NetResults Tracker
Preparation for Installing Tracker

Overview

Tracker requires that a supported web server, database drivers, and (optionally) SQL Server or Oracle software is installed prior to running the Tracker Setup (installation) program. Most or all of this software may already be installed. The sections below describe what is required, how to verify that the appropriate software is installed, and how to download and install the software, if necessary.

Web Server Software

Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) version 5.0 and 6.0 are supported for use with Tracker. Please scroll down to the appropriate section for information on how to install the IIS web server and associated software on your web server machine (or verify that it has already been installed).

IIS 6.0 (Windows Server 2003)
Microsoft Internet Information Server 6.0 is not installed by default. If it has been installed, the following item should be in your Start menu.
Start->Administrative Tools->Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
 
If IIS 6.0 has not been installed, you can install it by running Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel. After starting Add/Remove programs, click on the Add/Remove Windows Components box, click on the box for "Application Server" and click Details. Check the box for Internet Information Services (IIS), then click Details. If you would like to install the minimum necessary components, select Common Files, Internet Information Services Manager, and World Wide Web Service. Click OK twice, click Next to install the selected components, then click Finish to complete the operation.

Tracker uses Java to send and receive email messages (from the web server machine on which Tracker is installed). As such, it is required that either the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.3.1 (or greater) or Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is installed on the Tracker server. As Microsoft plans to discontinue support of its version of Java, Sun Java is recommended and can be downloaded from the Sun Java web site (click the Get It Now button on the site).

IIS 5.0 (Windows 2000 Server)
Microsoft Internet Information Server 5.0 is probably already installed on your Windows 2000 Server machine. If installed, the following item should be in your start menu.
Start->Programs->Administrative Tools->Internet Services Manager
 
If IIS 5.0 is not installed, you can add it by running Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. After starting Add/Remove programs, click on the Add/Remove Windows Components box, then check Internet Information Services (IIS) in the wizard display that appears. If you would like to install the minimum necessary components, select Internet Information Services and click Details. Then select Common, Internet Information Services Snap-In (a tool used to configure your web server) and World Wide Web Server (the web server) and click OK (you do not need "Internet Services Manager (HTML)"). Then click Next to install IIS 5.0.

If you are using Windows 2000 Server, you must be using Service Pack 4 or later. Use of an earlier version of Windows 2000 Server can lead to data corruption.

As Tracker requires JScript 5.5 or greater, you may also need to install the Windows Script 5.5 (or greater) engine. If you have already installed Internet Explorer 5.5 (or greater) on your web server machine, you already have Windows Script 5.5 (or greater) installed. Otherwise, please install/upgrade to Internet Explorer 5.5 (or greater) or browse to the Windows Script Download page, download and install the Microsoft Windows Script Engine (version 5.5 or greater).

Tracker uses Java to send and receive email messages (from the web server machine on which Tracker is installed). As such, it is required that either the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.3.1 (or greater) or Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is installed on the Tracker server. If you are either currently using or have upgraded from Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3 or earlier (and Internet Explorer is installed on the machine), then the Microsoft JVM is already installed. If your first installation of Windows 2000 Server included Service Pack 4 or if you've never installed Internet Explorer, you may not have the Microsoft JVM installed. On Windows 2000 you can either use the Microsoft JVM or Sun Java (JRE). The Tracker installation program will determine which version is installed and use it (or if both are installed, it will allow you to select which one Tracker should use). If you don't have Java installed, you can download Sun Java from the Sun Java web site (click the Get It Now button on the site). As Microsoft plans to discontinue support of its version of Java, you can no longer download the Microsoft JVM from Microsoft.

Database Driver Software on Web Server Machine

Tracker requires Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.5 or greater and JET 4.0 Service Pack 5 (JET 4.0 SP5) or greater on the web server machine on which you are going to install Tracker (this is true even if you are going to use SQL Server or Oracle for your workgroup database(s)). If you are using SQL Server (2000 or 2005) or Oracle (9i or 10g), you will also need to install additional (client) software described in detail below on the web server machine.

MDAC 2.5
If you are using Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4, then MDAC 2.5 or greater is already installed. You can verify the MDAC version on your machine by running regedit (Start > Run..., enter regedit.exe) and check the "FullInstallVer" value under the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\DataAccess. It should be 2.50.x or greater. If it is not, then you should download and install MDAC 2.5 or greater (we recommend MDAC 2.5 Service Pack 2) from the Microsoft MDAC Downloads page.

JET 4.0 Service Pack 5 or Greater
If you are using Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 4, then you already have JET 4.0 Service Pack 5 installed. You can verify whether you have JET 4.0 SP5, by finding the file msjetoledb40.dll (typically in C:\Windows\System32) in Windows Explorer, right-clicking on the file, selecting Properties, clicking on the Version tab and verifying that the File Version is 4.00.4331.4 or greater. If you do not have JET 4.0 SP5 (or greater) or are not sure you have it, you should download and install JET SP5 from the JET 4.0 Service Pack Download page. After installing the JET service pack, please be sure to reboot your machine before attempting to install Tracker.

SQL Server (2000 and 2005)
If you are using SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 as your database server for one or more Tracker workgroups and SQL Server is not already installed on the web server (Tracker will be connecting to a remote SQL Server system), you must have the SQL Server client connectivity software (e.g. SQL Server client drivers, SQL Server Client Network Utility, etc.) installed on the web server machine. Some information on installing this software is included in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q303747. Please consult the SQL Server documentation or contact Microsoft Technical Support for further information on installing the SQL Server client software. Note: If SQL Server is installed on a different machine than Tracker (it is not installed on the web server machine), you must ensure that (a) there is no firewall software or hardware that prohibits a TCP/IP connection from the web server to the database server and (b) the client software configuration (in the SQL Server Client Network Utility) for the TCP port matches that of the server (by default port 1433 is used; however, unless you have just installed the software, someone may have changed the default configuration at the server and/or the client).

Oracle Database 9i
If you are using Oracle 9i as your database server for Tracker, you must have the Oracle Client software installed on the web server machine. The Oracle Client software must be version 9.2.0.4.0 (9i Release 2 plus patch set 3095277) or greater. Additionally, you must update the Oracle Provider for OLE DB (installed with the Oracle Client) to version 9.2.0.4.0 by applying patch set 3262468 (9.2.0.4.0). Simply updating the Oracle Client software using the 9.2.0.4.x patch set will not update the Oracle Provider for OLE DB which is used by Tracker. The bug fixes to the Oracle Provider for OLE DB included in patch set 3262468 are required for Tracker to function properly. Browse to Oracle Metalink or contact Oracle Technical Support for further details on how to download and install patch sets 3095277 and 3262468 (or to check for newer/updated patch sets). Oracle 9i Release 1 is not supported for use with Tracker (see the desupport notice on Oracle Metalink for Oracle desupport dates for 9i Release 1).

Oracle Database 10g
If you are using Oracle 10g as your database server for Tracker, you must have the Oracle Database 10g Client software installed on the web server machine. The Oracle Client software must be version 10.1.0.2 or greater. It is required that you install the full Oracle client. The Instant Client that is available for Oracle 10g is not sufficient for use with Tracker. Browse to Oracle Metalink or contact Oracle Technical Support for further details on how to install Oracle Database 10g software.

Database Server Software

If you plan to use Microsoft Access as your database, you don't need to install any software. The Access drivers that Tracker uses are included with MDAC, so you have completed preparation for installing Tracker. For information on maintenance of your Access database(s), please review the Database Administration section of the Workgroup Management Guide.

SQL Server 2000 and 2005
If you plan to use Microsoft SQL Server as your database, you need to install this prior to installing Tracker. It should either be installed on the web server machine which you plan to use for Tracker or on a machine that can be accessed over the network from the web server machine (via TCP/IP). It is generally easier to configure if it is installed on the web server machine (no possible firewall or network issues); however, a remote database may have better performance (because it won't use resources on your web server machine, although, that must be weighed against network delays in communicating with the database server machine). If you are using SQL Server 2005, you must apply Service Pack 1 (or greater) prior to installation of Tracker. SQL Server 2005 is not supported unless Service Pack 1 (or greater) has been applied. After you install SQL Server and prior to installing Tracker, you must configure it to use SQL Server Authentication. This type of authentication is used by Tracker when communicating with SQL Server. Instructions on how to do this are below.

For SQL Server 2000:

  1. Start the Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Manager.
  2. Expand the tree in the left pane until you find the database server you wish to use (its name is usually the name of the machine on which it is running).
  3. Right click on the server entry in the left pane and select "Properties...".
  4. Click on the "Security" tab.
  5. Select "SQL Server And Windows NT".
  6. Click on OK.
For SQL Server 2005:
  1. Start the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (2005).
  2. Right click on the server entry in the left pane and select "Properties...".
  3. Click on the "Security" entry in the top left pane ("Select a page" section).
  4. Select "SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode".
  5. Click on OK.

Oracle Database 9i or 10g
If you plan to use Oracle as your database, you need to install this prior to installing Tracker. It should either be installed on the web server machine which you plan to use for Tracker or on a machine that can be accessed over the network from the web server machine (via TCP/IP). It is generally easier to configure if it is installed on the web server machine (no possible firewall or network issues, no need to update the client configuration with each new database name); however, a remote database may have better performance (because it won't use resources on your web server machine, although, that must be weighed against network delays in communicating with the database server machine). If you are using Oracle Database 9i, you must be using version 9.2.0.4 (9i Release 2 plus patch set 3095277) or greater. Oracle 9i Release 1 is not supported. If you are using Oracle Database 10g, you must be using version 10.1.0.2 or greater. Please browse to Oracle Metalink or contact Oracle Technical Support for further details on how to download and install patch set 3095277 (or to check for newer/updated patch sets).

SQL Server and Oracle
After you have installed Tracker, please schedule regular SQL Server or Oracle backups of your Tracker database(s). Unlike a standard windows application (or Microsoft Access database file), SQL Server and Oracle database files are not standard files and can not be backed up by a simple file copy or simple file backup to tape. If you do not schedule backups via SQL Server, Oracle or via backup software that connects with SQL Server / Oracle to perform a backup, you will not be able to restore your data in the event of a hard disk failure or other hardware/software failure. Please consult your SQL Server / Oracle manuals for directions on how to backup your database. Please review the Database Administration section of this Help document for details on the name(s) of the Tracker database(s). If you are uncomfortable with these procedures we would strongly recommend that you use Microsoft Access as your database. A simple file backup will work and, while a lot of factors can affect performance, if you are using a server with our recommended hardware configuration, an Access database should be able to handle five thousand problem records per Tracker workgroup (perhaps more if you have a newer server).

Anti-Virus Software

Temporarily disable any anti-virus software while you run the installation program and perform configuration steps in the Workgroup Management System (WMS). This is recommended so that your anti-virus software will not prevent the installation program or WMS from performing operations such as copying files, running scripts, configuring your web server, setting file permissions and registry entries. Your anti-virus software can be reactivated safely after you have completed the installation steps and any necessary WMS configuration.