System requirements for STEP FORWARD Server

Supported OS: Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP, Red Hat Linux v9.

Supported databases: SQL Server 2000, Sybase, Mimer, McKoi

Hardware: minimum of 256 Mb RAM. Processor speed: the more, the merrier.

Getting going with the new installation of STEP FORWARD Server

1. Run install.exe program (Windows) or install.bin script (Linux). This will install STEP FORWARD Server into the designated directory. The installer can also install the Java Virtual Machine (VM) libraries, if your environment does not have Java. If your computer already has Java 1.4.1 from Sun Microsystems installed, you can use it instead of loading one through the installer. Otherwise (if you do not have Java, or your version of Java is other than 1.4.1, or if you do not know what Java is and whether or not it is installed on your computer) you should let the installer install Java for STEP FORWARD Server:

2. Create STEP FORWARD Server icon on the desktop (Windows only):

3. If you intend to use Sybase or MS SQL Server 2000 database with STEP FORWARD, download and install JDBC driver that provides connectivity to the database engine. Here is how you can do it. Once the driver files are downloaded and installed, copy them into the STEP FORWARD Server's installation directory. If you are going to use McKoi SQL database, read this.

4. Start STEP FORWARD Administrator. This is a graphical front-end that manages STEP FORWARD Server. The License Request panel will appear:

Enter the required info and submit the request. The demo license key will be generated automatically and e-mailed to you; this license is restricted by the number of database tables, reports etc. that can be configured. However, the Demo license allows for up to 3 concurrent clients (users) to be connected to the server so that you can test STEP FORWARD's capabilities such as running reports/processes in the background, automatically resolving database concurrency issues etc.

Once you receive the key, proceed with step 5.

5. Start STEP FORWARD Administrator again. The following login panel will appear:

Initially, there is no Administrator password protecting access to the Server; this will be created later in the process of setting up the Server. Leave the field empty, and press "Enter" button.

6. STEP FORWARD Administrator window is displayed:

Bring up the License panel (Server > License menu option), copy and paste the license key into the Site License window as in the figure below:

DO NOT attempt to start the server at this point; it cannot yet connect to the database. Click on Setup tab to configure the database connection.

7. In General tab of Setup view, from the pop-up list entitled "DB adaptor", select the database STEP FORWARD will have to use. This will in turn set the default values for database connection and operation of STEP FORWARD Server. The figure below shows the default setup for MS SQL Server; other databases have similar settings:

The default settings are usually sufficient; the only parameter that MUST be set is likely to be the database server host name.

8. In Login tab of Setup view, you will have to provide the login accounts and passwords for accessing database and STEP FORWARD.

DB Login Authentication

STEP FORWARD server must connect to the database on behalf of its clients. Login and password entered in this box will become the database login account and password that STEP FORWARD will use in order to "get in". The login account does not need to exist: the Administrator front-end will create it if necessary. (This is a privileged function, only the database administrator can do it, so you will be asked to enter the DBA password before the setup is complete.)

STEP FORWARD will use the database login account and password silently, without notifying the users about the details of the process. This account should be kept private; accessing database from this account may compromise STEP FORWARD security.

StepForward Administrator

Users connect to STEP FORWARD server using their own IDs and passwords. These IDs and passwords are known only to STEP FORWARD server, and are used for client authentication purposes. They are related neither to the database login, nor to the login into the computer workstation where STEP FORWARD Client runs. User accounts are created from a privileged account that is set during the Server setup; this privileged account is preset to "Administrator" by default. You can change it, however, we recommend that you leave it as is, and only enter the password. This is the password that you will have to enter from this point on every time you start STEP FORWARD Server (see section 4 - the Login window).

After setting the database and administrator login accounts and passwords, press "Set" button. At this point, you will be prompted to enter the DBA password. (The exact wording of the prompt depends on the selected database and follows its terminology. Thus, for example, MS SQL Server's database administrator is called "System Administartor", and consequently is shown in the prompt as "sa".)

Once the password is validated, STEP FORWARD will create a new schema (or "database" in Sybase and SQL Server's terminology) called SF_Master. It will also create the database login account according to the settings of DB Login Authentication box.

At this point, the Server is ready to run. Return to the Server tab and press "Start" button. After a few seconds, the status line in the Administrator window should change to "Server running", and STEP FORWARD Server is ready to accept client connections.

Fine tuning

STEP FORWARD Server uses ports to communicate with the clients. These ports are set in SF_Defaults file located in the install folder:

BOOTSTRAPPORT = 6541

This is the port Clients use to connect to the Server. If this port changes, similar changes must be made in the clients' StepForwardClient.lax file.

ONLINEHELPPORT = 8080

This port is used to serve .html OnLine Help files to the Clients. Also, if the server's version of client executable file is more recent than the client's own copy, the file is automatically updated through this port. If this port changes, similar changes must be made in the clients' StepForwardClient.lax file.

Troubleshooting

STEP FORWARD Server creates an error log where the program activity and errors are logged. The log is saved in error.log file in the installation directory, or in the logs/<user login account> directory, depending on the Server settings. When problems occur, this file should be mailed to us. Note that, depending on the settings, the error log may be cleared when the STEP FORWARD Server is restarted. So, if a problem occurs and you decide to send us the error log file, do so before starting STEP FORWARD Server again.

Needless to say, a clear and detailed description of the problem (along with the error log) will go a long way towards the resolution of the problem. We always fix bugs. If the problem is reproducible (step-by-step description always helps), we fix it quickly.

Usual niceties

Thank you for giving STEP FORWARD a try. We are always eager to hear your feedback. Patting us on the back is welcome (we love it), but pointing out our failures is a lot more important - so please, do not hesitate.

STEP FORWARD Development Team.