SysAid Installation Guide

Introduction

SysAid is available in two editions: a fully Cloud, SAAS solution and an installed, In-House solution. This document will help you install the In-House Edition of SysAid (Windows version).

SysAid is a web application. You need to install the SysAid server, which all users will access. SysAid includes a Tomcat web server; you do not need to install one separately.

Users accessing the help desk will connect to the SysAid Server via a web browser. For asset management, you will deploy the SysAid Agent to your network's computers.  Please see the Agent Deployment guide for more information about installing the SysAid Agent.

SysAid Server System Requirements

The minimum requirements for SysAid are:

* Environments with more than 2,000 assets require a 64-bit operating system

** SysAid includes a Derby database, but you can instead choose to integrate with MS SQL, MySQL, or Oracle. Derby embedded data base is not recommended for environments with more than 3000 assets.

Installing SysAid

When you registered for a trial of SysAid or placed your order for SysAid, you received an e-mail with a link to download the SysAid server and an attached activation file, activation.xml.

1. Download the SysAid Server installation file using the link provided in the e-mail.
2. Download the activation.xml file to the server on which you will be installing SysAid.
3. Run the SysAid Server installation file. The file name is either SysAidServer.exe or SysAidServer64.exe. This opens the installer.
4. It's recommended to close all non-essential applications. When you have done so, click the Next button. This opens the license agreement screen.

 

 Figure 1: SysAid Server Setup Wizard



 

5. Please read through the SysAid Server license agreement. If you accept the terms and conditions, please click "I accept the terms of the license agreement" and then click Next.

 

 Figure 2: SysAid License Agreement



 

6. Choose whether to use the Typical or Custom installation settings. Choosing customized installation gives you the following additional options:
   
   

   Configuration Option	Default	Can be changed later
   Select SysAid installation directory	C:\Program Files\SysAidServer
   Select start menu folder for SysAid shortcuts	SysAid
   Select the database type: Derby, MySQL, MS SQL, Oracle	Derby
   Enter SMTP information for your outgoing mail server	None
   Choose the listening port for the Tomcat web server	8080
   Configure LDAP integration using Active Directory	None
   Choose the default SysAid language	English

   
   If you choose Typical installation, skip to Applying Your License File. If you choose Customized installation, continue on to Step 7.
   
    Figure 3: Choosing a setup type
   
    
7. The page that appears allows you to select the installation directory for the SysAid server. It is recommended to use the default directory. After you have chosen a directory, click Next.

 

 Figure 4: Selecting an installation directory for the SysAid Server



 

8. SysAid now prompts you to select a start menu folder for the SysAid shortcuts.

 

 Figure 5: Choosing a folder for the SysAid Start Menu shortcuts



Choose a folder and click Next. SysAid installation begins.

 

 Figure 6: Installation in progress

Applying Your License File

Setup now asks you to input your license file. Select the license key you saved during Step 2 above. Then click Next. If you chose Typical installation, skip now to Initializing Your Account and Setting Up A Username and Password.

 Figure 7: Uploading a license file

Selecting a Database

SysAid comes bundled with an Apache Derby database. This is the default option when installing SysAid. However, you may also connect SysAid with an external database-- either Oracle, MS SQL, or MySQL.

 Figure 8: Choosing a database

Embedded Derby Database-- Default

If you choose to use the Derby database, SysAid will configure everything for you. Choose "Use embedded derby database" and click Next. Click Next on the Database Connection screen as well, and SysAid wills configure your database.

External Database

Another option is to use your own external database.

1. Choose "Use an external Database" and click Next. This opens the Database Connection setup. 
2. Choose the database type you will be using.

 

 Figure 9: Setting the database connection



 

• JDBC Driver field refers to the software needed to manage the database. SysAid will suggest a default driver based upon your choice. You may change it if necessary.
• JDBC URL identifies the name and location of the database.
• In order to ensure proper functionality of SysAid, your database encoding should be UTF-8. In the event that your DB is not in this format, you will receive an error message. (You may continue, but some letters/characters may not display correctly within SysAid.)

Installing SysAid with MS SQL or MySQL*

3. Create an empty database on the server of your choice.
4. Specify the JDBC URL for your empty database. Replace localhost with the SQL server hostname or IP address and replace ilient with the name of your database.
5. Enter the username and a password of a user who has sufficient privileges on that database (DBO). For MS SQL, you can use the SA account and for MySQL, you can use the root account.
6. Click Check Connection to verify that SysAid can successfully connect to the database. If the connection is successful, you may proceed with the installation.  If the connection is unsuccessful, please check that you have correctly created the database and that you have typed the correct values into all of the fields. If the connection is still unsuccessful, you may consult your local database administrator (DBA) or contact SysAid for support.

 

*SysAid supports up to version 5.5 of MySQL.

 

Installing SysAid with an Oracle database

3. Create a new user in an existing database on your server, and grant DBA permissions to that user.
4. Specify the JDBC URL for your database. Replace localhost with your Oracle server hostname or IP address and replace ILIENT with the database name.
5. Enter the username and password of the user that you created before.
6. Click Check Connection to verify that SysAid can successfully connect to the database. If the connection is successful, you may proceed with the installation.  If the connection is unsuccessful, please check that you have created a valid user with the correct permissions and that you have typed the correct values into all of the fields. If the connection is still unsuccessful, you may consult your local database administrator (DBA) or contact SysAid for support.

From this point on, SysAid will store its data in the selected database.

Setting Up Outgoing E-mail

On this screen you will be asked to specify your settings for outgoing e-mail.

1. Input your Mail server (SMTP). This is your outgoing e-mail server. If you would like to set up e-mail integration later, click Skip.
2. In the Reply address field, enter the outgoing e-mail address for your SysAid server. This can be any e-mail address set up on your mail server.
3. Click Next. SysAid will attempt to verify the connection. If you are using an external SMTP server that requires authentication, such as Gmail, you won't be able to verify the connection at this stage. Click OK to proceed.

 Figure 10: Configuring outgoing email

Choosing the Tomcat Listening Port

Choose a Server HTTP port. This is the port the SysAid Server will listen on. The default is 8080. You will use this port number when logging into SysAid (this is detailed later on). Unless you have another service already listening on port 8080, there is no reason to change this.

 Figure 11: Choosing the Tomcat listening port

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Integration

You can import your users into SysAid using a compliant active directory software, like Microsoft Active Directory, Open LDAP, or Novell LDAP.

Advantages of LDAP integration include:

• Automatically import all of your users and user groups into SysAid.
• Manage users for SysAid through your LDAP instead of in SysAid, saving you the time and energy of having to enter all information twice (once in LDAP, once in SysAid).
• Authenticate through LDAP instead of through SysAid, consolidating all login attempts into one place (your LDAP).
• Enable single sign-on so that users are automatically logged into SysAid the moment they log into their computers.

To learn more about LDAP integration, please go here.

The LDAP Integration Wizard found here works only for Microsoft Active Directory. If you do not want to use LDAP integration, or if you would like to use a different LDAP software, you can click Skip.

To set up LDAP integration for Microsoft Active Directory:

1. Select your LDAP server type from the dropdown list.
2. Enter the Server Address, which is the hostname or IP Address of the LDAP server.
3. Enter your Server Port. This is the port used to connect to the LDAP server. The default is 389.
4. Enter a User Name and Password that has read permission on your LDAP.
5. Enter the Active Directory Domain. This is the NetBIOS domain name.
6. Click the Next button. SysAid will attempt to connect to your AD. If the connection is not successful, please recheck the connection parameters, and verify that you have entered a valid username and password. If you are still unable to connect, please contact SysAid Support.

After successfully setting up LDAP here, all of your users will be imported into SysAid automatically, even before you log in for the first time.

 Figure 12:  Setting up LDAP integration

Choosing the Default Language

The next thing to do is choose your default language for SysAid. Choose from one of the nine available languages. If your language is not in the list, you can still use SysAid in your language of choice by editing the translation file after you've completed installation. Also, the End User Portal is available in 42 different languages, any of which may be selected after you finish installation.

 Figure 13:  Choosing the default language

Initializing Your Account and Setting Up a Username and Password

You've now reached the final step in installation, initializizing your account. Complete the following steps to finish your SysAid installation:

1. Review the Account ID and Serial Number fields. These fields were prepopulated when you uploaded your license key earlier during the installation.
2. Choose a username for the main SysAid Administrator. Do not forget this username, as you will need to log in with this user if you ever need to troubleshoot LDAP integration.
3. Enter a password, and then confirm your password.
   
   

    Figure 14: Initializing your account

   
    

4. Click Next.
5. Please wait while the database initializes.
   
6. You should now receive a confirmation screen letting you know that SysAid has been successfully installed. Click Finish to close the installer.

 

 Figure 15: Installation complete



 

Installation is now complete. The SysAid Server runs as a service. It can be found on the list of services running on your computer under the name "SysAid Server."

After completing installation, the SysAid login page opens in a browser window (it will take a minute until it loads, as the SysAid Server is still initializing). Another window opens with the Getting Started Guide. Be sure to read through this guide to learn where to go and what to do when you first start using SysAid.

Getting Started

Now that SysAid is installed, you would like to begin using it. To log into SysAid:

--Either--

1. Click on the desktop/start menu shortcut for SysAid.
2. On the login screen, enter the username and password you specified during installation.
3. Click Login.

--Or--

1. Open any web browser.
2. In the URL bar, enter the IP address or hostname of the server where you installed SysAid, followed by a colon (:), followed by the listening port (which you configured above). Example:
   http://<server IP/hostname>:<port>
3. On the login screen, enter the username and password you specified during installation.
4. Click Login.

Congratulations! You've installed SysAid and are now logged in! You will now want to ensure that all of your users are imported into SysAid, install the SysAid agent for asset management, and configures SysAid's many preferences to suit your specific needs. If at any time you need assistance, you can use the question mark icon located in the top right corner of the screen to get help for the screen you are on. Also be sure to read our Getting Started guide, which will show you where to go and what to do as you take your first steps with SysAid. Our support team is always available to help you, as well. You may contact them at helpdesk@sysaid.com.

Contact Us

SysAid welcomes your questions and suggestions. We can be reached via phone and e-mail:

Toll Free phone center (U.S): 800-686-7047

Tel (U.S): +1 617-231-0124

Fax (U.S): +1 617 507 2559

Tel (Israel): +972 3 533 3675

Fax (Israel): +972 3 761 7205

E-mail: helpdesk@sysaid.com

SysAid community: http://www.sysaid.com/Sysforums/forums/home.page

You can also view our full support page at http://www.sysaid.com/contact_support.htm.