Ingenious Testcraft
®Technical Documentation
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Copyright © 1999-2011, Ingenious Group, Inc. All rights reserved. This guide may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machine readable form in whole or in part without prior written approval of Ingenious Group, Inc.
Table of Contents
About Testcraft ... 4
For Network Administrators and End-Users ... 4
License Information ... 4
Support Information ... 4
Overview ... 5
Prerequisites ... 5
Testcraft Setup ... 6
Testcraft Software Installation ... 6
Database Setup ... 7
Creating a SQL Server Login ... 8
Configuration Setup ... 10
Module Setup ... 12
Testcraft Connect Configuration (optional) ... 12
Testcraft Sentry Configuration (optional) ... 13
Post Installation ... 13
Logging Into Testcraft ... 13
Troubleshooting ... 15
Problem: Folder Rights Not Configured Properly ... 15
Problem: IIS Not Configured Properly ... 15
About Testcraft
Testcraft is a web-based application designed for administering tests and surveys to distributed groups of people within an organization. It provides an easy interface for authoring assessments, deploying them on the Internet or an Intranet, and viewing or downloading the results for analysis.
For Network Administrators and End-Users
The design of Testcraft is aimed at creating little or no administrative burden on the Information Technology infrastructure. The application is light, fast, and therefore requires a minimal amount of network and hardware resources. The software requirements are Microsoft® Internet Information Services (IIS 6.0/7.0/7.5) and
Microsoft® SQL Server 2005/2008 database server. The hardware requirements for these programs can be found on the materials that accompany them. Testcraft is designed to run within the recommended
requirements of each application and requires between 100 to 500 Megabytes of additional disk space on the machine running SQL Server in typical installations. Both the IIS and SQL Server programs can exist on a single system or on separate system hardware as long as they are accessible to each other via TCP/IP.
Testcraft’s application interface is designed to be easy to use and understand with help instructions and explanations provided for each input field on every page. Its intuitive nature was one of the core design goals at inception and remains a primary mandate today. It is designed to require little administrative overhead for the systems administrative staff. In order to avoid the administrative burden of maintaining user accounts and passwords, each assessment contains its own password, and a unique key (email address, by default) identifies users.
License Information
This product is shipped with an accompanying license and support/maintenance agreement. Please be sure to consult these agreements for information regarding the terms of usage, product warranties and support. By installing the application, you indicate your acceptance of the End-User License Agreement.
Support Information
Please review the Software Maintenance and Support Agreement included with the software for information on support for your product. If at any time you need assistance with the product, please contact us at:
Ingenious Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 317 New Hartford, CT 06057
Phone: (860) 738-2231 Fax: (860) 738-2241
Overview
IMPORTANT! Please read this entire document before starting your installation.
Installing Testcraft is a relatively straight forward process, even if you have never installed a Web or database application before. The installation is composed of three major steps and one optional step in addition to any necessary pre and post installation tasks that may apply to your particular environment. If you have purchased additional Testcraft modules, one optional step will be required. In general, the installation will consist of the following:
1. Testcraft Setup - installing the application files onto your Internet Information Server (IIS) machine. 2. Database Setup - upgrading your existing Testcraft database on your SQL Server.
3. Configuration Setup - tailoring Testcraft options to suit your environment. 4. Module Setup (optional) - configuring any Testcraft add-on modules.
It is important to read this entire document before performing the upgrade installation to fully understand the interactions of the different steps. Again, for those that have performed an installation of a similar type of application, nothing should be new here.
NOTE: Some of the screenshots included in this documentation may indicate a different
version than the one you are installing. In these cases, please disregard the version shown in the screenshot as the remainder of the screenshot will still be appropriate.
Prerequisites
You must make sure the following prerequisites are met before installing Testcraft.
1. Before installing Testcraft on Windows Server 2003/2008, be sure that any Service Packs and security patches available are installed via Windows Update before proceeding.
URL: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
2. Ensure the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 is installed on the IIS server. Testcraft is primarily an ASP.NET application and requires the .NET Framework to operate. The .NET Framework installation program can be downloaded using the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/net/download.aspx
Testcraft Setup
Testcraft Software Installation
Perform the following steps to ensure successful installation of the Testcraft Server software. If you are installing the Web and database portions of Testcraft on separate machines, these steps must only be performed on the Web (IIS) machine.
1. Run the "Setup.exe" installation executable from the root directory of the Testcraft CD. This will begin the installation program and will eventually bring up the following welcome screen.
2. Click the Next button to proceed to the End-User License Agreement. You must indicate you agree to the terms of the agreement before you will be allowed to install the software. The agreement may also be copied and pasted from this screen for further review.
3. Now, you must enter your name, your organization’s name, and the license key provided to you by your Testcraft sales representative or support staff. Click Next to continue.
4. In the next step, you will be able to select the Testcraft components to be installed on your server. For most installations, you will simply want to leave everything selected, which will install everything needed to run the software. If you would like to control which components are installed, you may uncheck the components you do not wish to install. You may also change the Installation folder on this screen if you choose to.
6. Finally, when the Testcraft installation has been finished, you will be shown the following screen indicating its completion.
7. Click Finish to complete the installation.
If you encountered any errors during the installation, notify Testcraft support using the contact information provided at the beginning of this documentation. If you did not encounter any errors, you will be ready to proceed to the Web Server Setup step.
Database Setup
The Testcraft database installation process can be run from any computer with access to the SQL Server that will host the Testcraft database. Perform the following steps to create and initialize a new Testcraft database:
1. Open the "Testcraft 7.0 New Database Package" executable from the "Testcraft > Database" program group. Alternatively, you may find the executable installed in the "C:\Program
Files\Testcraft\Db" directory by default.
If you receive any errors upon clicking the Run button, it is probably because the SQL package cannot communicate with the SQL Server you have specified given the user credentials provided. You should check to ensure the Server name is correct and the user name and password are valid.
If the application gives any other error, not related to communication, you may require a custom database upgrade package. In this case, you will need to contact Testcraft support staff to acquire this package.
3. As the database is upgraded and modified, you will see the following status screen.
4. Upon successful update of the database, you should see the following dialog box.
5. Now that the database has been upgraded, you must perform the Configuration Setup tasks.
Creating a SQL Server Login
2. From the Object Explorer, expand the [database server name], Security, and Logins. Right-click on Logins and select “New Login…”
3. Enter a valid Login name (“tcuser” for example). Choose the “SQL Server authentication” radio button. If you cannot choose this button, it is likely because mixed mode authentication is not enabled on your SQL Server installation. Use the Microsoft documentation to enable it and continue to follow these instructions.
4. Enter a strong password and confirm it.
5. From the “Default Database” dropdown select “TC1_Data” or whatever you named your Testcraft database.
6. From the “Select a page” area on the left, choose “User Mapping”.
Configuration Setup
Now that the Testcraft software has been installed, the Web server has been prepared, and the database has been upgraded, you are ready to configure the new Testcraft version for operation. The following tasks must be completed to configure the application.
1. Run the "Configuration Manager" program from the "Testcraft" program group. Alternatively, you may find the executable installed in the "C:\Program Files\Testcraft\Utils\TestcraftConfig\" folder by default.
2. When you first run the configuration program, you may see the message "No Configuration Loaded" in both the Web.Config Variables pane and the Config Tables Variables pane of the Configuration Manager window, as shown below.
3. From the Actions menu, select the Load Web.Config option. Navigate to and open the "Web.config" file in the "Web" directory of your Testcraft installation (for example, "C:\Program Files\Testcraft\Web\Web.config").
4. If your Config Table Variables already appear, go on to step 5. If they do not, select the Load Config
Table option from the Actions menu. Provide the details required for connection to the SQL Server
from the current machine. Once you have properly opened the Web.config file and the configuration table in the Testcraft database, you should see a listing of values from each of those locations.
Note: If you open the Configuration Manager at a later date, it will remember the locations of the
5. To edit any of the configuration settings, double-click on the row you would like to modify. A setting editor dialog box will appear which will help you make the correct modifications to the setting.
6. It is extremely important to make sure ALL the Web.config variables are set properly. The connection strings should point to the Testcraft database, the URL's should be formatted as complete and proper Web URL's (including trailing slashes), and the Path's should be formatted as proper local or shared path's (with trailing backslashes). Use the values provided with Testcraft as examples to ensure proper formatting.
The most important setting is the "ConnString" with the key of “Main”. Be sure to specify the correct Server Name, User Name, Password and Database Name (the name you chose previously during Database Setup). Testcraft will not function if the "ConnString" with the key of “Main” variable is not specified properly.
7. When you have completed making modifications, make sure you choose Save Web.Config and Save
used as preferences for how Testcraft will function and which options will be made available to the users.
HELP IS AVAILABLE: To debug connectivity issues with the database, a file named
“TestConnection.aspx” is included in the “Utils” folder of the installation. Copy this file into the “Web” folder of the installation and call it from the Web browser. This script should help by providing a meaningful error message regarding connecting to the SQL Server. Once you have solved the connectivity issue, it is highly recommended that you remove the
“TestConnection.aspx” script from the “Web” folder for security reasons.
Module Setup
If you purchased any optional Testcraft modules such as Connect or Sentry, follow the instructions below to configure those modules to operate with your new Testcraft installation. If you did not purchase any optional Testcraft modules, skip this section and proceed with the Post Installation instructions.
Testcraft Connect Configuration (optional)
If you purchased the Testcraft Connect module, perform the following steps to complete its configuration. 1. Open Query Analyzer on either the Web or SQL Server machine and open the SQL script named
"TC700_Install_Module_Connect.sql" under the "Db\scripts" directory of the Testcraft installation. For example, "C:\Program Files\Testcraft\Db\scripts".
2. Select the Testcraft database from the dropdown list of databases in the Query Analyzer toolbar. For example, "TC1_Data".
3. Click the green, right-pointing arrow button in the same toolbar to run the loaded script on the selected database.
When the script has been run successfully, you should see the message “The database update
succeeded” at the bottom of the message log. As long as you see this message, you don’t have to
worry about any red “Server: Msg” lines. If you receive a message saying “The database update
failed”, you will need to contact Testcraft Support and they will probably ask you for a copy of the
entire message log (so don’t close the window just yet).
4. Once the script has been run, open the Testcraft Configuration Manager from the Testcraft program group and edit the new configuration settings for the module in the Config Table section of the manager. All Testcraft Connect module settings will have a Module indicator of "CNCT". For help editing the module settings, contact Testcraft support using the information at the beginning of this document.
Testcraft Sentry Configuration (optional)
If you purchased the Testcraft Sentry module, perform the following steps to complete its configuration. 1. Open Query Analyzer on either the Web or SQL Server machine and open the SQL script named
"TC700_Install_Module_Sentry.sql" under the "Db\scripts" directory of the Testcraft installation. For example, "C:\Program Files\Testcraft\Db\scripts".
2. Select the Testcraft database from the dropdown list of databases in the Query Analyzer toolbar. For example, "TC1_Data".
3. Click the green, right-pointing arrow button in the same toolbar to run the loaded script on the selected database.
When the script has been run successfully, you should see the message “The database update
succeeded” at the bottom of the message log. As long as you see this message, you don’t have to
worry about any red “Server: Msg” lines. If you receive a message saying “The database update
failed”, you will need to contact Testcraft Support and they will probably ask you for a copy of the
entire message log (so don’t close the window just yet).
4. Once the script has been run, open the Testcraft Configuration Manager from the Testcraft program group and edit the new configuration settings for the module in the Config Table section of the manager. All Testcraft Sentry module settings will have a Module indicator of "STRY". For help editing the module settings, contact Testcraft support using the information at the beginning of this document.
5. Locate the setting with a module indicator of “STRY” named “ModuleExists”. Be sure this setting is set to “yes”.
6. If everything is installed properly, you will have a Proctor Administration button in the Assessment Control Panel on the Testcraft account home page (the first page you see after successfully logging in.
Post Installation
Logging Into Testcraft
The following instructions will assist you in logging into the Testcraft product for the first time:
Troubleshooting
The following sections should only be used if something is wrong with the installation after an upgrade.
Problem: Folder Rights Not Configured Properly
The installation process should have given “Modify” security privileges to the “Web\downloads” and
“Web\resources” folders for the “Network Service” local machine account. If this did not happen or if you are not using the “Network Service” local machine account for anonymous security in IIS, then you will need to follow the instructions below. If the proper rights were granted by the installation process skip these steps and go to the “Web Server Setup” section.
Now, you must give additional rights to the default “Network Service” rights account for the "downloads" and "resources" directories of the application.
1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the "C:\Program Files\Testcraft\Web" directory (or wherever you chose to install Testcraft).
2. Right-click on the "downloads" sub-directory and click on "Properties".
3. Select the "Security" tab at the top of the properties window. Then click on the Add button to give another user rights to this sub-directory.
4. Add the local "NETWORK SERVICE" account. This is the default account used for security control of ASP.NET applications.
If you have altered the default ASP.NET account on your Web server, you must first identify which account is being used and add that account to this list before you continue.
5. With the default ASP.NET rights account selected (NETWORK SERVICE, etc.) check "Allow" beside the "Modify" permission. This will also select all other permissions with the exception of "Full
Control". Click OK to assign the security rights.
6. Perform the same actions for the "resources" sub-directory starting with sub-step 2 above. NOTE: Under some installations, the default ASP.NET rights account may not have been
created, is disabled, or is not being used for anonymous security of ASP.NET applications. In these cases, you must identify the correct account being used for anonymous ASP.NET applications and give it the proper "Modify" rights as described above. Consult the Microsoft operating system documentation for information on assigning application and file security rights to user accounts.
Problem: IIS Not Configured Properly
All work in this part of the installation is performed in the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager of Windows 2003. By allowing you to maintain the IIS virtual directory or Website manually, Testcraft gives you a great deal of flexibility in creating the exact Web structure that best suits your organization or existing Website.
1. Start the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager by selecting "Start Menu > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager ".
2. Expand the server name representing your Testcraft server. Then expand “Web Sites”. Then expand "Default Web Site" or the Web Site where the existing Testcraft installation is located.
3. Right click on the proper Testcraft virtual directory or Web Site and select "Properties".
4. Modify or confirm the following settings on the Home or Virtual Directory tab.
Local path = "C:\Program Files\Testcraft\Web" or the "Web" sub-directory the installation Application name = "Testcraft" (or whatever your existing installation is named)
Execute Permissions = “Scripts only”
For Windows Server 2003: Application Pool = “TestcraftAppPool”
5. Click on the Documents tab and confirm the following settings: Enable Default Document = checked
6. Click on the ASP.NET tab and confirm the following settings: ASP.NET version = “4.0.30319”
7. All other tabs can be left at their default values. Click OK to save any changes made to the virtual directory.
Problem: License Not Installed Properly
A valid and current serial number is required for Testcraft to run properly. This serial number is provided on a printed certificate or electronically via email. In some cases, more than one serial number may be provided if you have purchased additional Testcraft modules or multiple server licenses.
If you have not yet installed your Testcraft serial number, you will see the following in your browser when attempting to access the Testcraft software. To remedy this, follow the steps below.
Evaluation license users will see a notice at the bottom of many Testcraft pages notifying them of the
evaluation status and the number of days remaining. The following instructions will assist you in installing your license:
should be entered on separate lines. If you have received two or more production serial numbers, only enter one of those serial numbers per Web server. Do not enter all serial numbers on all servers, as you will not know which serial number is actually being used by each server.
3. After clicking the Submit button, be sure to save the changes to the Web.Config file by selecting “Actions > Save Web.Config”.
4. Navigate to the Testcraft sign-in page with your browser. For example, "http://www.sample.com/testcraft/", where "www.sample.com" is the Web address of your Testcraft server.
