SmartSearch Cloud Hosting Set-Up Guide

Transcription

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2 Contents Introduction... 3 Configuration & Workarounds... 3 Will the client machines have VPN access to the server?... 3 Working without a VPN... 3 Installation on Server... 3 Authentication Options... 3 Workgroup Mode... 4 Changing Authentication Settings Post-Installation... 4 Accessing the SmartSearch Application Remotely... 4 Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services)... 5 Remote Access of Desktop... 5 Create a RemoteApp... 5 Local SmartSearch Clients... 7 Installation of Clients... 8 GlobalSearch Web Access... 8 Scanning & Importing your Documents... 8 Directly from MFP... 8 Dropping files in hot folders... 8 SmartCapture... 9 SmartCapture Workarounds for Remote Scanning... 9 Sync matching folder paths to the sever... 9 Dropbox Remotely access your local scanner A Note Regarding Third Party Software Walkthrough Create a Virtual Machine Configure the Endpoint Connecting to your VM and Installing SmartSearch Configure your Client Installation Files Install Dropbox on the Server Link the SmartSearch Client Installation Folder into Dropbox Install Dropbox and the SmartSearch Client Configure Capture Workflows & Scanning Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 2

3 Introduction In some business scenarios it is necessary or desirable to host applications in a cloud environment in place of a local server. This documentation will guide you through a number of ways to facilitate the use of SmartSearch in a cloud environment. For the purposes of this document, Microsoft s Azure cloud services running a Windows Server 2008R2 Datacenter VM have been used to determine which features will work as expected and what limitations you may encounter. Note: It is important to realize that with all of these methods you will be sending the data volume of your document over the network on both scan and every access. If your documents are large, take into consideration the time it will take for the document to be transferred back and forth from the server. Configuration & Workarounds In order for the SmartSearch to function in a cloud environment you must take into consideration several questions. Depending on what methods will be used for access and editing of documents indexed within SmartSearch as well as adding new documents to SmartSearch, different measures will need to be taken: Will the client machines have VPN access to the server? A simple solution to provide access to SmartSearch is to configure VPN access to the server, or site-to-site inclusion in your existing LAN. Doing so will treat the hosted SmartSearch server just as a local server making configuration the same as if it was on the LAN. Using a VPN can also be a very secure choice with the benefits of data being encrypted when transmitted over the Internet; however, comes with some limitations such as heavier bandwidth consumption and special connectivity for remote clients. Working without a VPN If VPN is not a desirable or possible option, you will need to take extra steps to configure your SmartSearch server and clients. There are a number of options to let you work around the limitations created by hosting your SmartSearch server outside of your network. The remainder of this document will outline a number of possible solutions. Installation on Server The installation of SmartSearch on a cloud server can be performed as on any local server. Be sure to take into consideration what ports you will have available to forward for external access when you are installing SmartSearch. Authentication Options When installing SmartSearch you should take your authentication options into consideration. SmartSearch supports two types of authentication and two methods of passing your users authentication. Domain Mode In domain mode authentication the users are selected from the same domain as the server, this requires that the server and your machines have access to the domain controllers. Generally you would only select Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 3

4 domain mode for your cloud installation if you will have a VPN configured. Note: Check with your hosting provider regarding the availability and effect of VPN on your bandwidth usage. In domain mode, users normally use the single sign-on option. This option will automatically pass the client machines logged in windows users credentials to the SmartSearch server for authentication. Workgroup Mode Workgroup mode authenticates users against the server s local users and groups and does not require that the machines have access to a VPN or domain controllers. When using workgroup mode, you will need to use manual mode for passing your clients login credentials. Manual mode will prompt the user to enter a user name and password when launching SmartSearch to be authenticated against the servers local users. Changing Authentication Settings Post-Installation The above authentication settings may be changed post-installation if needed. The authentication server and authentication method are specified in the ssinterface.exe.config file, located in the server s installation directory (C:\Getsmart, by default) as well as the SmartSearch Client Installation folder (located at the root of C:\, by default). <setting name="authenticationserver" serializeas="string"> <value>serverordomainnamehere</value> </setting> Near the end of the file, setting the following value to DOMAIN will tell your client to use the automatic single sign- on mode, any other value (such as DOMAINa ) will display the manual login window on launch: <setting name="domainname" serializeas="string"> <value>domain</value> </setting> Additionally, if you are changing authentication server you will need to update the following value near the end of the web.config file located in the Square9REST website (C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Square9REST\, by default): <add key="authserver" value="serverordomainnamehere" /> For more information on Installation procedure, consult the Installation Guide that can be found on the knowledge base on our forums ( Accessing the SmartSearch Application Remotely When installing and configuring for accessing SmartSearch in a cloud environment, the first of two types of access that will be required is access to your existing documents. This section details a number of solutions for remotely accessing your SmartSearch software. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 4

5 Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services) Most cloud services will utilize Terminal Services already for access to the VM for the purposes of administration. For detailed information on the installation of session based Remote Desktop Services and RemoteApp features please consult Microsoft s documentation. Note: Use of session based Remote Desktop Services and RemoteApp generally require appropriate Windows Licenses. Remote Access of Desktop Connecting to the server via a Remote Desktop session (Figure 1.1) will give users access to the full client without any installation; however, there are limitations with this method. Limitations include the inability to drag-n-drop files directly into SmartSearch from the users desktop without first transferring them to the Remote Desktop as well as a lack of access to SmartCapture. Create a RemoteApp Configuring SmartSearch or SmartCapture as a RemoteApp is another option that can provide a remote user with access to the SmartSearch client without installation on a local machine. Similar to Remote Desktop, but providing a tighter integration with a user s existing desktop by only loading the applications windows, rather than a full desktop. This is an excellent option for accessing the thick client of SmartSearch without installation on client machines; however, it has the same limitations as the Remote Desktop with drag-n-drop as well as SmartCapture. To create a RemoteApp for SmartSearch: 1. Open the RemoteApp Manager (Figure 1.2) Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 5

6 2. Select Add RemoteApp Programs 3. Scroll down and check the box next to SmartSearch in the list and press Next > to continue (Figure 1.3) Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 6

7 4. When prompted to specify package settings, be sure that the server address is set to the external IP or DNS name or the client will not be able to connect (Figure 1.4). 5. Distribute the deployment package you create in the RemoteApp Wizard to your remote client machines. (This it either a.rdp file or Windows Installer Package, depending on your selections in the wizard) Note: There are 3rd party solutions that will allow the use of SmartCapture over RDP as described above. For more information on these options see the section on Remote SmartCapture Solutions below. Local SmartSearch Clients You can install the full SmartSearch client just as you would when accessing a local server, just being sure to forward the necessary web services port (default :80) through your cloud servers router/endpoint portal (Figure 1.5). Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 7

8 The clients configuration files located in the SmartSearch Client Installation folder on the server (C:\SmartSearch Client Installation) should be updated (before any installations, if possible) to reference the server by its external IP address or DNS name (example: Installation of Clients When installing the client in a cloud environment you have a number of options to consider. You can accomplish this in any way that will give you access to the SmartSearch Client Installation folder. It is important to note that for security reasons many services such as Microsoft Azure will block SMB(Windows File Sharing) over Internet connections due to the security risks. Other recommend solutions include FTP, WebDAV, Dropbox (or other file sharing/syncing services), etc. Note: When using WebDAV with SmartSearch you will want to be sure the WebDAV module is not enabled on any of SmartSearch's websites as it will interfere with features such as table fields. GlobalSearch Web Access As always, GlobalSearch is an excellent option for cloud environments if you don't need access to the full SmartSearch client. GlobalSearch can easily provide access to documents indexed in the system and participation in workflows. The only major limitation to using GlobalSearch is you will still require separate access for administration and scanning features. Scanning & Importing your Documents The second aspect of accessing your SmartSearch software is how will you add new documents, when your server is hosted outside of your network. This section outlines several methods of adding new documents to SmartSearch in this environment. Directly from MFP Many MFP (Multi-Function Printers), as well as other advanced scanning equipment, may support scanning to an FTP server. If the MFP supports scanning to FTP you can create a Capture Workflow using an Import Files action to which the scanner will upload the files. If your MFP allows for indexing documents at the time of scanning you could use this feature in combination with XML Transform to being documents from the scanner directly into SmartSearch with the index data. Additionally, if the scanner supports , you can create a Capture Workflow using the Import action to watch a POP3 account for documents sent by the scanner. Configuration of these options varies from scanner to scanner, consult your hardware's documentation for more information on the use of FTP and features. Dropping files in hot folders If you intend to use Import Files actions in your capture workflows to bring in your files you have many options on how to deliver them to the server. 1. Configure your Import Files action in your Capture Workflow to use a local or UNC path the server has access to where the files will be dropped for import (Figure 1.6). Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 8

9 2. Configure your document source to place its files in this folder. This can be accomplished using any means up file access your server supports (FTP, WebDAV, DFS, etc.). SmartCapture Scanning documents with SmartCapture allows for the easy indexing of new documents by providing index field data as well as easy access to choosing which Capture Workflow should process each new file. Scanning to a SmartSearch server hosted in a cloud server poses several limitations due to the clients need to be able to provide the server your scanned document in a shared location. Under local installations this is handled by providing a UNC path in your Import Scans action of your Capture Workflow; however, most times in a cloud environment using SMB (Windows File Sharing) will not be an option. If you need to utilize SmartCapture in a cloud environment there are several ways you can work around this limitation. SmartCapture Workarounds for Remote Scanning In order to scan documents using SmartCapture the client and server both need to be able to point to the same directory address in order for it to function correctly. Under local network installations this is accomplished using a UNC path (for example \\server\sharename). This allows SmartCapture to place the scanned file, when saved, in the shared folder location from which the Capture Workflow will then pick up the file. There are a few third party solutions that can be used to work around the issues that arise from the client and server not being able to use a common UNC path when connecting to a cloud server. Sync matching folder paths to the sever Many third party programs exist for syncing files automatically between machines. To use one of these in conjunction with SmartCapture you will need to configure them to use matching folder paths. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 9

10 Dropbox To sync can directories between client and server using the Dropbox file syncing service: 1. Download and install the Dropbox application to both the client and server. 2. Set up both with the same account and when prompted for where to locate the Dropbox folder (Figure 1.7), you MUST use matching paths for this workaround (for example C:\Dropbox\). FTPBox 3. Create your capture workflow to use unique sub folders within C:\Dropbox\ (for example C:\Dropbox\Invoices). FTPBox works much like Dropbox as a work around, except it utilizes FTP to connect to the server to sync its files. This will require you have an FTP server running on your SmartSearch server and have the necessary ports exposed. To configure FTPBox: 1. Install FTPBox to your client machine from which you will be scanning 2. Configure a local folder to sync with an FTP server on the SmartSearch server (Figure 1.8). Again, this will require both the client and server paths are the same (for example C:\FTP\Scans). Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 10

11 Note: For syncing in this way over FTP the Remote Path and Local Path must resolve to the same equivalent Local Path (i.e. C:\Scans\Invoices). Remotely access your local scanner If you are remotely accessing your SmartSearch client through remote desktop services and would like to be able to use a local scanner connected to your client over the remote desktop connection, you will need to use 3rd party software to facilitate this. Both of the following programs have been tested and will function with SmartCapture in this way. Scanworks RD Scanner While both of these two programs tested are easy to install, Scanworks RD Scanner requires less input from the user. To install Scanworks RD Scanner: 1. Run the Scanworks RD Scanner installer on both the client and server 2. Create a new remote desktop or RemoteApp connection to SmartSearch 3. Open SmartCapture 4. You should be able to select Scanworks as your scanning device now, which at the time of scan should invoke your local scanners drivers for capturing the document. RemoteScan Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 11

12 Installation of RemoteScan much like Scanworks only requires you install the software to both the client and server, and initiate a new connection. The only major difference is that during the installation of RemoteScan you will be asked if the machine will be installing a client or server (Figure 1.9). This is important to note, for the purposes of this installation the machine that has the scanner attached (the client) will need the RemoteScan server installed on it. The RemoteScan client will be installed on the server. A Note Regarding Third Party Software The third party software mentioned above in this documentation has no affiliation with Square 9 Softworks and trademark/copyright their respective owners. Square 9 Softworks does not endorse or support any of the above software; all are mentioned for the purposes of example solutions. For support with their software, please contact their respective creators and review the application specific documentation for more information about configuration. Walkthrough In this section we will walkthrough a full configuration in a cloud environment. For the purposes of demonstration we will be using a Microsoft Azure cloud server and Dropbox file syncing services. Create a Virtual Machine In order to host your SmartSearch server in the cloud using azure, you will need to first create a VM instance. 1. Log in to the Windows Azure Management Console (Figure 1.10). Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 12

13 2. Select the Virtual Machines tab from the left navigation bar. 3. Press the New button at the bottom. 4. Select Quick Create (Figure 1.11) and then complete the form with your desired DNS name, OS, size (CPU/RAM), set a password, and select a geographic region in which you would like the VM to be located. (For the purposes of this demonstration we are using a Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter on a medium instance, but you may select any support Windows OS version from the list). 5. Press Create Virtual Machines when you are finished configuring your settings. Note: It will take some time after the machine is configured before it will be completed. Once it is done, and its status is displayed as Running in the machine list, you may continue to the next section. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 13

14 Configure the Endpoint Before you can allow outside access to your new VM s resources you will need to configure endpoints within the Windows Azure Management Console. Configuring endpoints for an Azure VM is analogous to configuring port forwarding on a firewall or router and will direct traffic received at your VM s DNS name to the correct port on the server. By default, in order to protect new machines, the only service that will have outside access to your new VM is window Remote Desktop service. Here we will add a new endpoint to give our clients access to web services: 1. Select the Virtual Machines tab from the left navigation pane. 2. Select your SmartSearch VM instance from the list. 3. From the VM Dashboard, select Endpoints (Figure 1.12). 4. On the Endpoints screen, press the Add Endpoint button at the bottom (Figure 1.13). Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 14

15 5. On the Add Endpoint screen, select Add Endpoint and press the arrow to continue. 6. Specify the details of the endpoint. This endpoint will be configured to allow access to SmartSearch web services (Figure 1.14). So we will use the following settings: a. Name: http b. Protocol: TCP c. Public Port: 80 d. Private Port: Press the check mark to complete configuring the endpoint. Connecting to your VM and Installing SmartSearch With the VM created and the web services endpoint configured, you can now install SmartSearch. 1. To quickly connect to your new VM you can press the Connect button on the VM Dashboard (Figure 1.15), this will create and download an.rdp file preconfigured for your VM s connection setting. 2. Launch the download.rdp file and enter your administrator login password to connect. 3. Once you have connected to the VM you will need to use the download link provided to you by fulfillment to download the latest SmartSearch installation media. 4. To expand the.iso media for installation we recommend the use of 7-Zip ( zip.org/download.html). After installation of 7-Zip the completed download of the media can be extracted by right-clicking on the.iso file and selecting Extract Here from the 7-Zip submenu. 5. Installation of SmartSearch on the server can be performed the same as on a local server, being sure to select the same port for web services as you configured for your endpoint (in this example case, port 80 is the default). Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 15

16 Configure your Client Installation Files We will be installing the full SmartSearch client to our local machine in this example, so the configuration files in the SmartSearch Client Installation folders should be updated to reflect the new VM s external DNS name. 1. Navigate to the client installation folders configuration files located by default at C:\SmartSearch Client Installation\Common\Square9\GetSmart. 2. Edit the all of the.config and the RestProxy.xml files. Replacing all instances of the server s address with the VM s DNS name you specified when creating the VM. Note: The Authentication Server must remain the name of the server/domain. Install Dropbox on the Server We will be using Dropbox on the server to handle the syncing of both import files and the client installation directory to our client machine. 1. Download and install Dropbox ( 2. If you do not already have an account you will be prompted to create one during the installation. You will want to use the same account on all of your machines. As a result you will likely want to create an account unique for this purpose. Complete the form for a new account when prompted if you have not already created one for this purpose. 3. Select an account size (we will be using the free 2GB account). 4. Choose Advanced setup type and press next (Figure 1.16). 5. Select I want to choose where to put my Dropbox (Figure 1.17) and press the Change button to select the root of the C: drive. This will set the Dropbox location to C:\Dropbox. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 16

17 6. On the Selective Sync screen you can choose to sync all folders in your Dropbox and press Install to continue. 7. Complete the installation and you may skip the tour to continue. 8. Delete the demonstration files from your new C:\Dropbox folder. Link the SmartSearch Client Installation Folder into Dropbox Creating a symbolic link within the new Dropbox folder that points to the SmartSearch Client installation folder will allow it to sync the client installation and all of its settings files without relocating them. 1. Open an administrator command prompt. 2. Enter the following command: mklink /d C:\Dropbox\SmartSearch Client Installation C:\SmartSearch Client Installation 3. You should receive a message: symbolic link created for C:\Dropbox\SmartSearch Client Installation <<===>> C:\SmartSearch Client Installation 4. Dropbox will now begin uploading and syncing your client installation folder. Once this is complete any installations of Dropbox on client machines with the same account will automatically download and sync the client installation folder. Install Dropbox and the SmartSearch Client The next step is installation of the Dropbox and SmartSearch clients on your local machine(s). 1. Download and install Dropbox on the client machine. 2. When prompted enter the credentials for your existing Dropbox account. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 17

18 3. Use the same settings for Advanced, and Dropbox location as the previous installation. 4. Once the installation has completed, Dropbox will automatically begin downloading the SmartSearch Client Installation folder we linked into C:\Dropbox on the server. 5. After the Installation folder has completed syncing it will be marked with a green checkbox (Figure 1.18). 6. Open the SmartSearch Client Installation folder and run the SSClient Installer. Note: Consult the SmartSearch Client Installation guide for additional information on client installs. Configure Capture Workflows & Scanning The capture workflows (including the ImportScans actions for SmartCapture) that are used in our cloud installation will be configured to use Dropbox for syncing to allow the sharing of the files between client and server. The key is for all import file and import scan actions to use local paths within the Dropbox folder. First we will create an ImportFiles based workflow for a hot folder called Faxes for our demonstration. All files placed in this directory on any of our synced clients will be imported to the Inbound Faxes inbox in SmartSearch: 1. Connect to the server and browse to C:\Dropbox. 2. Create the two new folders we will be using for our workflows: a. C:\Dropbox\Faxes b. C:\Dropbox\Scans 3. Launch SmartSearch. 4. Select Capture Workflow from the Workflow tab. 5. Drag the ImportFiles action into the Sequential Workflow. 6. Enter C:\Dropbox\Faxes as the source directory and press OK (Figure 1.19). 7. Drag the ReleaseToInbox action into the Sequential Workflow after the ImportFiles action. 8. Select Inbound Faxes and press OK. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 18

19 9. Press the Save Workflow button. 10. Enter ImportFaxes and press OK. Next we will create a Capture Workflow for to use ImportScans for the client machine to use with SmartCapture. This workflow will take documents scanned in SmartCapture and release them to the inbox Kin Chu : 1. Press the New Workflow button to create a new workflow. 2. Drag the ImportScans action into the Sequential Workflow. 3. Enter C:\Dropbox\Scans as the source directory and press OK (Figure 1.20). 4. Drag the ReleaseToInbox action into the Sequential Workflow after the ImportScans action. 5. Select Kin Chu and press OK. 6. Press the Save Workflow button. 7. Enter ImportScans and press OK. 8. Close the Capture Workflow Designer. Files can now be placed into either the Faxes hot folder in C:\Dropbox or scanned directly using SmartCapture with the ImportScans action we have created. Simplifying Business. Simplifying Life. Page 19