Installation (Getting Started)

Introduction

This page will guide you through the installation process. It's pretty easy.

Software and Hardware Requirements

See Hardware, Software and Hosting Requirements.

Download

Download the SnCore installation package here. The latest known good version is 1.0.1455.0.

Before you install, please read Hardware, Software and Hosting Requirements. Run the SnCore_..msi package (eg. SnCore_1.0.1455.0.msi). It will guide you through the installation process, create the database, the website, etc.

WebSite Options

The installer offers two installation options for web sites: virtual directory and full domain. The virtual directory installation will create virtual directories in your IIS metabase, while the full domain will create a complete website. After choosing a full domain installation you must adjust DNS settings in order for your site to be accessible. Please contact your network provider for setting this up.

Database Options

Currently, only Windows authentication is supported. You can always adjust settings manually by editing the site's web.config.

Troubleshooing Installation

If the msi installer fails, rerun the installer as follows and collect the installation log file.

msiexec /i SnCore_1.0.1455.msi /l*v install.log

See Contact and Help for contact information.

Upgrading

To upgrade to a newer version of SnCore, run the installer normally. The first installer screen will confirm that it is performing an upgrade and you will not be prompted for information collected during the installation the first time. The latter is stored in registry during first-time install under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Vestris Inc.\SnCore.

Note that it is safe to uninstall the product and reinstall it. This is the recommended procedure if upgrade fails. The automatic upgrade performs a major upgrade, uninstalling the previous version and installing the new one. The database will never be dropped by the installer, thus preserving existing data. An upgrade or a fresh install over an existing database will safely upgrade the schema if necessary.

Deploying System Services

SnCore has several back-end services that process various queues, including e-mail or syndication and perform cleanup tasks. These services can be run in the same AppDomain as the website or can be installed as full Windows services thus not sharing the same memory space as the website. The latter is recommended for heavy load and distributed scenarios and is the default.

Hosted services are disabled by default by the website's web.config.

<appSettings>
 <add key="SystemServices.Enabled" value="false"/>
</appSettings>

Configuring the System

You can configure various aspects of the system from the Manage page. Log-in as the system administrator and click on Me Me. Click Manage on the bottom left in the user menu.

Configuring Outgoing E-Mail

You can configure and test outgoing e-mail via a configuration wizard available from the Settings page or by changing the SnCore.Mail.* settings directly. See Settings for more information.

Adjust the SnCore.Mail.Delivery setting to route outgoing e-mail via the following standard options.

Network: Email is sent through the network to an SMTP server. Unauthenticated and authenticated e-mail gateways are supported.
SpecifiedPickupDirectory: Email is copied to the directory specified by the SnCore.Mail.PickupDirectoryLocation option.
PickupDirectoryFromIis: Email is copied to the pickup directory used by a local Internet Information Services (IIS) for delivery.

What's Next?

Navigate to the website. This is typically http://localhost/SnCoreWeb/. By default the system creates an administrative account with username admin@localhost.com and password: password. It also creates a bug project, a general site discussion and adjusts default Settings.