Manual Installing dbFrontUI on the Web Server

If you chose to manually install the Web Application then you will need to find where you saved the website files and use IIS Manager to create a Web Application.

The webserver needs to be Microsoft IIS version 6.0 or better. For more details see: Preparing Windows to host a Dotnet 4.0 website

Fresh Install

1. Ensure that your Web Server has the WebServer role configured.
2. Copy the contents of the dbFrontUI folder somewhere on your server. A reasonable default is [C:\InetPub\dbFrontUI]
3. Open IIS Server Admin and browse into the Application Pools
4. Add an Application Pool with the following settings:

   Name:	dbFrontPool
   Framework Version:	v4.0.30319
   Enable 32-Bit Applications:	True (Advanced Settings)

5. In IIS Server Admin browse into your Default Web Site
6. Create a WebApplication with the following settings:

   Alias:	dbfront
   Path:	The path to the website files. e.g. [C:\InetPub\dbFrontUI]
   App Pool:	Select the Application Pool you just created.

7. Update the included [web.config] file and adjust the following settings:
   NOTE: You should have the Cache and Logs folders outside the web folder.

   ServiceHost:	If the Web Server is in a DMZ this should be the IP address of the Firewall port leading into the network. Otherwise specify the Servername or IP address which is hosting the Application Service.
   ServicePort:	The port used to communicate with the Application Server. The default is 8080.
   UsageAgreement:	If the UsageAgreement key is set then a user who is logging on will be required to indicate that they have seen it.
   CachePath:	e.g. [c:\\temp\\dbFrontCache\\]
   LogPath:	e.g. [c:\\logs\\dbFrontUI\\]

Update an Existing Install

If you had the installer update your existing web folder then you should verify that your web.config file was not replaced.

If you had the installer save the files to a staging folder then you should:

1. Make a backup of your existing dbFrontUI folder and especially the web.config file.
2. Update ALL files from the zip file except the file named web.config

Test the Install

• On the server browse to the URL where you installed dbFront, e.g. [http://localhost/dbFront/].
• When you see a license notification then you will have the option to start a trial or follow the directions to receive a license number for your server.
• If you encounter any problems then review these directions and if that fails then go to the Detailed Installation Instructions which can be found online.

dbFrontService on the Application Server

The dbFrontService was automatically installed but you may need to update some settings if the installation was a bit more complex or if you would like to tweak them to better match your own environment

Command Line Options

By default the dbFrontService installs in: [C:\Program Files (x86)\dbFrontService].

The following are some command line options you can use to install or uninstall the service.

• To install, execute: dbFrontService -install
• To uninstall, execute: dbFrontService -uninstall
• To run without installing, execute: dbFrontService -run
• To start the console menu: dbFrontService

Setting

To update the setting you need to edit the included [dbfrontservice.exe.config] file and adjust the following settings:

ServicePort:	The port on which this service will listen. The default is 8080.
UserDomain:	Enter the name of the current server to use the users on the local system. You can also specify the name of a domain to use the full active directory domain.
AdminAllGroup:	The name of the local or domain group who's users will have the ability to add or administer all Database Connections. Local and Domain Administrators will automatically have this privilage.
AdminMyGroup:	The name of the local or domain group who's users will have the ability to add or administer their own Database Connections.
SessionExpiryMinutes:	Specify how long an inactive session will remain active.
DataPath:	e.g. [Data\\]
CachePath:	e.g. [Cache\\]
LogPath:	e.g. [Logs\\]

Known Installation Issues and Fixes

• Blank Page: Need to Register Dot Net with IIS
• Blank Page & Service Unavailable: Need 32Bit AppPool
• "HTTP Error 403.3 - Not Found" error
• "HTTP Error 403.14 - Forbidden" error

Blank Page & Service Unavailable: Need 32Bit AppPool

If the IIS Application Pool is not setup to run 32Bit applications then it will fail and disable itself. The installer should automatically create a 32Bit AppPool for dbFront.

To fix this you should:

1. Ensure that the Application Pool is setup with the following settings:

   Name:	dbFrontPool
   Framework Version:	v4.0.30319
   Enable 32-Bit Applications:	True (Advanced Settings)

2. Restart the App Pool.

Blank Page: Need to Register Dot Net with IIS

It is very important to setup IIS the before Dotnet Framework is upgraded.  If the DotNet Framework is upgraded first then it won't know to setup IIS properly.

If you find that you encounter a blank web page after you have installed dbFront then you will likely need to Register the Dotnet Framework DLLs with IIS:

To do this you should:

• Open an Administrative Command Prompt,
• Browse to the Dotnet 4.0.30319 frame work folder.   You need to pick the 64 bit folder if you have a 64 bit Operating System install
  for 32 Bit: CD %systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\
  for 64 Bit: CD %systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\
• Run: aspnet_regiis.exe /iru

"HTTP Error 403.3 - Not Found" error

Error: "The page you are requesting cannot be served because of the extension configuration."

This is a common error that happens if IIS is installed after Visual Studio or the .Net Framework or a Framework upgrade.

To repair this you should:

• Open an Administrative Command Prompt,
• Browse to the Dotnet 4.0.30319 frame work folder.   You need to pick the 64 bit folder if you have a 64 bit Operating System install
  for 32 Bit: CD %systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\
  for 64 Bit: CD %systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\
• Run: aspnet_regiis.exe /iru

"HTTP Error 403.14 - Forbidden" error

IIS will return the "Forbidden" error when it can't find a default web page to serve and directory browsing is disabled.

A wrong and dangerous solution is to turn on directory browsing as IIS and other helpful articles might suggest.

The most likely problem is that IIS is not fully setup to server Dotnet webpages and so it can't find the dbFront application.

It might also be that when IIS was installed or upgraded that the entry "default.aspx" was missed or removed from the list of default documents. Please open the entry "Default Document" and view the list to ensure that "default.aspx" is included in the list. If it is missing then you can safely add it back.

For complete details on setting up IIS please see: Preparing Windows to host a Dotnet 4.0 website

Contacting Us

We ask that you search our knowledgebase and check out the tutorials before sending a specific support request.  If you can't find the answer you need there then please contact us and we will be happy to respond and improve our knowledge base.

• Detailed Installation Instructions
• Knowledge Base
• Questions & Answers
• Video Tutorials

If you still need help then feel free to send use a support request.

• Support Request

Release Notes (1.3.1.1622)

Update the Application Server to allow database access

• Microsoft SQL Server - Built-in. It should just work.
• MySQL Server
• Oracle Server

Application Setup

1. Create a Database Connection.
2. Update the Database Preferences to organize your tables and set some basic properties.
3. For each table:
   • Update the Table Preferences
   • Adjust the Field Preferences as needed
   • Add validation as needed (Database validation should already be in place)
4. Finally update the Connection Access to give your users access.

Advanced Steps

• Update triggers to ensure business rules can't be violated
• Add Action Buttons to perform specialized functionality.

Contacting Us

We ask that you search our knowledgebase and check out the tutorials before sending a specific support request.  If you can't find the answer you need there then please contact us and we will be happy to respond and improve our knowledge base.

• Detailed Installation Instructions
• Knowledge Base
• Questions & Answers
• Video Tutorials

If you still need help then feel free to send use a support request.

• Support Request