In this article
Included as part of each release is a prerequisite checker to help ensure your site has all the correct components installed to ensure a properly functioning Forsta Plus site. There are two options included with each deployment; a stand-alone checker which can be executed without any prior configurations related to the Forsta Plus installation, and a checker that is built in to the Octopus deployment system.
The following sections outline where you can obtain the prerequisite checker tools, and describe how you use them.
Downloading
Octopus
From a server that has a connection to the Forsta Chocolatey feed, the stand alone pre-req package can be downloaded via the following command:
choco install Confirmit.PrereqChecker
The package will be downloaded and extracted to a directory called 'Pre-req Checker'. This directory can then be copied out and executed on servers you plan on checking.
Execution
Execute PrereqGUI.ps1 from Powershell with administration permissions (from locally in the directory).
Interface
Figure 1 - The Prerequisite Checker interface
Server Roles
Depending on which Forsta Plus roles you will be hosting on the server you are preparing for installation, check the required options.
SQL Input
Enter a valid SQL user and host address (alias or hostname/IP) to validate the connection to your sites system SQL server (SQL aliases should be set up in advance of running this tool).
Forsta Plus Deployer
This is the local or domain Windows user you intend to use for the installation. This will check that the user is able to run as a server; this is required for the Task System and Bitstream services.
Report Generation
Once the required roles have been selected and any optional SQL and Forsta Plus Deployer account details have been entered as required, click Run Pre-Req Checker to start the process. An HTML report is generated and presented with the status of required components for the roles you have selected.
Figure 2 - Example of the prerequisite checker report
Components that require separate installers can be downloaded using the Download button (a connection to the internet is required). Example below.
Example of a component that requires a separate installer
Octopus Prerequisite Checker
Octopus deployment is able to check the status prerequisites across all servers that have a role in your Octopus deployed site, during each deployment. This allows you to ensure your site is always compliant with the release of Horizons you intend to deploy.
The prerequisite check is listed as a step during the release deployment that can be run as part of every deployment, skipped if required, or run on a specific subset of servers. An HTML report is generated for each server that is not fully complaint.
Executing a Prerequisite Check
The prerequisite check is performed as a step during deployment. As previously mentioned, this is run during every deployment, but can be skipped by disabling this step during deployment.
Default prerequisite check behaviour
By beginning a deployment, the prerequisite check is performed at step two (2.Confirmit.PrereqChecker). As with other parts of the deployment, the prerequisite check nuget package will be copied out to each machine (Acquire package) and then the check will be executed.
This step can be monitored via 'Task Summary' or for a more detailed via, 'Task Log' tabs.
Once completed, a summary of compliance for each server can be reviewed via the Task Log tab. Expand the sections related to each server you are reviewing. Below is an example of the 'Task Log' preformed against a server with the 'MetadataAPI' role.
Figure 3 - Example of the 'Task Log' preformed against a server with the 'MetadataAPI' role
From the output above, we see the required prerequisite Windows features and stand-alone products listed and checked for compliance. Further information on what these requirements are can be found in the report that is generated . See 'Report Generation' below.
Skipping the prerequisite check step
When beginning deployment, 'untick' the step if it is not required and it will be skipped.
Figure 4 - Deselecting a prerequisite step
Performing the check on a select number of servers on the site
A specific server or sub-set of servers:
- Select the Advanced option (next to Deploy now).
- Select Deploy to a specific subset of deployment targets.
- Add the machines you would like to check.
- Select Deploy Release.
The figure below shows an example from Forsta's SaaS US site when selecting a server to run the check against.
Figure 5 - Example of selecting a server
Select Skip - All and then enable the prerequisite checker step to ensure only the prerequisite checker step is run and only on the servers you have selected.
Octopus Report Generation
An HTML report is generated for all servers that are non-compliant, which provides further detail regarding the compliance status for that particular server. These reports are located under the 'Artifacts' section which is available on the Deploy page where Task Summary and Task Log are also located.
Figure 6 - Example of an HTML report
As with the stand-alone prerequisite checker, you can use these reports as a reference to update required features and download and install required components. See the stand-alone prerequisite 'Report Generation' section for further information.