Installing ObserveIT on Windows

Server 2008 (Updated v5.0.0)

In order to successfully install the ObserveIT Application Server, Web Management Console, and
Agent components on a server running Windows Server 2008 (32-bit or 64-bit) you must
perform the following steps.
On Windows Server 2008, there is an issue with the Application Pool used for the web sites in
IIS. Currently, this prevents the automated installation of the Agent during the One Click
installation. Therefore, when the installation completes, it will display an error telling you that
the Agent was not successfully installed.
You must follow these instructions to change the way the Application Pool is associated with the
ObserveIT web components. Without doing so, you will not be able to install the ObserveIT
Agents.
Note: This guide does not cover any of the ObserveIT system requirements or installation
prerequisites. Please consult with the product's main documentation for more information.
Use this URL for an online version of the product documentation:
http://www.observeit-sys.com/documentation/Documentation-V5/index.html

Contents
This document includes the following topics:
Installing IIS and IIS Components ................................................................................................. 3
Installing the ObserveIT server-side components ...................................................................... 10
One Click Installation ............................................................................................................. 10
SQL Server ......................................................................................................................... 12
Web Components.............................................................................................................. 13
License .............................................................................................................................. 14
Configuring the Classic Application Pool in IIS ............................................................................ 16
Agent Deployment .................................................................................................................... 23
Accessing the Web Management Console ................................................................................. 26

Installing IIS and IIS Components

First, before installing the server-side components of ObserveIT, you must install IIS on the
Windows Server 2008 machine.
Note: This guide does not cover the installation of SQL Server. Please consult with the product's
main documentation for more information.
When installing IIS, you can use one of the following 2 methods: By using Server Manager, or by
using the Command Prompt. This guide will cover both methods.
To use Server Manager follow these steps.
Open Server Manager. Click on Roles, then click on Add Roles.

In the Select Server Roles window, click on the Web Server (IIS) checkbox.

In the Add Role Wizard, accept the suggested setting and click on the Add Required Features
button.

Verify that Web Server (IIS) is selected, then click on the Next button.

In the Web Server (IIS) page click on the Next button.

In the Select Role Services page, manually select ASP.NET.

In the Add Role Wizard, accept the suggested setting and click on the Add Required Features
button.

Back in the Select Role Services page, verify that ASP .NET is selected. In addition, .NET
Extensibility, ISAPI Extentions and ISAPI Filters will be automatically selected. Click on the Next
button.

Next, scroll down to the IIS 6.0 Management Compatibility and select it by clicking on the
checkbox. By default, all child nodes will be automatically selected.

Click on the Next button, review your selections, and then click on the Install button to
begin the role installation.

After a few moments installation will complete. Click on the Close button. No reboot is
required.

As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, alternatively, you can use the
servermanagercmd.exe command line utility to perform an installation of all the above
components.
To do so, open a Command Prompt and type the following line:
Note: The following command should be all typed in one line.
Servermanagercmd.exe -i Web-Server Web-WebServer Web-Common-Http Web-Static-Content
Web-Default-Doc Web-Dir-Browsing Web-Http-Errors Web-App-Dev Web-Asp-Net Web-Net-Ext
Web-ISAPI-Ext Web-ISAPI-Filter Web-Health Web-Http-Logging Web-Request-Monitor WebSecurity Web-Filtering Web-Performance Web-Stat-Compression Web-Mgmt-Tools Web-MgmtConsole Web-Mgmt-Console Web-Metabase Web-WMI Web-Lgcy-Scripting Web-Lgcy-MgmtConsole RSAT-Web-Server
If not installed, you will also need to install the .NET Framework 3.0 Features. Open a Command
Prompt and type the following line:
Note: The following command should be all typed in one line.
Servermanagercmd.exe -I NET-Framework NET-Framework-Core NET-XPS-Viewer

Installing the ObserveIT server-side components

You can now install the ObserveIT server-side components.
Note: This guide does not cover the installation of SQL Server. Please consult with the product's
main documentation for more information.

One Click Installation

To run the ObserveIT One Click installer, run the Setup.exe file located in the root folder which
was created when you extracted the setup files from the archive.

If you receive an Open File Security Warning message, click on the run button. You may need
to do so twice.

Once the installation process begins, you will see the main installation screen:

In this screen, there are 3 separate configuration sections: The first is for the SQL Server, the
second is for the web applications including the Web Console and the Application server. The
third is the licensing section.
SQL Server
Select the remote SQL Server from the Server drop-down list.

Note: If you're using a locally installed SQL Server Express Edition, you might see that the default
Server name is .\SQLEXPRESS.
If you need to use any other port than the default to connect to the SQL Server, please use it in
the format of:
servername\instancename,port-number
If the account you are currently using is a SQL Server administrator, you can use Windows
authentication for the installation. Otherwise, choose SQL Server authentication and provide a
User and Password with privileges to create databases and user accounts.

Either way, you must use a SQL Server or Window login username that has 'dbcreator' privileges
at the minimum. The default SQL Server login is "SA" (without the quotes). You can also use a
Windows user that has administrative rights on the server.
Web Components
By default, ObserveIT will look for the IIS configuration on the local server and offer to create an
additional web site that will be configured to listen to TCP port 4884. By doing so, all the
ObserveIT Agents will communicate with the ObserveIT Application Server by using TCP port
4884. You will also use this port to connect to the ObserveIT Web Management Console.
It is possible to use the Default Web Site to host the ObserveIT virtual directories, and by doing
so, the ObserveIT Application Server will be using TCP port 80.
Note: We strongly recommend using the new and dedicated web site to run ObserveIT. This
guide assumes that you followed this recommendation.
By using the drop-down list of the Web Console section you can choose which of the above
settings you want to use. Note that this port can be easily configured.

License
To use ObserveIT Pro you must provide a valid license file. This file was sent to you by e-mail
when youve registered for the demo program, or when you purchased the product. Click
Browse for License and locate the license file.

Select the check box to agree to the Terms of Service and click Install to begin the installation.

As the installation proceeds, you will see messages about its progress in the Installation Log and
Progress section.
On Windows Server 2008, there is an issue with the Application Pool used for the web sites in
IIS. Currently, this prevents the automated installation of the Agent during the One Click
installation. Therefore, when the installation completes, it will display an error telling you that
the Agent was not successfully installed.
Note: In fact, all server-side components of ObserveIT and the database were successfully
installed, and the product is now fully functional.

Click on the OK button to close the installer.

Next, follow these instructions to change the way the Application Pool is associated with the
ObserveIT web components. Without doing so, you will not be able to install the ObserveIT
Agents.

Configuring the Classic Application Pool in IIS

When the installation finishes, open IIS Manager from the Administrative tools folder. Expand
your server name, then expand Sites.
Click on the ObserveIT Application web site. In the Actions pane, click Basic Settings link.
Note: When using a different, manually created website, please click on that site and follow the
same procedure.

In the Edit Site window, click on the Select button next to the Application Pool setting.

In the Select Application Pool window, click on the Application Pool drop down list and
select ObserveITApp. Click on the OK button twice to close the settings window.

You must follow the same procedures for both the ObserveIT virtual directories. In the IIS
Manager, expand the ObserveIT Application web site. Click on the ObserveIT virtual
directory. In the Actions pane, click Basic Settings link.

In the Edit Site window, click on the Select button next to the Application Pool setting.

In the Select Application Pool window, click on the Application Pool drop down list and
select ObserveITApp. Click on the OK button twice to close the settings window.

Next, expand the ObserveIT Application web site. Click on the ObserveIT virtual directory. In
the Actions pane, click Basic Settings link.

In the Edit Site window, click on the Select button next to the Application Pool setting.

In the Select Application Pool window, click on the Application Pool drop down list and
select ObserveITApp. Click on the OK button twice to close the settings window.

Next proceed with the regular ObserveIT Agent installation.

Agent Deployment
After setting up the correct Application Pool for the ObserveIT web site and virtual directories,
you can proceed as usual with the Agent deployment without any specific configuration.
The simplest way to install the Agent is to simply run the Setup.exe file in the ObserveITAgent
subdirectory created when you extracted the installation files.
Note: Agents can also be deployed by using an automated batch file. For more information
please consult with the product documentation.

If you receive an Open File Security Warning message, click on the run button.

You will see the Agent Setup Wizard opening screen. Click Next to continue.

Next, specify a URL to the ObserveIT Application Server, the one which the Agent will
communicate with. By default, ObserveIT's server installation will offer to create an additional
web site that will be configured to listen to TCP port 4884. When accepting the default settings
during the installation of the ObserveIT Application Server, all the ObserveIT Agents will

communicate with the ObserveIT Application Server by using TCP port 4884. The URL should be
in the format:
HTTP:// servername:4884/ObserveITApplicationServer
Where servername is the name or IP of the server where the ObserveIT Application Server is
installed.
Note: If you chose to install the ObserveIT Application Server by using a different TCP port, enter
that port number in the Server URL. Click Next to continue.

When the Agent is installed, you will see the Installation Complete verification screen. Click
Close to exit the wizard.

The installed Agent will have a small icon in the notification tray area of the server.

Accessing the Web Management Console

The Web Management Console is the place where ObserveIT administrators log on in order to
view recorded sessions and make configuration changes.
By default, ObserveIT Pro edition will offer to create an additional web site that will be
configured to listen to TCP port 4884. By doing so, all the ObserveIT Agents will communicate
with the ObserveIT Application Server by using TCP port 4884. You will also use this port to
connect to the ObserveIT Web Management Console. However, it is easy to change this port by
using the IIS Manager snap-in. Please consult with the Change IIS Listening Port help topic in
the products main documentation for more information.
When accepting the default settings during the installation of the ObserveIT Application Server,
use the following URL to connect to the ObserveIT Web Management Console:
http://servername:4884/ObserveIT
Where servername is the name or IP of the server where the ObserveIT Web Management
Console is installed.
If you are logged in at the console of the server where the Web Management Console is
installed, you can access it from the "Start Menu" under "Programs" > "ObserveIT".

An web browser window will open, prompting you to log in to the Web Management console.
Since this is your first time using the ObserveIT Web Management Console, you will be
prompted to change the default "Admin" password.

Important note:
Passwords are CASE sensitive. Please select a password that is strong enough to prevent casual
guessing or other brute force attacking, making it at least 6 characters long, and with a
combination of lower case, upper case, numbers and other characters. Please make sure you
remember this password or write it down in a safe place, as without it you will not be able to log
on to the ObserveIT Web Management Console. This password CANNOT be recovered in any
way.
Enter the chosen password and confirm it, then press on the "Enter" button. Your new password
will be set. Use this username and password to gain access to the ObserveIT Web Management
console from any computer.
Using the Web Management Console is simple and intuitive. Across the top of the interface are
tabs to select a functional view. Each view has a vertical option menu on the left-hand side of
the screen. Below the option menu for all views are quick links to the most recent activity.
Please consult with the products main documentation for more information.

You can now begin using ObserveIT Pro to record and replay your user sessions. Please consult
with the products main documentation for information on how to configure various settings of
the product.

This concludes the ObserveIT on Windows Server 2008 installation guide.