CCH Central Suite. How do I update to Microsoft.NET Framework in preparation for the CCH Central Suite? KB Article 6547 (02 Jan 2018)

Transcription

1 CCH Central Suite How do I update to Microsoft.NET Framework in preparation for the CCH Central Suite? KB Article 6547 (02 Jan 2018)

2 Legal Notice Disclaimer CCH Software has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this Update Guide. However, CCH Software, its staff and agents will not be liable for any errors or omissions and use of the software is subject to the customer s licence with CCH Software. This Update Guide should not be relied upon as a detailed specification of the system or the software. CCH Software may make changes to this Update Guide from time to time. Copyright 2011 Wolters Kluwer (UK) Limited (trading as CCH Software) This Update Guide may not be copied, altered, edited, disposed of or distributed without the prior consent of CCH Software. The content is confidential CCH Software 145 London Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6SR UNITED KINGDOM Trademark Rights Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 98, 2000, XP, MS-DOS, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Office, are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Novell and NetWare are trademarks of Novell Inc. Citrix MetaFrame is a registered trademark or trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc., All rights reserved MYOB Technology Pty Limited. Distributed under licence by Wolters Kluwer (UK) Limited (trading as CCH Software) CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite? Jan I

3 Contents Section A - Introduction 1 A.1 - Overview 1 A.2 Microsoft Products Incompatible with.net 1 A.3 Requisite Skills & Knowledge 2 Section B - Preparation 3 B.1 Section Overview 3 B.2 - End of Support for Microsoft.NET Framework 4, 4.5 and B.3 - Target Computers 3 B.4 - Supported operating systems 4 B.5 - Unsupported operating systems 5 Section C Planning and Deployment 6 C.1 Section Overview 6 C.2 - Choosing a suitable maintenance window 6 C.3 - How much time will the update take to install? 6 C.4 - Pre deployment of Microsoft.NET Framework using a Microsoft Installer 7 C.5 - Central Suite Installer (CSI) deployment of Microsoft.NET Framework 7 Section D Compatibility mitigation 8 D.1 - Compatibility Issues with software targeting earlier versions of the Microsoft.NET Framework 8 II CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite? Jan

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5 Section A - Introduction A.1 - Overview From Q onwards the Central suite requires Microsoft.NET Framework in order to function. For computers used to deploy the Central suite, the Microsoft.NET Framework version will need to be updated from version 4 to version. You can either choose to deploy Microsoft.NET Framework using either Microsoft s online or offline installers, or use the Central Suite Installer (CSI) to deploy Microsoft.NET Framework version. A.2 Microsoft Products Incompatible with.net The following Microsoft products are currently incompatible with.net Framework : Exchange Server 2016 (unless the latest cumulative update and operating system hotfix is installed) Exchange Server 2013 (unless the latest cumulative update and operating system hotfix is installed) Exchange Server 2010 Exchange Server 2007 Skype for Business Server 2015 Lync Server 2013 At the time of writing only the compatibility issues with Exchange 2016 and 2013 have been resolved, in the form of a cumulative update. If Microsoft.NET Framework is loaded on a computer where one of the above products resides, that product will be rendered nonfunctional and/or taken outside of Microsoft s supported environments coverage. If you do have any part of CCH Central Suite on a computer that also hosts one of the above listed products, it is suggested that you refer to your local IT team and the Microsoft Knowledge Base to determine a suitable course of action. Two points to note in particular: Take particular care with Small Business Servers (SBS) as these usually include Exchange installed straight out of the box and so are likely to be affected by this incompatibility. This information is correct at the time of writing (see date on document cover) but Microsoft are working to resolve these incompatibility issues, so do check with the Microsoft Knowledge Base for the very latest position. CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite? Jan

6 A.3 Requisite Skills & Knowledge The target audience for this article is IT professionals and/or local infrastructure team responsible for providing IT services to your business, including the planning and deployment of software and services. The audience in question would typically be responsible for Microsoft and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) installation and updates and therefore comfortable and confident in assessing requirements and risk, as well as planning and execution. Downloading software upgrades from the CCH Support website Software deployment planning and risk assessment Device administration, including file installation tasks and operating system configuration and maintenance 2 CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite?

7 Section B - Preparation B.1 Section Overview The key information required to facilitate an update to the Microsoft.NET Framework is as follows: End of Support for earlier versions of the Microsoft.NET Framework (4, 4.5 and 4.5.1) Target computers that will require maintenance Supported operating systems Unsupported operating systems B.2 - End of Support for Microsoft.NET Framework 4, 4.5 and Support for Microsoft.NET Framework 4, 4.5 and ended on January 12th As part of the ongoing evolution of the Central suite it was decided to target Microsoft.NET Framework in preference to the 4.5.2, which continues to be supported, to avoid further disruption when is retired. This move has also enabled us to take advantage of new features introduced in Microsoft.NET Framework and above which will benefit all users. B.3 - Target Computers The computers that require Microsoft.NET Framework fall into the following categories: Any client workstation/server running Central - including Fat Client, Thin Client and Application Servers Any workstation/server hosting Central suite services Any workstation/server used to deploy the Central Suite Installer (CSI) A computer may fall into more than one category if it is being used for multiple roles such as File Server and Database Server. If you have an environment comprising of only a single-server then the server will host all Central suite services and will be used to deploy the program files to all client workstations. CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite? Jan

8 B.4 - Supported operating systems The following table contains a list of all operating systems that are supported by Microsoft.NET Framework, including details of the pre-installed Microsoft.NET Framework version: Operating system Supported editions Preinstalled with the OS Installable separately Windows 10 November Update 32-bit and 64-bit.NET Framework Windows bit and 64-bit.NET Framework 4.6.NET Framework Windows bit and 64-bit.NET Framework NET Framework Windows 8 32-bit and 64-bit.NET Framework 4.5.NET Framework Windows 7 SP1 32-bit and 64-bit --.NET Framework Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit.NET Framework NET Framework Windows Server bit.NET Framework 4.5.NET Framework Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit --.NET Framework Note: The Microsoft.NET Framework installation will inspect and detect the operating system at point of execution and will notify you if the intended operating system is compatible. Although Windows 8 is listed above, as of 12 th January 2016 you should have upgraded to Windows 8.1 to remain supported under Microsoft s lifecycle policy. 4 CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite?

9 B.5 - Unsupported operating systems The following table contains a list of relevant operating systems that are unsupported by Microsoft.NET Framework : Operating system unsupported editions Windows Server 2008 Windows Vista Windows Server 2003 R2 Windows Server 2003 Windows XP 32-bit and 64-bit 32-bit and 64-bit 32-bit and 64-bit 32-bit and 64-bit 32-bit and 64-bit Note: The Microsoft.NET Framework installation will inspect and detect the operating system at point of execution and will notify you if the intended operating system is incompatible. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2 have already reached end of life. CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite? Jan

10 Section C Planning and Deployment C.1 Section Overview You can either choose to deploy Microsoft.NET Framework before Central is released or you can use the Central Suite Installer (CSI) to lay down the component. The following information will help to determine which option is best for your environment, including: Choosing a suitable maintenance window Time taken to perform the update Microsoft Installer or CSI You can also decide to deploy the Microsoft.NET Framework in advance of the updating to Central This can be done before Central is released using Microsoft s installers or after Central is released, using either Microsoft s installers or the CSI. Alternatively, the entire update process, deployment of Microsoft.NET Framework and Central , can be performed at the same time using the CSI. C.2 - Choosing a suitable maintenance window Choose a suitable maintenance window where the Microsoft.NET Framework can be updated with minimal disruption. This would typically be outside of business hours due to the intensive nature of the installation for CPU, disk and network resources on the target computers. Selecting a time outside of business hours is also recommended in order to incorporate the single reboot that is needed once the software has been installed. C.3 - How much time will the update take to install? The time taken to update the Microsoft.NET Framework is typically under 10 minutes, including reboot, but this is dependent on the speed of the computer, the speed of the internet connection (if using the online installer), the time taken for a complete regeneration of the Native Image Cache and the time taken to reboot the computer. Determining the length of the maintenance window is therefore difficult to predict accurately but use of Microsoft s offline installer (preferably pre-downloaded in advance) is recommended where the internet connection speed and reliability is poor. Note: Rebuilding the Native Image Cache is only a consideration where the target computer is an Application Server and where previous updates of the Microsoft.NET Framework have taken longer than expected. 6 CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite?

11 C.4 - Pre deployment of Microsoft.NET Framework using a Microsoft Installer Pre deployment of Microsoft.NET Framework is possible using a Microsoft sourced installer. This option is the most suitable if you want to split the update to Central into two and perform the update of the Microsoft.NET Framework in advance of the Central release with a dedicated maintenance window. C4.1 Microsoft Installer: Online or Offline The first step is to choose the deployment method. Microsoft provides both an online and offline (web) installer to deploy Microsoft.NET Framework. Use of the online installer involves a download of 49 MB during the deployment phase. The Offline installer is 64.5 MB and also requires 250 MB of free disk space on the drive on which it is physically located to extract the contents pre-execution. The benefit of using the offline installer is that is can be centrally located on a File Server and used to update multiple machines in the domain. Additionally, this may be the only viable option where the machine in question does not have an internet connection or where the risk of using an internet connection is too great. If the number of computers to be updated is small and the internet connection is fast and stable, then use of the online installer is recommended. C.5 - Central Suite Installer (CSI) deployment of Microsoft.NET Framework The Central Suite Installer (CSI) for includes Microsoft.NET Framework as part of the prerequisite software set. Instead of using a Microsoft sourced installer, you can use the CSI to deploy the component on every computer where it is required. This can be done separately or as part of the update to Central It does require an active internet connection and therefore the deployment method is online only. C.5.1 CSI deployment: online only Once the CSI is started, it will interrogate the target machine and if Microsoft.NET Framework is missing, the software will be installed before the initial welcome screen is displayed. The target machine will be rebooted and the CSI will restart post-reboot once Microsoft.NET Framework has been installed. If the target computer does not host the Central deploy folder and/or services then once the CSI welcome screen is displayed following the reboot then it can be closed and no further action is necessary. If the update of the Microsoft.NET Framework is being scheduled as a separate advance operation, then this will be the method used for all computers being updated. Additional steps will be required to update the various Central components if the Central update is being performed at the same time as the update of the Microsoft.NET Framework. Updating Central is outside of the scope of this document. Please see the update guide for Central CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite? Jan

12 Section D Compatibility mitigation D.1 - Compatibility Issues with software targeting earlier versions of the Microsoft.NET Framework Although Microsoft's intention is to ensure backwards compatibility across Microsoft.NET Framework 4.x release there is a possibility that software targeting earlier versions of Microsoft.NET Framework 4 will encounter issues when run under Microsoft.NET Framework. Compatibility issues are typically related to differences between functionality in 4 and 4.5, mainly where features have been enhanced or deprecated. Any software product designed to target Microsoft.NET Framework 4, 4.5 or should be migrated to or to ensure continuing compliance and support. Any problems found when running non-cch products with Microsoft.NET Framework should be raised with the software vendor of that product. It is recommended that for complex environments with many co-existing products, Thin Client or Application Server environments, that thorough testing is carried out before deploying Microsoft.NET Framework to ensure that all software products continue to function once Microsoft.NET Framework has been deployed. 8 CCH CENTRAL SUITE HOW DO I UPDATE TO MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK in preparation for the CCH CENTRAL Suite?