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AskiaField

From AskiaField installations to advanced application configurations . . .

In this article

    Installing AskiaField (WebProd Server)

    Installing WebProd

    WebProd is Askia's CAWI engine. It is an application server hosting all live surveys. The respondents connect to this server to take their surveys.

    It communicates with the CCA in order to manage quotas, and to SQL to write data in the databases.

    Minimum requirements

    Note: the following section describes the minimum requirements on the host machine, when it will be used to host the WebProd application only. There are additional requirements when the host machine will run other applications, such as CCA. If CCA is also required, please refer to the corresponding minimum requirements section on the CCA installation page here.

    In case of a server application installation performed by Askia staff, the application will NOT be installed if one of these pre-requirements (or more) is not met on the host machine.

    Hardware & software

    OS Microsoft Windows Server 2012 minimum
    Processor Intel Core2Duo, Xeon or higher (with a minimum of 2 cores)
    RAM 4 GB
    HDD 50 GB  for surveys resources & data
    Network Ethernet or wireless connection activated with fix local IP address / NetBIOS name
    Software Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (coding),  Microsoft SQL server(2012 or higher),SQL Server Management Studio
    Roles IIS, Active Server Page (ASP), ASP.Net 3.5 & ISAPI ACTIVATED. See Windows documentation

    Security & users

    1. Application pool & pool user
      WebProd is an IIS application. Therefore, it will use an application pool, which will be ran by a specific user.
      This user needs to have the read/write/modify permissions on the Askia installation path (usually C:\Program Files\Askia or C:\Program Files (x86)\Askia).
      In the case of an installation performed by Askia staff, an IIS application pool named "WebprodAppPool" will be created, and "NETWORK SERVICE" will be the user of this application pool. Please contact Askia staff before the installation if a different pool or user shall be used instead.
    2. SQL user
      WebProd writes in a SQL database. During WebProds setup, it will attempt to create the two databases in which WebProd is later going to write data. Therefore, whichever SQL user is assigned to WebProd, this user should have "db_creator" rights on the SQL server during the installation process. It can then be removed for production.
      During production, "db_owner" is required on the 2 created databases.
      In the case of an installation performed by Askia staff, an "AskiaField" SQL user will be created with enough rights to carry on the installation. Please contact Askia staff before the installation if a different user shall be used instead.
    3. Web interface user
      When the installation is done, a login and password are required to login to the web interface.
      Please contact Askia staff after you completed the last step of this guide to reset the administrator account for the first connection.
      In the case of an installation performed by Askia staff, the Askia representative will send you your 1st administrator login and password, along with a notice to customize it.

    Recommendations

    • For any Hardware Recommendation please check with Askia's tech support.
    • SMTP Server address accessible from this WebProd server.
    • Remote control & files' transfer allowed for Askia's tech support.

    Running the install

    Before WebProd installation

    • Make sure you can "see" the CCA server and the SQL from the server you are going to install WebProd on, if those are hosted on different machines.

    Extracting & running the file

    1. Similarly to CCA's installation, the first screen will check your system and allow you to install SQL DMO if it is not already.



    2. WebProd is as an application on your IIS Server. Select "Create a new application" if this is the first time you install WebProd on this machine.
      By default, this installer will name the application WebProd.



    3. In the same way, choose between "Create a new application pool" or "Use an existing application pool" depending on if this machine has had a WebProd installed on or not. Use the predefined identity. This will be the "User Name" of the process (visible in the Task Manager). Make sure to check "Use 32 bit application" if the machine is a 32 bit.



    4. Now, the WebProd is being linked with the SQL databases. Type in the IP address of your SQL server followed by "\your_instance_name". You can also pick it from the dropdown list.

      Pick the user that has db_owner privileges in your SQL server configuration and type in the password.

      If this is the first WebProd installation on this machine, click "New" to create the database where the configurations will be stored.





    5. Repeat for the WebInterviews database, where the collected data is stored.



    6. Now type in the address of your CCA server, or pick it from the dropdown list.
      By default, port 910 is used to allow communication between CCA and WebProd.



    7. Now, you can customize the path and URL and set up an admin password.
      Enter your license here, or contact us to get a new license.



    8. Click "Install" when you are ready.



    9. The setup might now download extra installation files (Visual C++ runtime).



    10. After all downloads have been completed, the setup is done ! You can access your WebProd on an internet browser at the address "http://yourIP/Webprod".



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