What does an Avacaster server installation consist of?

From Avacast Support

What does an Avacaster server installation consist of?

An Avacaster server requires a web server, along with various custom and third-party web technologies and applications in order to function. The core of the messaging component utilizes Macromedia's Shockwave Mulituser Server, which has been heavily customized by Avacast to expand its capabilities. Other components include Flash, PHP, Perl, Java applets, JavaScript and VBScript, and VNC. Various media technologies can of course be integrated with Avacaster, but are not necessarily part of the Avacaster server (and for optimal performance, we strongly recommend that they not be installed on the same machine).

The Avacaster Installer application greatly simplifies the process of installing or updating an Avacaster server. Depending on which options you select, it will do the tasks listed below. If an Avacaster server is not working correctly for some reason, trying checking these items. Note that this article often assumes that the server has Windows 2000 Server and that the C drive is used; however, Avacaster components can be installed on another drive, so adjust paths as needed.

NOTE: As of this writing, an Avacaster Installer has not been created for 5.0; if this is still the case, you can do the install manually as outlined in article #87, How do I install Avacaster on a server? (link at the end of this article).

1. Creates Avacaster license file. Use this installer option only if this is a new Avacaster installation, and you know what you are doing. You must have the Avacater License Maker running and have all the necessary information to generate the license code, which you must paste into the Installer when prompted. You can find more information in this article:

How does Avacaster licensing and verification work?

You can also enter a Helpdesk ticket to request a license file. You must then manually transfer the AvaLicense.cfg file into wwwroot\SMUS immediately after running the Installer. In this case, you should *not* check the Installer option to automatically start the Avacaster service - do that manually in the Windows Services console after copying the license file.

2. Copies base Avacaster files to the web site directory. This directory is usually c:\Inetpub\wwwroot. AVA_backend.dcr AVA_client.dcr Ava_client.swf ava_entry.php AVA_superadmin.dcr AVA_superadmin.html AVA_whiteboard.swf AVA-Admin-loader.dcr AvaVidClient.swf graphics-en.cct hello.php assets/*.* auth/*.* cgi-bin/*.* graphics/*.* graphics/admin/*.* SMUS/EVENTS/_new_event_template_/* SMUS/Scripts/*.ls SMUS/SOAP/* SMUS/Xtras/*.x32 SMUS/*.dll SMUS/Multiuser.exe SMUS/periodic.bat SMUS/xml-socket.pl SMUS/xmlsocket*.bat Templates_cd/*.* Templates/*.* lib/*.* lib/avashare/* lib/flash/* lib/smarty/* preflight/*.* preflight_media/*.*

3. Copies additional base files to an avacastbin directory. This directory is usually c:\Inetpub\avacastbin, and the core files are: vncreflector.exe (for screen sharing) cyg*.dll (four cygwin DLL files used by vncreflector.exe) pptconverter.exe (for PowerPoint slide conversion) gifconverter.exe (for GIF to SWF logo conversion) initexport.exe (for creating custom font.ini files used by pptconverter.exe)

4. Copies sample assets. This creates a sample_assets folder on the desktop. These files aren't critical, but are provided as samples for the customer.

5. Edits Avacaster configuration files. These files are used to customize certain Avacaster settings, and are modified according to data entered during the installation process. wwwroot\cgi-bin\config.pl wwwroot\SMUS\Multiuser.cfg wwwroot\SMUS\poll_grace_seconds.txt wwwroot\SMUS\quiz_grace_seconds.txt wwwroot\SMUS\VNCclientPorts.cfg wwwroot\SMUS\VNChostPorts.cfg wwwroot\preflight_media\avalogospin56.ram

6. Creates the Avacaster Service. FireDaemon is used to install a Windows Service that automatically launches wwwroot\SMUS\Multiuser.exe on startup. To check, go to Computer Management -> Services and verify that a service in the list named "Avacaster" is running.

7. Installs Perl 5.8.1. Be sure that whatever path you select in the Avacaster Installer matches the path you select in the Perl Installer (which is run separately but during the Avacaster install). In addition to creation of the main Perl application directory, be sure that the Perl bin directory is added to the PATH variable, and that two extension mappings are added to the web server configuration. Assuming the main Perl directory is C:\Perl, the bin path would be C:\Perl\bin, and in IIS the mappings would be defined like so: .pl C:\Perl\bin\perl.exe "%s" %s GET,HEAD,POST .plx C:\Perl\bin\perlis.dll GET,HEAD,POST

8. Installs designated Perl Modules. To check or install modules, enter "ppm" at a command prompt to open the Perl Package Manager, then enter "query" or "query *" (try both, one or the other should work, depending on your PPM version). Make sure that the resulting list includes these packages:

Win32-Process-Info Win32API Win32-OLE Time-HiRes POE (new with version 5.0) XML-Simple (now pre-installed in versions > 5.6.1) File-Tools (now pre-installed in versions > 5.8.1)

If one of the first four packages is missing, install it by entering "install PKGNAME" (replace PKGNAME with the name exactly as shown above). If XML-Simple is missing, you must install it manually; the package file is in the Apps folder on dev. Same is true for File-Tools if your Perl version is older than 5.8.1; if it's newer, the package is built in, but does not appear in the package list. If you do have a version older than 5.8.1, you are strongly encouraged to upgrade it.

9. Installs PHP 4.3.4. Be sure that whatever path you use in the Avacaster Installer matches the path you select in the PHP Installer (which is run separately but during the Avacaster install).

10. Installs Windows Time Service. This service helps facilitate Time Synchronization between the Avacaster server and the custom AvaEncoders (the encoding machine must also have this service; see How do I synchronize the clocks on two Windows computers? for more about time synchronization).

11. Modifies the Web Server settings. The part of the install currently only works with Internet Information Services (IIS) on Windows. --Documents: adds "index.php" and "index.html" as default pages (they should be first and second in the list, respectively). --Performance: sets it to "fewer than 10,000" --Home directory: sets "write" access. --cgi-bin directory: sets "Scripts and Executables" access. --SMUS directory: removes Web access entirely.

To check these settings, go to Start->Administration->Internet Services Manager, right click on the default web site and select Properties.

12. Installs VNC server. VNC enables Avacast staff to access a remotely located Avacaster server in order to facilitate support and maintenance. However, this method is no longer very common due to security concerns. If a customer has set up access via VPN and/or RDP, there is no point installing VNC.

13. Assigns web user permissions. Note that the temp folder does not usually exist on new servers, in which case the installer creates it. The web user IUSR_machine_name is given the following privileges:

C:\temp – Modify, Read & Execute, List, Read, Write C:\Inetpub\avacastbin - Read & Execute C:\Inetpub\wwwroot – Modify, Read & Execute, List, Read, Write C:\winnt\php.ini - Read C:\winnt\fonts\fonts.ini - Read

To check these settings, get Properties on the folder or file and select the Security tab)

The installer currently does not NOT do the following tasks (meaning these must be done manually -- only the first one is absolutely required, the others depend on the server):

--Creates the standard Avacaster SuperAdmin accounts for Avacast staff (generally named AdminAvaNAME). --Creates a custom fonts.ini (used by the PowerPoint converter). --Configures the FTP service to point to wwwroot, to faciliate remote access. --Configures/enables the SMTP service so that Avacaster archives can send email with the Comments/Questions button. --Adds the standard "ava" user account in the Administrator group (only required for Avacast-provided servers; not usually done on customer-provided servers). --Adds the standard archiveuser account and Archiving group, for FTPing media for archives; requires full control of wwwroot directory. --Sets up the ondemand Unicast publishing point called "media_archive." --Installs PowerPoint (currently not included as part of the Avacaster license). --Installs a media encoder of any kind. --Installs the Ava Share Host application.

Other somewhat related articles:

• What are the server requirements for Avacaster?
• How do I install Avacaster on a server?
• How can I test an Avacaster install to be sure it's working?
• How does Avacaster licensing and verification work?
• How do I create a fonts.ini file?
• What ports are required for Avacaster?
• Why aren't my PowerPoint slides uploading?