Overview

ProblemTracker requires that a supported web server, ODBC drivers and related software, and (optionally) SQL Server software is installed prior to running the ProblemTracker Setup (installation) program. Most or all of this software may already be installed on your web server machine.

Web Server Software

Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) version 4.0 or 5.0, Microsoft NT 4.0 Personal Web Server (also known as IIS 4.0 when installed on NT 4.0 Workstation), as well as Netscape FastTrack and Enterprise servers (2.0 & 3.6) are supported for use with ProblemTracker. However, automatic web server configuration by the ProblemTracker Setup program is only provided for Microsoft web servers at this time.

For IIS 5.0 on 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 the web server is not installed, you can add it using 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.

For IIS 4.0 on Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 (NT 4.0 Server) or the NT 4.0 Personal Web Server (NT 4.0 Workstation) may already be installed on your machine. If installed, the following item should be in your start menu.
Start->Programs->Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack->Internet Information Server
(if using NT 4.0 Server) or
Start->Programs->Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack->Personal Web Server
(if using NT 4.0 Workstation).
 
If the web server is not installed, it is included in the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack available directly from Microsoft. Please follow the instructions provided with the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack to install the web server. When installing the Option Pack, please make sure the "Internet Service Manager" and "World Wide Web Server" components are installed. These components are set to install if the default installation parameters are accepted.

For Netscape FastTrack or Enterprise
Netscape web servers are sold separately. Please follow the manufacturer's instructions included with the software to install. Also, since this web server is not automatically configured by the ProblemTracker Setup (installation) program, please remember to follow the instructions in the Web Server Setup section of Appendix A after you have run the ProblemTracker Setup program.

ODBC Software

ProblemTracker requires installation of the Microsoft ODBC Administrator and Microsoft Access and/or SQL Server drivers on the web server machine. As many newer Microsoft operating systems as well as other Microsoft and third party software (Windows 2000 Server, IE 5, SQL Server, Access, Office, etc.) install ODBC as a part of their installation, it is very likely that your system already has these components installed. You may verify this by doing the following.

For Windows 2000 Server
The following item should be in your start menu.
Start->Programs->Administration Tools->DataSource (ODBC)
If you can locate this start menu item, the components are installed on your system.

For Windows NT 4.0 Server or Workstation
Open the Control Panel and looking for an icon labeled either "ODBC" or "32bit ODBC". If you can locate this icon, then these components are installed on your system.

If you need to install ODBC on your Windows NT 4.0 system, use the URL below to download the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Version 2.1 directly from Microsoft Corporation. MDAC includes ODBC drivers and related software.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/dasdk/mdac/2.1.2.4202.3/W9XNT4/EN-US/mdac_typ.exe

After downloading, run the MDAC Setup program and perform a complete installation.

For a full list of MDAC downloads (and the latest information from Microsoft about ODBC), please browse to the Microsoft Universal Data Access site. Then, click on the Downloads link on the left to go to the Free Downloads section.

Database Software

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

If you plan to use Microsoft SQL Server as your database, you need to install this prior to installing ProblemTracker. It should either be installed on the web server machine which you plan to use for ProblemTracker or on a machine that can be accessed over the network from the web server machine (via TCP/IP). For ease of configuration and best performance, we recommend that you install SQL Server on the web server machine. After you install SQL Server and prior to installing ProblemTracker, you must configure it to use SQL Server Authentication. This type of authentication is used by ProblemTracker when communicating with SQL Server. Instructions on how to do this are below.

For SQL Server 7.0 and 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".
6. Click on OK.

After you have installed ProblemTracker, please schedule regular SQL Server backups of your ProblemTracker database(s). Unlike a standard windows application (or Microsoft Access database file), SQL Server 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 or via backup software that connects with SQL Server 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 manuals for directions on how to backup a SQL Server database. And, please review the Database Administration section of this Help document for details on the name(s) of the ProblemTracker 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 (a Pentium III CPU with at least 128 MB of memory), an Access database should be able to handle five thousand problem records per ProblemTracker workgroup (perhaps more if you have a newer server).