: Crystal Enterprise 9 & 10 Overview Contents This document has been compiled in an effort to assist you both in determining installation requirements for your Crystal Enterprise (CE) installation as well as in answering some of the most commonly asked questions. INTRODUCTION... 3 PREREQUISITES TO INSTALLING CRYSTAL ENTERPRISE...3 What is Microsoft Windows Installer Service (Msiexec.exe)?...3 Do I need a Web Server installed?...4 CE 9... 4 CE 10... 4 Why does the Windows Installer run periodically?...4 Must Crystal Enterprise be able to communicate through TCP/IP?...5 What kind of hard disk resources are needed?...5 Temp Directory... 6 Must I install to the LocalSystem volume (C:\ Drive)?...7 Crystal Enterprise 9... 7 Crystal Enterprise 10... 7 What Operating System should I be running?...7 Do I need to be an administrator?...7 Do I need to install locally on the server?...8 Can I Install Crystal Enterprise on a computer with Crystal Reports?...9 STARTING THE INSTALLATION...9 What are my Installation Options?...9 Do I run the Setup.exe or the Cer.msi?...9 Can a silent installation be performed?...10 CE 9... 10 CE 10... 10 Can you install the Web Connector on a different computer than CE components?...10 Is it possible to run parallel Crystal Enterprise systems on the same computer?...10 Installation ended prematurely because of an error. Fatal error...10 Can Crystal Enterprise be installed to a Windows 2003 server?...11 CE 9... 11 CE 10... 11 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION...11 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 1
What if I need to rename my server?...11 I have CR9 and CR10 and cannot open any reports in Crystal Enterprise11 WHERE TO GO ON THE CD FOR MORE INFORMATION...12 WHERE TO GO ON THE SUPPORT SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION...12 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 2
Introduction This document answers some of the most frequently asked questions about installing Crystal Enterprise 9 and 10. Prerequisites to Installing Crystal Enterprise What is Microsoft Windows Installer Service (Msiexec.exe)? All of the CE installation scripts, registry edits and file version checks are packaged inside of files with an MSI extension. To use MSI files, the Microsoft Windows Installer Service (Msiexec.exe) is required to be installed and running. This service ships with Windows 2000 and it may be updated silently during the installation of our product(s). This is true of all Crystal Decisions products that depend on the Microsoft Windows Installer Service. Note that this is generally not required as other applications use the Microsoft Installer and have installed it themselves. Microsoft Office is usually the application that installs Microsoft Installer; however we are now looking for version 2.0 of the service. If the Microsoft Windows Installer isn t installed and the silent installation isn t able to install it for you, the executables are available for manual installation. The files Instmsi.exe (Win 95/98/ME) and Instmsiw.exe (Win NT/2000) are in the \win32 folder on the CD-ROM. Additional information about manual installation is available from the Microsoft web page. It is recommended that Crystal Enterprise installations be launched by doubleclicking the Setup.exe. This is designed to check the version of the Windows Installer Service. If you choose to directly execute the Cer.msi and the computer either does not have the service installed or is not the proper version you will likely see the following message: NOTE To quickly see the version of the Windows Installer that is running on your machine, you can type Msiexec at the Run command. Start > Run > Msiexec > OK. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 3
Do I need a Web Server installed? You can perform the installation without a supported web server running on the server but your Crystal Enterprise application will not be properly configured and will not operate once the installation completes. Because Crystal Enterprise is a server based web application, it is strongly recommended that you have a supported web server installed and running prior to starting the installation. If a supported web server is not detected on the computer, you are notified during the install and have the choice of proceeding or not proceeding. For a listing of supported platforms, refer to the Platforms.txt file located on the installation CD or go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for the following documents: CE 9 Knowledge Base Article - c2012552 CE 10 Technical Brief - Ce10_supported_platforms.pdf Why does the Windows Installer run periodically? The Windows Installer service addresses un-installation problems and ensures the integrity of installations. It keeps track of all programs installed with Windows Installer packages (.MSI) and ensures that one application does not overwrite files installed by another application. The Windows Installer dialog box may appear intermittently during installation. This is because various components in Crystal Enterprise have their own install packages that are nested within the main MSI file. When the installation gets to the point of installing one of these components that.msi is executed automatically. During the operation and running of Crystal Enterprise (post installation) the Windows Installer service dialog box may appear intermittently. This typically happens when Crystal Enterprise requires a feature or plug-in that was originally advertised to be installed on first use or is now found. Each component has its own installation package installed with the main installation. These installation packages are found \packages folder. In addition to ensuring integrity when installing, the Windows Installer service works in conjunction with Add/Remove Programs to display statistics of how many resources each program is using, how often they are used, to launch the install application to repair, and to change or remove an application. Pressing either the Change or Remove button launches Setup.exe again. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 4
Must Crystal Enterprise be able to communicate through TCP/IP? To communicate through the Crystal Enterprise Framework, TCP/IP must be installed and working. Because TCP/IP Name Resolution is required to use a computer as a web server, problems with TCP/IP are usually found when installing and troubleshooting the web server. A good test for TCP/IP connectivity follows: 1. Open the web browser and type in the URL http://<yourmachinename>, where <yourmachinename> is the name assigned to your computer. The default web page appears. 2. Go to a command prompt and type ping <yourmachinename>, where <yourmachinename> is the name assigned to your computer. This returns the IP address for the computer. 3. At the command prompt type ping a IP Address (from step 2). This returns the computer name associated with the IP specified. Steps 2 and 3 should resolve to the identical IP and machine name. You should also ensure that the computer name and fully qualified domain name have matching information. For information about performing this test, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for knowledge base article c2009662. If either of these tests fail to resolve, Crystal Enterprise will not work. You must troubleshoot this or have your IT department troubleshoot this until it works correctly. For additional information on network troubleshooting, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for the technical brief network_troubleshooting.pdf. What kind of hard disk resources are needed? The complete installation of Crystal Enterprise takes approximately 900MB of hard disk space. If CE will be running as a true standalone server, the CE servers need room on the hard disk to work and store files. There should be at least 200 MB available for this after installing Crystal Enterprise. Additional details are outlined below. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 5
The following is an estimated disk breakout: Automated Process Scheduler (APS) Web Component Server Page Server Job Server Report Application Server Cache Server Input File Repository Server Output File Repository Server Event Server 227 MB 104 MB 106 MB 114 MB 139 MB 106 MB 57 MB 57 MB 58 MB NOTE When the Windows Installer runs an installation it makes temporary copies of the files being used for the installation. These files are removed at the end of the installation but could double the space requirements of the installation. For this reason it is important to have plenty of disk space available. Temp Directory The TEMP system environment variable is a key part of the Crystal Enterprise installation. When an installation package is opened, the files contained within that compressed package are expanded into the TEMP directory on the local computer. Therefore if a TEMP system environmental variable is defined incorrectly, the installation may fail. There are two ways to ensure that the TEMP directory is set up correctly: Windows 2000: On your desktop right-click the My Computer symbol, click Properties, click the Advanced tab, and then click the Environment Variables button. Go to the command prompt, type SET, and then press the Enter key. TEMP and TMP should appear in the display. Ensure that they are pointing to a valid directory. You must use the System Control Panel to change a variable. After changing it, you must restart the computer.. The TEMP directory is a critical step not only for installation, but also for proper operation of the servers. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 6
Must I install to the LocalSystem volume (C:\ Drive)? Crystal Enterprise 9 Crystal Enterprise 9 is not designed for or tested for installations to drive locations other than the LocalSystem volume (C:\ drive). It is not recommended that you install CE to a drive other than the C:\ drive. The CE 9 installation has a Browse button that allows the selection of an alternate installation location which is confusing in this regard. If you select this option, note the following: Crystal Enterprise should function normally; however there have been reported cases where certain plug-ins could not be located by the system. Installing to an alternate location does not mean that all installation files are redirected. There will still be a requirement to install files to the C:\ drive. Although this type of installation appears to complete correctly, stability issues may appear when running CE 9. Crystal Enterprise 10 Crystal Enterprise 10 properly accepts an installation location other than the C:\ drive. This was tested prior to its release. It is important to note the following: Installing to an alternate location does not place all installation files on the chosen drive. There are some files that are installed to the C:\ drive. These files consist of third-party components and could be eliminated by not installing the mapping support files or by not using MSDE for the CMS database. There is also a small file set that needs to reside in the \system32 folder. During the installation you are given the choice of redirecting both the Program Files and the Common Files. To take advantage of this option, the Program Files location must be changed or CE assumes a default installation and you will not be prompted to redirect the Common Files. What Operating System should I be running? Installations must be performed to a supported Operating System (OS) on a computer with adequate resources to handle current requirements as well as some future growth. The choice of supported OS is something that is dependant on the individual environment needs and should be discussed with your account manager or consultant when defining resource needs. Do I need to be an administrator? Crystal Enterprise uses the Windows Installer Service (MSI) technology which requires that the installation be done by a user with full Local Administrator rights. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 7
This requirement is in place to ensure that all relevant files and keys can be properly established and registered on the computer. Local Administrator rights are typically sufficient however, in some organizations Local Administrators are not given Full Access rights. For example: Windows 2000 has a feature where security can be applied to registry keys. These registry settings can be secured manually in Windows 2000 without using any third-party utility. This security is sometimes used to ensure that only particular Installation accounts can modify registry keys. Applications like Microsoft SMS or Veritas WinInstall are used to install all software. If this is the case in your organization, you cannot successfully install CE unless you have an Installation account. Contact your network administrator regarding this. It is recommended that installations be performed, where possible, while logged in as the computer owner. This is the one account with unrestricted access. For example: Username = Administrator This is the one account you can be certain has full local computer control. Being a Power User or Local Administrator does not equate to full unrestricted rights. If you are experiencing issues that you think may be related to rights, the first test should be to log on as the local computer owner account as mentioned above and perform the installation. To check whether your account is in the Local Administrator group in Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Local Users & Groups > Groups and double-click the Administrators group. Do I need to install locally on the server? It is recommended that installations (where possible) be performed directly on the server. This helps eliminate many variables that can lead to problems. It is possible to install CE using Terminal Services but if you plan to use MSDE as the APS/CMS Database, this will not work. MSDE is Microsoft s SQL Server lite and does not support remote installs. You are presented with an error message during the installation if you attempt a remote installation of the MSDE. A workaround to this is to install the MSDE manually to the server and then install CE remotely to that computer. For information about how to install the MSDE manually, go to http://support.microsoft.com. It is important to use a remote tool that specifically emulates activity on the server itself rather than executing on the local client and sending commands. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 8
Can I Install Crystal Enterprise on a computer with Crystal Reports? Yes you can. It is recommended that versions of Crystal Reports and Crystal Enterprise be the same. For example, Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Enterprise 9. If you are installing Crystal Enterprise on the same computer as Crystal Reports and you plan on using Crystal Reports to interface with Crystal Enterprise, ensure that Crystal Reports is version 9.2.2.634 or higher. You can verify the version of CR by launching Crystal Reports and clicking About Crystal Reports on the Help menu. The Product Version Number is listed there. If the version of CR is not 9.2.2.634 or higher, you will not be able to successfully log on to the APS/CMS from CR. For more detailed information about this, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for knowledge base c2013699. It is possible to access CE 10 from interface Crystal Reports 9.2.2.634 as well. IMPORTANT If you are planning a redirected installation of Crystal Enterprise 10 and want to install Crystal Reports 10 on the same computer, you must install Crystal Enterprise 10 first. Starting the Installation What are my Installation Options? When installing Crystal Enterprise you have several options available to you. New Installation (local) This should be done for any clean installations to a single server. Custom Installation (local) - This should be done for any clean installations to either a single server where you want to eliminate a certain feature of the application or if you are installing Crystal Enterprise to multiple computers* and are only going to install certain features or servers on this computer. This should include an APS/CMS. Expand Installation This should be used on subsequent installations of Crystal Enterprise within a single deployment where the initial installation was done as either a New or Custom installation. Think of this is as expanding an existing installation. * The ability to distribute the Crystal Enterprise system depends on the edition of Crystal Enterprise you are using. For detailed information about the different editions of CE 10, go to http://www.businessobjects.com/products/reporting/crystalenterprise/default.asp and look at the technical brief called Crystal Enterprise 10 editions. Do I run the Setup.exe or the Cer.msi? You should run the Setup.exe to start the installation. The Setup.exe first checks to see what version of the MSI your computer is running. If your computer is not 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 9
running MSI version 2.0, it will be updated to version 2.0 before the installation begins. If your MSI is not the correct version and you execute Cer.msi, you will see a dialog box informing you that the installation cannot continue until the MSI is updated. Can a silent installation be performed? CE 9 CE 9 and lower were not written with silent installations in mind so they may not perform as expected. Performing a silent installation of CE 9 is not recommended. CE 10 Crystal Enterprise 10 is the first version where this function of the Windows Installer Service has been made officially available and is supported. For more information about CE 10 silent installation, refer to the Crystal Enterprise 10 Installation Guide located in the 'docs' folder of the CE 10 CD or accessible from the Business Objects support site at http://support.businessobjects.com/search. Can you install the Web Connector on a different computer than CE components? You can install the web connector separately by doing a custom installation of CE and selecting to only install the web connector. For more information on this topic, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for knowledge base article c2013398. Is it possible to run parallel Crystal Enterprise systems on the same computer? With Windows deployments of CE it is not possible to run multiple versions of Crystal Enterprise on the same computer. For more information on this topic, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for knowledge base article c2012437. Installation ended prematurely because of an error. Fatal error This error means that the Windows Installer service is having difficulty accessing components. If this occurs very early in the installation, for example seconds into the installation, it could be caused by the DCOM access permissions. On Windows 2000, to change the DCOM Default Access Permissions, follow these steps: 1. On the Start menu, click Run, type dcomcnfg in the Open field (without the double quotation marks), and then click OK. 2. Click the Default Security tab. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 10
3. Under Default Access Permissions, click Edit Default to set default permissions. The Registry Value Permissions dialog box opens. 4. Click Add to add other user accounts to the Name box. The Add Users and Groups dialog box opens. 5. In the Name box, select the user or group that you want to grant default access permissions to and then click Add. 6. Make sure you give FULL ACCESS. Can Crystal Enterprise be installed to a Windows 2003 server? CE 9 Windows 2003 is supported as an operating system for all Crystal Enterprise 9 components however, there are two important exceptions: IIS 6 is NOT supported as a web server for Crystal Enterprise 9. CE 9 ships with MSDE 1.0 which is not supported by Microsoft on Windows 2003. For more details regarding this, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for the following knowledge base articles: C2012552 What are the supported platforms for Crystal Enterprise 9? C2013125 Are Crystal Decisions products supported in a Windows 2003 Server? CE 10 Miscellaneous Information CE 10 is fully supported on Windows 2003. What if I need to rename my server? This is something that should be avoided if necessary as it can have a negative impact on many different applications. If you do need to rename a server, steps can be taken to ensure Crystal Enterprise remains functional. For information about how to safely rename a CE server, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for the technical brief ce_renaming_system.pdf I have CR9 and CR10 and cannot open any reports in Crystal Enterprise This is a known issue and has been assigned Track/ADAPT ID ADAPT00196115. For more information regarding this and a fix, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for knowledge base c2014523. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 11
Where to go on the CD for more information Platforms.txt on the root of the CD lists supported server and client Operating Systems, web browsers, web servers, APS/CMS and reporting databases, LDAP Servers, and development platforms that were in place at the time of product release. These files are updated as platforms become supported and are posted on the Business Objects support site. To find these articles, go to http://support.businessobjects.com/search and search for knowledge base article c2012552 (What are the supported platforms for Crystal Enterprise 9?) - OR - technical brief ce10_supported_platforms.pdf (Crystal Enterprise 10: Supported Platforms). Release Notes in HTML format (release.htm) on the CD root list Installation information and notes on limitations for both Windows and UNIX. Guides - The \Doc folder contains PDF documents and help files for the following guides which contain valuable and useful information. Where to go on the support site for more information All whitepapers regarding Crystal Enterprise 10 can be found on the Business Objects support site at http://support.businessobjects.com/search. The whitepapers most commonly recommended by Business Objects Technical Support can be found at: Crystal Enterprise Recommended Reading In most cases, the version number in the document is not important. It is the information contained within that is relevant. www.businessobjects.com Business Objects owns the following U.S. patents, which may cover products that are offered and sold by Business Objects: 5,555,403, 6,247,008 B1, 6,578,027 B2, 6,490,593 and 6,289,352. Business Objects, the Business Objects logo, Crystal Reports, and Crystal Enterprise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects SA or its affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Product specifications and program conditions are subject to change without notice. Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. 5/11/2004 12:37:00 PM Copyright 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 12