System requirements for Scribe Enterprise Edition - Server
Supported OS: Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP, Red Hat Linux v9.
Supported databases: SQL Server 2000, Sybase, Oracle, Mimer, McKoi, Daffodil, MySQL
Hardware: minimum of 256 Mb RAM. Processor speed: the more, the merrier.
Getting going with the new installation of SCRIBE Server
1. Run install.exe program (Windows) or install.bin script (Linux). This will install SCRIBE 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 SCRIBE Server:
2. Create SCRIBE Server icon on the desktop (Windows only):
3. If you intend to use Sybase or MS SQL Server 2000 database with SCRIBE, 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 SCRIBE Server's installation directory. JDBC drivers for other supported databases are included in the distribution.
4. Start SCRIBE Administrator. This is a graphical front-end that manages SCRIBE Server. The Demo Mode Request panel will appear:
If you choose running Scribe in Demo mode, the following limitations will apply:
You can request a fully-enabled 30-day license. In this case the following window will apper:
Please note that the only required item is your e-mail address. The rest of the information is optional, but we do appreciate your telling us who you are, and how you discovered Scribe.
Enter the info and submit the request. The demo license key will be generated automatically and e-mailed to you; this license is valid for 30 days. The Demo license allows for up to 3 concurrent clients (users) to be connected to the server so that you can test SCRIBE's capabilities such as running reports/processes in the background, publishing reports over the Web, scheduling reports for automatic execution etc.
Once you receive the key, proceed with step 5.
5. Start SCRIBE Administrator again. The following login panel will appear:
Initially, there is no Administrator password protecting access to the Server; this can be created later in the process of setting up the Server. Leave the field empty, and press "Enter" button.
6. SCRIBE 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:
7. Reports, Print Templates and other components created by users are stored in a relational database in a schema created by SCRIBE for this purpose. You can choose one of your external databases (such as MS SQL Server, Sybase etc.), or you can store the SCRIBE components in McKoi database distributed with SCRIBE. The newly installed SCRIBE is set to run with this database that is started automatically by SCRIBE Administrator, and by default listens on port 9158. The database login account and password as "SYSADM" and "hello" respectively. Detailed on-line help is avalalble from Help > On-line manual menu item.
The default settings should be sufficient for a demo.
8. Connections to the databases (server location, login account and password etc.) are set up in the Data Source tab; one data source (McKoi database) is set in the Administrator by default. This data source specifies McKoi database running on the same host as SCRIBE server ("localhost"), listening for connections on port 9157, with the login account "SYSADM" and password "hello". This is done so that SCRIBE can connect to the demo Northwind database (downloadable from this page) without any additional setup. If you need to connect to other databases, or if Northwind database is located elsewhere, you will have to edit the McKoi connection, or create a new one.
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 SCRIBE Server is ready to accept client connections.
Fine tuning
SCRIBE 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' ScribeClient.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' ScribeClient.lax file.
Troubleshooting
SCRIBE 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 SCRIBE Server is restarted. So, if a problem occurs and you decide to send us the error log file, do so before starting SCRIBE 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 SCRIBE 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.