent when you request or purchase Ektron.

When you login to a website that contains Ektron, it checks the license key(s) against the domain.

If the URL of a valid license key matches the URL of the site being accessed, the Workarea appears.

If no valid license key is found for the URL of the site being accessed, Ektron is disabled and you must log in the with Builtin account to change the License Key.

If you have a broken license key or a license key with an incorrect base URL, an error message appears in the Ektron Login window. The message states, “Error: A license violation has occurred and the application is presently locked. Please see your administrator.” If this message appears, login with the Builtin account and reenter your license key. If the message continues to appear and you are sure you have a valid key, contact Ektron Support.

Domains in which you can use a license key

The license key is assigned to a base URL, typically your domain name. For example, if your domain name is www.mycompany.com, the license key follows this pattern: www.mycompany.com(expdate)(Modifiers)?1234567890.

Each domain requires its own license key. For example, to support the domains, www.mycompany.com, sales.mycompany.com and support.mycompany.com, you need 3 license keys.

When you purchase a license key, be sure to register a domain name, not an IP address. Although Ektron supports IP addresses, the domain that you license becomes the required URL in the browser address. For example, if you register 192.168.0.1, you would need to access the site as http://192.168.0.1/somedirectory/myloginpage.aspx. Because users would typically not identify a Web page by its IP address, register a domain name instead.

Using Ektron without a license key

For evaluation purposes, when you install Ektron, you do not need a license key. During the installation process, leave the License Key field blank and click Next on the License screen. This lets you use Ektron as localhost.

Inserting the license key

You are prompted to enter a license key during installation. If you do not, enter it by choosing Workarea > Settings > Setup > Edit and completing the License Key(s) field.

When cutting and pasting license keys, keep the full license key intact without adding or deleting characters. License keys that are changed in any way render Ektron inoperable.

Upgrading a license key

If you upgrade Ektron and want to replace the old license key with a new one, choose Workarea > Settings > Setup > Edit. Next, add the license key to the License Key(s) field. If you want to add new keys in addition to old keys, create a comma-delimited list of keys in the License Key(s) field.

Installing Ektron

By default, the installation places files in 2 server locations:

During installation, the ASPNET or IIS_WPG and IUSR users are given permission to create folders in these directories:

Before you install

  1. Create a folder for the site. Make sure the drive and folder to which you install your Ektron website have sufficient space. Anticipate future needs, since the site is likely to grow over time.
  2. Make sure that Internet Information Server (IIS) is installed on your server. See Creating multiple websites on a single server.
  3. Install the Application Server role on your server. For more information, see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754684.aspx.
  4. Create an IIS site. See also: How to set up your first IIS Web site.
    1. Open IIS.
    2. In the left panel, right click the Sites folder and choose Add Web Site.
    3. In the Add Web Site dialog, insert sitename, hostname, and physical path for the new site.

      IMPORTANT: Ektron does not support the installation of nested sites, each having its own web.config file. Nested sites can disrupt features, such as Aliasing, Menus, and eSync.
      Also, do not install the site under another application’s folder within Web root, nor to an IIS Application under another site.

  5. If you are setting up one website that uses multiple Ektron servers and points to a single database server, make sure both servers connect to the same database. This configuration ensures that membership user registrations, forum/blog short for Web Log posts, statistics, and so on, are the same on both servers. For more information, see Setting up Ektron.
  6. Decide which search provider you will use. See also: Search providers.
    If you will use any Microsoft search provider, install it. See also: Working with Microsoft FAST search; Setting Up Microsoft Search Server 2010; Using Solr search
  7. Enable IIS 6 metabase compatibility and ASP.NET. To do that:
    1. From the Windows Control Panel, choose Programs and Features.
    2. From the left panel, choose Turn Windows Features On or Off.

    3. Click to open Internet Information Services > Web Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility.
    4. Check IIS Metabase and IIS 6 configuration compatibility.
    5. Click to open Internet Information Services > World Wide Web Services > Application Development Features.
    6. Check ASP.NET.
    7. Click OK.
  8. Obtain a license key from Ektron. Send email to [email protected].

Installing the Ektron base

  1. Contact your Ektron account manager to obtain a link to download Ektron.
  2. Double click the downloaded CMS400Basevreleasenumber.exe file.
  3. Ektron verifies that your server has all required components. You must install any missing ones before you can continue.

  4. A screen displays Ektron’s License Agreement. Read it and click I Accept. If you do not accept, the setup ends.

  5. Select Complete to install all components. Or, select Custom to choose which components to install. You can also choose where to install them.

  6. When you click Next, the install checks for SQL or SQL Express on the server. If SQL is not installed, a dialog prompts you to install SQL Express.
  7. If you will use a remote SQL server, click Continue. If you plan to use SQL Server on this computer, click the link on the message to install SQL Server Express 2008 R2 RTM. If you do, the Ektron installation terminates. After installing SQL Server Express, restart the Ektron installation.

  8. The Ready to Install the Program screen appears. Click Install. The installation program copies files to the C:\Program Files folder.

    IMPORTANT: After completing the installation, further configure your permissions based on your network security model before using Ektron.

  9. Click Yes to check for updates. This verifies that you have the latest version of Ektron.

  10. You might be prompted to restart your server. If so, you should restart now. Otherwise, the installation begins.

    IMPORTANT: If this dialog appears, do not run the site setup until the system reboots.

    After you install Ektron, the web.config file is updated as follows.

    • ek_sitePath. webroot/siteroot
    • ek_buildNumber. Current build number of Ektron
    • ek_cmsversion. Current version of Ektron
    • Connection String. Information about the database's connection to Ektron

    See also: Managing web.config

Installing a site

NOTE: Continue with these steps after completing Installing the Ektron base.

The installation copies the following folders from C:\Program Files(x86)\Ektron\CMS400vxx to the Web root folder you specify:

  • BIN
  • workarea
  • documentation
  • uploaded files and uploaded images
  • a login page
  • the Visual Studio solution file
  1. You can create a new site manually by clicking the cms400sitesetup.exe file located in C:\Program Files(x86)\Ektron\CMS400vxx\Utilities\SiteSetup or by choosing Start > Programs > Ektron > CMS400vXX Utilities > CMS400 Site Setup. The Setup Type screen appears.

    If you're using Windows 8 or 2012, press the Windows key ()/Q then enter CMS400 Site Setup. Right click and choose Run as Administrator.

  2. Choose an option and click Next.
    • CMS400 Full Installation. For setting up a new site installation.
    • CMS400 Upgrade. For upgrading existing site's database and site files.
    • CMS400 Database Setup. For setting up a new site database. Site files, such as .aspx pages, are not included in this setup.
  3. In the License Key field, enter your primary license key for Ektron. License keys are typically emailed to your organization when you request a copy of the application. When cutting and pasting a license key, keep it intact without adding or deleting characters. If you do not have license keys now, you can insert them later.

  4. Select a site to install. This screen does not appear the first time you run the site setup for a starter site. If you run it again and have multiple sites, this dialog appears.

  5. Select from the drop-down list the site to which you want to install Ektron. You created the site when preparing for the Ektron installation, as documented in Step 4 of Before you install.

  6. Enter the destination folder for the site. If your website resides in a folder other than the default, click Browse and go to that folder. The default reflects your selection in the previous dialog.

    WARNING! Do not install under another application’s folder within the Web root.

    IMPORTANT: Ektron does not support the installation of nested sites, each having its own web.config file. Nested sites can disrupt Ektron features, such as Aliasing, Menus, and eSync.

  7. Enter the path of the Secure Asset Location. The Site Options screen appears.

    IMPORTANT: If you plan to load balance several servers, make sure this path is the same for all servers in the cluster. See also: Balancing the load on your servers.

    NOTE: Be sure the drive to which you install the asset library has sufficient storage space plus room for growth.

  8. On the Search Provider screen, choose the search provider you will use with Ektron.

    See also: Working with Microsoft FAST search; Setting Up Microsoft Search Server 2010; Using Solr search.

  9. On the Site Options screen, check each option you want to install. Unavailable options are grayed out.

    NOTE: You should generate a security certificate because it lets the Ektron Windows Service register Ektron sites with Search. Certificates also allow content scheduling and are required for eSync.

    See also:

    NOTE: eSync is only available if the eSync modifier is in your license key. SDK is only available if Visual Studio 2010 or 2012 is installed on your server.

  10. After choosing, click Install. The Moving Files dialog appears, and the following things happen.
    • files are copied to the site
    • permissions are set for the site’s directories
    • ASPNET, IIS_WPG, or Network Service user and IUSR are given permissions to the directories
    • the site is set up to use .NET 4.5
    • web.config settings are configured
    • IIS is configured

Setting up a database

Prerequisite 

If you are using a separate database server, you need the following information:

  • Database server host name or IP address.
  • If the database server is on the same domain as the application server, it supports NT or SQL authentication.
  • If the database server is on a separate domain from the Ektron server, it supports SQL authentication.
  • You have database administrator or database creator privileges .

NOTE: Continue with these steps after completing Installing a site.

Your database contains information such as users and content blocks. The database setup program:

  • checks for SQL or SQL Express server. If either is installed on your server, an appropriate database is set up.
  • loads database tables
  • updates the web.config file with information about your database connection, based on your responses
  1. You are prompted to set up a database. Click Yes.

  2. Enter a name for the database.

  3. Enter the Ektron administrator user's password. It cannot be admin. You may also change the user's username if you wish.

    After completing the installation, Ektron administrators may edit these values in the Ektron Workarea > Settings > Users screen.

    The Ektron administrator user is a member of the Administrators group. Group members have access to all Ektron Workarea screens.

  4. Enter the builtin user’s password. For information about the builtin user, see Editing the builtin username and password.

  5. Click Next. The SQL Server DB Setup screen appears and prompts for database connection information.

    • Server. List the database server on this system. To setup the database on this server, accept the default. Otherwise, enter a SQL or SQL Express server that already exists. For SQL, this would typically be (local) if it’s installed on the local server. Otherwise, enter the Server’s name. For SQL Express, enter (local)\SQLEXPRESS.
    • Username. Enter the username you will use to access the database.
    • Password. Enter the password you will use to access the database.

      NOTE: If you want to use NT authentication, leave the username and password blank. This will set up a trusted connection.

    After you complete the screen, the setup verifies the database connection information. If the database name already exists, you are asked to assign a different name. When a connection is made and the name is available, the installation program creates a database using the provided information.

  6. If you did not leave the Username and Password fields blank on the previous screen, the following screen appears.

  7. The setup verifies the database connection information. If the database name already exists, you are asked to assign a different name. If the name does not already exist and a connection is made, the installation program creates a database using the provided information.

  8. Click Install to begin the installation. The Setup Status screen appears.

  9. When the SDK install is finished, the following screen appears. Click Finish. The site and database setup portion of the install is complete.

  10. The following screen appears, providing information about setting up a search provider. The message varies according to the chosen search provider.

  11. If you checked the eSync box in Step 9 of Installing a site, the following dialog appears.

    To learn about eSync security certificates, see Part 2: Generate and copy security certificates.

Troubleshooting installation issues

Error: Failed to Create Directory

The possible cause and solutions are as follows:

  • User does not have permission to create objects. Grant user permission to create objects. For information on how to, read IIS Security help topic “Setting NTFS Permissions for a Directory or File.” http://localhost/iishelp/iis/htm/core/iidfpsc.htm
  • Host is not localhost. Install Ektron on localhost machine only.

Error: Configuration error

If Ektron requires .NET 4.0, but you server has a previous version of the Microsoft .NET framework, Install the .NET 4.0 framework.

Installing Ektron on several servers

Perform these steps on the development server.

  1. Complete all steps in Before you install.
  2. Download and run the Ektron installation file, CMS400Basevversionnumber.exe.
  3. In Windows Explorer, create a folder to be used for development (for example, c:/cmsdev).
    1. At the Setup Type page, select CMS 400 (Complete).
    2. On the Site Setup screen, at the Select Site drop-down, select the site you created in Step 3, dev.example.com. At Select Host, select the host you entered for dev.example.com.
    3. On the Site Path Directory screen, browse to the C:\cmsdev folder.
    4. On the Host screen, enter http://dev.example.com or an IP address. A window prompts you to define the Asset Storage Location. Enter C:\assetlibrary\cmsdev and C:\assetcatalog\cmsdev. The Database Setup utility begins. (See Setting up a database.)
  4. Run the Site Setup utility by choosing Start > Programs > Ektron > Utilities > CMS400 Site Setup. This installs the site on the development server. (See Installing a site.)

    If you're using Windows 8 or 2012, press the Windows key ()/Q then enter CMS400 Site Setup. Right click and choose Run as Administrator.

    1. Enter your database name, cmsdev to continue the example. (Do not leave it as localhost.)
    2. Enter your database server information, then the host, user and password. The database is created. The site is ready for use.
    3. Open Internet Explorer and go to http://your web site/login.aspx to test the site.
    4. Log in to make sure the database is working.

Using the steps, install sites to your staging and production servers.

Uninstalling Ektron

Uninstalling removes all Ektron files from your server. You might want to do this if you installed Ektron, experimented with it, and now want to remove that version and install a clean, new version.

IMPORTANT: Do not use the Windows Add/Remove programs utility to uninstall Ektron. Use the uninstall utility instead.

To uninstall Ektron:

  1. Close all programs that are using your Ektron website. Close all Ektron files.
  2. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Ektron\CMS400vxx\Utilities.
  3. Copy the CMS uninstaller folder to your desktop.
  4. From that folder, run CMSUninstaller.exe. You can uninstall specific websites, the Ektron application directory, or all Ektron files.

Effect of removing a website

When you uninstall a website, the following happens.

  1. The IIS and Indexing Service stops.
  2. The website's database is deleted.
  3. The website folder's files are deleted.
  4. The IIS and Indexing Service starts.

Effect of removing a website's database

If you check the Remove Websites Database box, the site database is removed.

Effect of removing the Ektron application directory

If you check the Remove Ektron Application directory box, the following items are removed.

  • All Ektron services
  • These Program Files (x86)\Ektron directories (if they exist)
    • CMS400v76
    • CMS400v75
    • CMS400v70
    • Dms400
    • EktronWindowsService40
    • EktronWindowsService30
    • EktronWindowsService20
    • EktronWindowsService
    • EktronCmsFileHelperService
    • EktronNotificationServices
    • Plugins
    • CMS400SDK
  • Various system directory files
  • These registry entries
    • Everything under Software\Ektron
    • All StarterSite keys
    • SDK install key
  • The base installer key

Removing search server files and services

If you check the Remove Ektron Search Server Files and Services box, the services and files that Ektron uses for Microsoft Search Server are removed. (This action does not remove Microsoft Search Server 2010).

Removing all sites and application directory

If you check the Remove All Sites and Application Directory box, all Ektron files are removed.

NOTE: After you complete the uninstall, you may need to manually remove the AssetLibrary, EktronSearchData directories.

Removing third-party programs

To remove all third-party applications required to run Ektron, go to Windows Control Panel > Uninstall a Program and remove these programs.

  • Your search provider (for example, Microsoft Search Server 2010)
  • SQL 2008 R2 Reporting Services Sharepoint 2010 Addin
  • Microsoft Sync Framework 2.1 SDK
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Redistributable
  • Microsoft Filter Pack 2.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable
  • MSXML 4.0 SP2 Parser and SDK
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable (x64)
  • Microsoft Server Speech Recognition Language = Tele (enUS)
  • Adobe PDF iFilter for 64bit platforms
  • Microsoft Chart Controls for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5
  • Microsoft Server Speech Platform Runtime (x64)
  • Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Extended
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile
  • Microsoft Sync Services for ADO.NET v2.0 (x64)
  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008 SP1
  • Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components

NOTE: Some applications may have been installed before you installed Ektron.

Installing help files on a local server

Beginning with Ektron Version 8.5, Ektron online help files reside in an Ektron-hosted Web server instead of a folder on your Web server. If you block your users' workstation access to the Internet, help files are not available, and users see an error when they click the help button. To remedy this issue, either change the firewall to allow access to the internet, or install help files locally.

Prerequisite 

Step 1: Download and install the help folder on your Web server

  1. Click the following link:
    http://documentation.ektron.com/cms400/v9.00/Reference/Zip/EktronReference.zip.http://documentation.ektron.com/cms400/v9.30/Reference/Zip/EktronReference.zip.
  2. Download the .zip file to your Ektron server.
  3. Create a folder called help in the Workarea folder, typically inetpub/wwwroot/your-website/Workarea/.
  4. Unzip the file to your Ektron help folder, typically inetpub/wwwroot/your-website/Workarea/help. (You can install help to any website folder.)

    NOTE: If you installed help to another folder, replace the web.config default value with the complete URL to that folder. For example: <add key="ek_helpDomainPrefix" value="http://www.example.com/help" />

Step 2: Change your website's web.config file

  1. Edit your siteroot/web.config file.
  2. Find ek_helpDomainPrefix.
  3. If you installed the help folder to this website's Workarea folder, remove the path value. For example:
    <add key="ek_helpDomainPrefix" value=""/>

    If you installed help to another folder, replace the default value with the complete URL to that folder.

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