Installing AssetNow NX 5

System requirements and instructions for installing AssetNow NX 5

Server Requirements

AssetNow NX can be deployed on dedicated or shared host servers with multiple independent installations on a single server.

The most common deployment platforms are:

Microsoft Windows
Application Server	Adobe ColdFusion MX 7+, MX 8+, Developer, Standard, or Enterprise editions for Microsoft Windows
Database	Microsoft Access, SQL Server 7+, SQL Express, MySQL 4.1+, MySQL 5+. Database connectivity via ColdFusion MX drivers or JDBC drivers as appropriate.
Web server	Microsoft IIS 4,5. Apache 1.3.23(Win32), Apache 2.x
Operating systems	Microsoft Windows 2003 Web Edition, Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Datacenter Server, Server (SP3 or higher), Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional (SP3 or higher) , Microsoft Windows XP Professional

RedHat Linux
Application Server	Adobe ColdFusion MX 7+, MX8+, Developer, Standard, or Enterprise editions for Linux
Database	MySQL 4.1+, MySQL 5+. Database connectivity via ColdFusion MX drivers or JDBC drivers as appropriate.
Web server	Apache 1.3.23, Apache 2.x
Operating systems	Linux RedHat 7+, Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS & ES 2.1 or 3.0

You should be able to deploy AssetNow NX on all platforms supported by Adobe ColdFusion MX however we do not test on all possible combinations of operating systems, web servers, and databases.

AssetNow is installed within the web server document root or a subdirectory of the document root. Multiple independent installations are supported on the same server and within subdirectories of the web server document directory. Each installation of AssetNow NX requires a license.

AssetNow NX 5 is not compatible with ColdFusion MX 6+ which does not support the Application.cfc framework component. If you require AssetNow for ColdFusion MX 6+ contact us for version 4.5 which uses the Application.cfm framework template.

ColdFusion Tags

AssetNow is designed to run on dedicated or shared ColdFusion servers. The following ColdFusion tags must be enabled to use AssetNow NX.

Required ColdFusion Tags
CFCONTENT, CFDIRECTORY, CFFILE

Optional ColdFusion Tags
CFCOLLECTION, CFINDEX, CFSEARCH, CFSCHEDULE

CFCOLLECTION, CFINDEX, and CFSEARCH are required if you wish to use the integrated AssetNow NX search.

CFSCHEDULE is used for automated scheduled indexing of the Verity search collections used by the AssetNow NX site search. If you do not have access to CFSCHEDULE you can manually index the search collections.

AssetNow NX 5 does not use any new ColdFusion MX 8 specific tags or functions.

Mail Server

The ColdFusion server must have access to a mail server. AssetNow NX sends automated e-mail notifications. For development servers the mail server can be set to http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1 and mail messages can be recovered from the ColdFusion server mail spool folders. The mail server name/address and optional username and password can be added in the AssetNow NX xml configuration file.

Hosting

AssetNow NX can be deployed on shared hosts that meet the above requirements. Most shared hosting providers offer accounts that meet these requirements with the exception of scheduling. Scheduling is not essential and some host providers offer alternative schedulers.

Many providers offer both ColdFusion MX Enterprise edition and ColdFusion MX Standard edition. ColdFusion MX Standard is commonly offered on lower cost accounts and typically without support for the required tags listed above due to security considerations.

To ensure the security of your AssetNow NX installation, content, and files we recommend that you insist on a hosting provider who deploys ColdFusion MX Enterprise edition on their shared servers and not ColdFusion MX Standard edition.

Client Requirements

Client requirements are for users of the AssetNow NX tools only. AssetNow NX websites and content do impose any specific client requirements unless you have used browser specific features in your site template and widget designs. The default templates and widgets supplied with AssetNow NX are cross-browser compatible.

AssetNow NX tools work with most popular browsers and desktop operating systems. However to use the integrated XStandard XHTML Editor the following requirements apply:

• Web browser – Microsoft Internet Explorer 5+, Firefox 1.0+, Opera 9.0+, Safari 1.3+.
• Operating system - Windows 2000, XP or Vista, OS X 10.3.9+.
• Minimum display resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels (XGA) is recommended.
• Sun Java Virtual Machine (JRE 1.4.x) for integrated java upload applet.

Installing AssetNow NX

Install Location

AssetNow NX is provided as a complete working web site and provided in a ZIP archive file. The ZIP file contains the AssetNow NX application and Microsoft Access database.

Unzip the archive file and copy the contents to your web server. Place AssetNow in the web server document root or a subdirectory of the web server document root.

Database

AssetNow NX is supplied with a Microsoft Access located in the /database directory.

• Microsoft Access - Copy the Microsoft Access database to a secure directory. Ideally the database should not be placed within your web server document directory. If you do place the database in the web server document directory, as is common with shared hosts, ensure that the directory containing the database does not have general web access permissions. Most host providers provide a private directory for this purpose. This will prevent unauthorized downloading of your database.
• MySQL - Use the MySQL Migration ToolKit to convert the supplied Microsoft Access database to MySQL.
• Microsoft SQL Server / SQL Express - To use Microsoft SQL Server or SQL Express you must upsize the supplied Microsoft Access database to your SQL server using the Microsoft Access upsizing wizard.

After copying/upsizing the database to the required location, delete the /database directory.

Data Source Configuration

Setup a data source name (DSN) via the ColdFusion MX Administrator to point to the AssetNow NX database.

The default DSN set in the AssetNow NX configuration file is assetnow_nx_5_0_0. You can use this as your DSN however it is better to use a DSN related to the website domain name.

Setup the DSN and note the data source name you use. If you do not use the default AssetNow NX DSN you will have to change the DSN specified in the AssetNow NX configuration file to match the DSN you have used, this is described later.

Verify the DSN using the ColdFusion MX Administrator verify option. If the DSN does not verify you must resolve this problem before continuing with the AssetNow NX installation.

If you are using Unicode ensure that your database and the driver you select from the ColdFusion MX Administrator supports Unicode.

• Microsoft Access - Select the Access with Unicode driver option.
• MySQL - If you are using MySQL are not able to configure the AssetNow database and tables for Unicode you can use the following connection string, added via the advanced settings option for the data source: useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8

We recommend Unicode for all installations to ensure forward-compatibility of your content with new technologies and devices. If you intend to serve XML/XHTML documents utf-8 is required to comply with the W3C XML/XHTML standards.

License Files

AssetNow NX requires two license files:

1. license-txt.cfm is the AssetNow NX license
2. license.txt is the XStandard XHTML editor license

The license files authorize AssetNow NX and XStandard for use with specific urls (domain names, IP addresses) and the number of named users with access to the XStandard XHTML editor for publishing.

The default licenses provided with AssetNow NX are developer licenses and limited to use on http://127.0.0.1 and http://localhost. The default license can only be used when installing on a development server using these addresses.

The default licenses provided with AssetNow NX may only be used for development purposes and are not valid for any commercial or live site deployments.

When you purchase AssetNow NX you will also receive a license ZIP archive file containing the license files for your domain name/s and IP address/es. Typically we issue temporary license files so you can commence development immediately. Once you confirm the final domain names we issue the final license files. Final license files cannot be changed or re-issued.

Unzip the license ZIP archive and copy the license files as follows:

1. Copy the AssetNow NX license-txt.cfm file over the file of the same name located in the /sys/config/ directory.
2. Copy the XStandard XHTML editor license.txt file over the file of the same name located in the /sys/config/xs/ directory.

All license files will enable use of AssetNow NX on http://127.0.0.1 and http://localhost, in addition to the licensed domains you have specified. The license files can be used with http or https protocols.

We can supply temporary licenses for development and staging, just contact us and specify the domain name required. Temporary licenses are valid for 30 days and can be renewed.

Invalid Licenses

If you attempt to access the AssetNow NX site using a url that is not licensed an error message will be displayed stating that the domain name/IP address used in not licensed. You need to confirm the license is correct and reset the site as described below.

If the editor license is invalid, the WEB_SERVICES_URL configuration parameter is incorrect, or the web service is unavailable the XStandard XHTML editor will revert to a basic version that does not support advanced editor features including image and file uploading, and directory related features.

AssetNow NX Configuration File

AssetNow NX configuration parameters are stored in the assetnow-xml.cfm configuration file located in the /sys/config/ directory.

If you have used a DSN other than the default DSN you must edit the configuration file and change the DSN parameter to match the DSN you specified.

1. Open the assetnow-xml.cfm file using a xml/text editor such as Windows Notepad.
2. Use the editor find option or scroll down until you locate the DSN parameter.
3. Change the default parameter value from assetnow_nx_5_0_0 to the DSN you specified when configuring the ColdFusion MX data source.
4. Change the SUPPORTED_LOCALES and SUPPORTED_VERITY_LANGUAGES to include the required locales (see below). Each locale in the comma delimited list of SUPPORTED_LOCALES must have a corresponding entry, or empty entry, in the SUPPORTED_VERITY_LANGUAGES list.

Below are partial lists of supported ColdFusion MX locales and Verity search languages, consult your ColdFusion documentation for complete lists.

ColdFusion MX Locales (SUPPORTED_LOCALES)

• Chinese (China)
• Chinese (Hong Kong)
• Chinese (Taiwan)
• Dutch (Belgian)
• Dutch (Standard)
• English (Australian)
• English (Canadian)
• English (New Zealand)
• English (UK)
• English (US)
• French (Canadian)
• French (Standard)
• French (Swiss)
• French (Belgian)
• German (Austrian)
• German (Standard)
• German (Swiss)
• Italian (Swiss)
• Italian (Standard)
• Japanese
• Korean
• Norwegian (Bokmal)
• Norwegian (Nynorsk)
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Portuguese (Standard)
• Spanish (Standard)
• Spanish (Mexican)
• Spanish (Modern)
• Swedish

Verity Locales (SUPPORTED_VERITY_LANGUAGES)

Available Verity search languages depend on the language packs installed on your ColdFusion server.

European Verity Locales language pack:

• bokmal
• danish
• dutch
• english
• finnish
• french
• german
• italian
• nyorsk
• norwegian
• norweg
• portug
• portugese
• spanish
• swedish

Asian Verity Locales language pack:

• arabic
• czech
• greek
• hebrew
• hungarian
• japanese
• korean
• polish
• russian
• simplified_chinese
• traditional_chinese
• turkish

You can edit other configuration parameters, however most parameter values can be changed easily using the AssetNow NX System > Setup tool after you have started AssetNow NX and signed in as the site administrator.

Renaming the AssetNow System Directory

Optionally rename the AssetNow NX system directory from the default sys to a custom name. Renaming the AssetNow NX system directory may be required in cases where a ColdFusion mapping is required.

The name you use must include an underscore character and be of the format sys_xxx where you replace xxx with a valid operating system directory name. We recommend using a lowercase name related to the site install directory or domain name.

For example if the site domain name is "mysite.com" then rename the sys directory to sys_mysite.

ColdFusion Mappings

Typically AssetNow NX does not require any specific ColdFusion MX mappings to be added via the ColdFusion MX Administrator. ColdFusion mappings apply to pages processed by the ColdFusion Server with the cfinclude and cfmodule tags.

AssetNow NX only uses these tags with respect to the AssetNow NX system directory. If you encounter errors due to these tags not being able to locate a ColdFusion template, add a ColdFusion mapping to point to the AssetNow NX system directory.

1. If you have more than one installation of AssetNow NX on your server, or if you are deploying on a shared host, rename the AssetNow NX system directory as described above.
2. Via the ColdFusion MX Administrator add a mapping for the AssetNow NX system directory. For example you could rename the sys directory to sys_assetnow. The physical path to this directory is of the form C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\assetnow\assetnow_nx.

Starting AssetNow NX

With your web browser navigate to the url where you have installed AssetNow NX. The first time you access the site the End User License Agreement is displayed.

The terms and conditions of the license agreement must be accepted to complete installation.

To accept the license agreement check the AUTHORIZED and ACCEPT checkbox options and then click the CONTINUE button. After a short delay whilst AssetNow NX is initialized the default AssetNow site will be displayed.

If you wish to force acceptance of the license agreement manually delete the acceptance file located in the /sla/ directory and then reset the site. The acceptance file is a .txt file and can be identified by a 32 character name. There may be more than one acceptance file in the directory, you can delete all of them.

Site Administrator Sign In

With your web browser navigate to the url where you have installed AssetNow NX. The default AssetNow site will be displayed.

If the default site is not displayed consult the problem solving section below.

Login as the Site Administrator. Click the Sign In link located at the top right of the home page and sign-in using the default Site Administrator login:

• Username = siteadmin
• Password = assetnow

After signing in the tools link and a sign out link will replace the sign-in link at the top of the page.

If the tools link is not available and "Site Administrator" is displayed next to the sign out link you have an invalid license.

Click the Tools link to access the AssetNow NX tools.

You should perform the following tasks:

1. Always change the default Site Administrator and other user account passwords using the Permissions > Users tool.
2. Change the site e-mail addresses and other AssetNow NX setup parameters using the System > Setup tool.
3. If you will be using the AssetNow integrated Verity search initialize the site search using the System > Search tool. You may prefer to do this after you have added your own content, doing it now allows you to test the search functionality before customizing the site templates/widgets.

Resetting AssetNow NX

Resetting clears all AssetNow NX settings stored in the ColdFusion server memory and reinitializes AssetNow NX. Normally you reset AssetNow NX from the Tools > System > Reset option.

If you are unable to sign-in and access the tools you can reset AssetNow NX by adding the reset url parameter to the site url.  

For example if the site url is http://127.0.0.1/assetnow/assetnow_nx/ then add the default template and reset parameter the the url as follows http://127.0.0.1/assetnow/assetnow_nx/index.cfm?reset=XXX where XXX is the site reset code which is unique to each site installation.

For initialization errors the reset code is displayed in the error message as shown in the simulated error message opposite. Copy and paste the code into your browser address bar replacing the XXX in the url as shown above, then reload the url in your browser to reset the site.

For any other errors AssetNow NX displays a customizable error message. The reset parameter is available in the page source using your web browser "view source" option.

The reset code is available in an XHTML comment located just after the <body> tag in the page source and looks similar to this:

<!-- B0ADF64CFC794323B0B42AE73075B373 -->

Highlight and copy and paste the code, excluding the comment tags and spaces, into your browser address bar replacing XXX in the url as described above, reload the url in your browser to reset the site.