PDXpert PLM Software Installation Guide

Advanced install: PDXpert Application Server

The PDXpert Application Server and the SQL database server must be installed on the same computer.

Do not install the PDXpert Application Server on a read-only, compressed, network-mapped, or external (e.g., USB) volume.

You must have administrator rights to your computer, and be the only user logged into Windows.

If you want to use a specific edition of SQL Server instead of Express edition, or you want to ensure a particular release of SQL Server (2008, 2008R2, 2012) is installed, then you must install your preferred version before installing the PDXpert Application Server. For more information, see the preceding section: Advanced install: SQL Server.

Installation procedure

To install the PDXpert Application Server:

1. Run the PDXpert system installation program from your server's CD drive or hard disk.

2. During installation, you will be required to accept the PDXpert software license agreement. If you agree with the terms of the license, mark the acceptance checkbox, and click the Next button.

3. The PDXpert system installation program will upgrade your server to Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Extended (".NET 4E"). If your system's permission profile blocks PDXpert setup's installation of .NET, cancel the installation. Upgrade your computer to .NET 4E using Microsoft's installer(s), and then start the PDXpert server setup program again.

4. If a PDXPERT instance of SQL Server database cannot be found, SQL Server Express will be downloaded from Microsoft and installed. Installation is automatic, but takes several minutes.

5. Although you can specify options for the PDXpert Application Server, we recommend using the default values to simplify administration and technical support.

   The installer creates a folder for your database and library on your system drive. If you prefer to use another location for your data, allow the installation to proceed. After installation is complete, use the Settings tab on the PDXpert Application Server console to select your preferred location for the data folder.

6. When the installation is complete, click the Finish button.

   • The PDXpert client application is used for administrative tasks (license entry, user account management, etc.) and normal product data management activities.
   •  The PDXpert Application Server is used for database management tasks such as backup, restore, relocation and reset.

7. To extend PDXpert server's file indexing capabilities, you can install utilities (called IFilters) that can parse specific file types. For more information, refer to the Fast file content searches using IFilters application note.

The PDXpert Application Server and the PDXpert clients require exclusive uninterrupted access to the SQL Server database instance called PDXPERT.

Do not stop, restart, or otherwise disrupt the SQL Server service or the hosting computer while PDXpert clients are logged into the system.

Do not allow the server computer to go into standby or sleep mode during hours when clients may access the database.

Do not install other databases into the PDXPERT instance.

The PDXpert Application Server communicates with PDXpert clients using up to four TCP ports beginning at 48084 (that is: 48084; 48085; 48086; 48087). Ensure that no other services use these ports.

After installation is complete, visit the Microsoft update website to obtain the most recent patches and service packs for SQL Server and the .NET framework.

With the PDXpert server console displayed, press the F1 key on your keyboard to open the help topic for configuring the PDXpert Application Server. In the help file Contents, open the How do I...? section, and review each topic of interest.

For best performance within an extremely large library (and provided you have no 16-bit applications installed), disable 8.3 short filenames using the Windows fsutil.exe utility.

Using the PDXpert Application Server with a VPN

To enable a PDXpert client access to the PDXpert Application Server over a virtual private network (VPN) connection, the VPN must be configured to allow communications using four TCP ports 48084 through 48087, as well as allow SQL Server communications using TCP port 1433.

Ensure that the client workstation can access the SQL Server instance. Since the SQL Server instance is named PDXPERT, you can configure a static port for that named instance and open VPN access to the port. For proper operation, the SQL Server instance must have been installed with Mixed Mode authentication.