This section explains the simple step-by-step installation process for the Aeon server. This installation process is for non-hosted server locations only. Please contact Atlas Systems to install Aeon if your institution is a hosted server location. The Aeon Server installation file is downloaded from the Atlas Systems web pages and run on your Aeon server. This file will install the Aeon Server and all components needed to run Aeon. The Aeon services and other files will install automatically on the server upon running the Aeon installation file.
Obtaining the Aeon Server Setup File
To obtain the Server setup file, AeonServerSetup.exe (v5.0 and prior)/Aeon PowerShell Installer Scripts (v5.1 and later), follow the steps outlined below:
You will need to contact Atlas Systems for credentials to access the installation files listed below.
Email: support@atlas-sys.com. Phone: 1-800-567-7401 ext. 1.
Each major version of Aeon (4.1.0.0, 5.0.0.0, 5.1.0.0, etc.) requires its own installer.
If, for example, you are on version 4.1 and are updating to version 5.1, you would first need to run the 5.0 server installer, then the 5.1 installer scripts. The latest installers for each currently supported major version of Aeon are available below.
Current Server Installers
- Aeon 5.2 Server Installer (PowerShell Scripts - v5.2.1.0)
- Aeon 5.1 Server Installer (PowerShell Scripts - v5.1.10)
- Aeon 5.0.1.0 Server Installer
If you do not see the installer version you need or are unsure of which files to install, please contact support@atlas-sys.com.
Client Installation
Note that the Aeon Client Installer is available in the Aeon Downloads.
Installing the server
- Locate the Aeon Installation Server Setup file on the Atlas Systems website. A Quick Link to the file is provided above.
- Enter the User Name and Password provided by Atlas Systems. Click OK.
- File download. Click on the Aeon Server Installer and select Save to save the file to your desktop.
- Save As screen. The default download location for the file is the server desktop. Click Save. The file will download to your desktop.
-
When the download is complete, select Close and begin the installation for v5.0 or prior by right-clicking the AeonServerUpdater.exe icon and choosing the Run as administrator option.
If you are installing Aeon v5.1 or v5.2, you will need to follow the steps outlined in the Installing/Updating the Server with PowerShell Scripts section below.
Installing/Updating the Server with PowerShell Scripts (v5.1+)
Beginning with Aeon v5.1, new installation and update PowerShell scripts that support a broader array of configurations are used to perform the server installation/update. You can obtain these scripts by contacting Atlas Support for credentials and using the download link at the top of this article.
Prerequisites
To run these scripts, IIS Manager must be installed and you must be using version 5 of PowerShell via the Run as administrator option.
- If installing/updating to Aeon v5.1, then you must also be logged into the server as an admin before running PowerShell. You may also need to run the following command to set your execution policy to 'Unrestricted' before running the scripts (this will set the policy only for the current session):
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted - As of Aeon v5.2, you do not need to log into the server with an administrator account or set the execution policy to 'Unrestricted' to run the scripts, however, you must still use the Run as administrator option to open PowerShell.
- The IIS 6 Management Console component must be installed on Aeon Servers using Windows Server 2022 prior to performing the Aeon 5.2 server upgrade due to a known issue affecting PowerShell. For installation instructions, see Installing Required Windows Server 2022 Components for the Aeon 5.2 Update
Running the Scripts
The installation and update scripts will both execute the same steps in the following order:
- Determine which version of Aeon server should be installed.
- Download the components needed for that version.
- Harvest a list of parameters for those components.
- Prompt the user for those parameters.
- Install the components.
- Clean up any downloaded files.
Installation Script Parameters
InstallAeonServer.ps1 has the following parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
| -advanced |
If set, this flag will cause the installation script to prompt for all possible installation parameters for each component. If not set, the installation script will prompt only for those parameters which do not have a default value. Most installations will be able to run the script without this flag. |
| -downloadOnly |
If set, this flag will stop the installer after step 2 above, allowing you to manually install each component (see Installing Components Manually below). This method is intended for use cases not covered by a basic installation, e.g. for sites with multiple web directories or for sites where the API or WebPlatform need to be hosted on a different server than the DLL.
|
| -baseApiUrl |
Do not supply a value for this parameter unless directed by Atlas staff. |
| -updateFile |
Do not supply a value for this parameter unless directed by Atlas staff. |
| -skipDownloadPrompt |
If this flag is set, the script will download the component packages immediately instead of prompting you first. |
| -skipDatabaseCreation |
Used for Atlas-hosted installations. Do not supply a value for this parameter unless directed by Atlas staff. |
Update Script Parameters
UpdateAeonServer.ps1 has the following parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
| -advanced |
If set, this flag will cause the update script to prompt for all possible installation parameters for each component. If not set, the script will prompt only for those parameters which do not have a default value. Most installations will be able to run the script without this flag. |
| -downloadOnly |
If set, this flag will stop the updater after step 2 above, allowing you to manually update each component (see Installing Components Manually below). This method is intended for use cases not covered by a basic installation, e.g. for sites with multiple web directories or for sites where the API or WebPlatform need to be hosted on a different server than the DLL.
|
| -serverName | The name of the server hosting your SQL Server instance (e.g. 'localhost'). |
| -databaseName | The name of the Aeon database (e.g. 'AeonData'). |
| -sqlServerUsername | The SQL Server username (e.g. 'sa') used to connect. Leave blank to use Windows Authentication. |
| -sqlServerPassword | The password for the SQL Server username used above. |
| -baseApiUrl |
Do not supply a value for this parameter unless directed by Atlas staff. |
| -updateFile |
Do not supply a value for this parameter unless directed by Atlas staff. |
Installing/Updating Components Manually
You can choose to manually install each component by setting the "downloadOnly" parameter while running either the installation or update script. Each component is downloaded as a .zip archive containing both the files needed to install the component and several .ps1 scripts. The scripts for each component will include, at minimum, Install.ps1 (used to install) and Update.ps1 (used to update).
For help with any of the component scripts, you can call the following command in PowerShell to obtain a description of the script and all of its parameters:
Get-Help <scriptFilename>Running the Aeon Server Installation Program (v5.0 and prior)
Once you have downloaded the AeonServerSetup.exe file to your Aeon server desktop, follow the screen-by-screen steps below to install the Aeon Server.
- Right-click the Server Setup icon and select Run as administrator.
- Click Next on the Welcome screen to begin the installation.
- Select the features to install on your Aeon server and click Next. By default, the Database, System Manager, Web, and SQL Alias Manager will be installed.
- Enter the location to install the Aeon Server and click Next. The default location for the database is C:\Program Files (x86)\Aeon\.
- Enter the database server credentials and click Next.
- The default target database server address is 127.0.0.1. This is what the SQL database will be named when it is created by the installer. If a database already exists for Aeon, the installer still needs to know the name of the existing database to properly configure the components being installed.
- The default Aeon database name is AeonData.
- Choose Yes or No to backup the database.
- If Yes is chosen, select the location for the backup and click Next. The default location for the database backup files is C:\Program Files\Aeon\Database\Backup\.
- Click Install to install the Aeon server.
- When the installation is complete, a Setup Complete window will display. Click OK to exit the Aeon Server Setup.
- The Aeon Server is now installed on your system. Shortcuts for Client components are installed to the desktop.
Launching SQL Alias Manager
When the server installation wizard is complete, you must launch the SQL Alias Manager. The Alias Manager must be completed for the Aeon services to run on the server. See Atlas SQL Alias Manager for more information.
Troubleshooting the Installer
Server installer logging is recorded in the temp folder. Log files are created as the Installer goes through the process and display with Aeon_Server_ at the beginning of the filename.
You can monitor the log files when you run the server installation by opening the temp folder and sorting the entries by “Date Modified” in order to view the latest files at the beginning of the list. The logging detail can be controlled with registry settings; detailed logging can be turned on with this registry file and can be reset with this one.
Prerequisites for the Installer / Upgrader
.NET 4.6.2
.NET 4.6.2 is required both for Aeon and for its installer. If .NET 4.6.2 or later is not already available on the machine, the Aeon installer will automatically offer to download and install the required framework from Microsoft provided an internet connection is available.
While earlier versions of Aeon required .NET 4.0, they also required earlier versions of the .NET Framework because some shared Atlas components were written with .NET 2.0. With the releases of Aeon 3.4 and ILLiad 8.4, all Atlas products have been moved to the .NET 4.0 framework, so earlier versions of the framework will not need to be installed or activated (such as in the case of Windows Server 2012).
WIC
Windows Imaging Component (WIC) is a system component that is distributed with most modern Windows Server systems, but it was not distributed with Windows Server 2003 and must be installed separately. Unless you are working with a freshly installed Windows Server 2003 operating system, chances are good that WIC has already been installed as a prerequisite of another program or by the Windows Update service. However, if you are installing Aeon onto Windows Server 2003 and run into the following cryptic error message while the installer attempts to set up .NET 4.0:
Setup Failed – 0x800713ec – Asia
you will need to install WIC manually. You can download it from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=32
Server Installer Command Line Options
The Aeon Server Installer supports a few command line options to provide some limited flexibility for administrative roles. If you would like to have detailed control over the Aeon setup, for either server or client installations, you should consider using the Aeon MSIs directly in combination with Microsoft's msiexec utility. If you would just like more detailed control over the server installation, you may also consider using the Aeon PowerShell scripts. Both the MSIs and PowerShell scripts are available from your customer service agent and are documented in the next sections below.
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| -q, -quiet | Runs the installer in quiet mode, which will provide no user interface and will automatically proceed with its typical action (install or repair) with default settings. |
| -uninstall |
When used in conjunction with -q, this will cause the installer to uninstall Aeon from the computer. Note that when not in quiet mode, running the installer after Aeon has been installed will take you to the maintenance screen. |
| -repair | When used in conjunction with -q, this will cause the installer to perform a repair on Aeon. Note that when not in quiet mode, running the installer after Aeon has been installed will take you to the maintenance screen. |
Installing Aeon with the MSI (v5.0 and prior)
The typical use of the Aeon installers involves running the appropriate executable (.exe) file which contains the MSI (Microsoft Installer) file and will check for prerequisites and collect configuration details. It then installs the MSI file using the configure options it has collected. In some cases, system administrators may want to install the MSI file themselves to ease automated distribution. For such cases, the MSI’s configurable properties and features are included below.
If you are using the MSI installer, you must have Microsoft SQL Server Native Client already installed on your Aeon server prior to the running the MSI file. If you do not currently have the Microsoft SQL Server, please read https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/native-client/applications/installing-sql-server-native-client for installation instructions.
| Feature Id | Description | Relevant To |
|---|---|---|
| F.Client | Client application and related components. | Server and Client Installers |
| F.CustomizationManager | Customization Manager and related components | Server and Client Installers |
| F.Database | This feature controls the creation and updating of the Aeon database. Note that removing this feature once installed will have no effect on the Aeon database itself. Removing a database should be done manually. | Server Installers |
| F.Web |
Aeon web DLL, webpages, their TestWeb duplicates, and Aeon WebPlatform. This feature will also make the necessary configurations to IIS. |
Server Installers |
| F.SAM |
This will install the Atlas SQL Alias Manager, a common component among Atlas products that creates DBC (database connection) files that define how Atlas products should connect to their respective data catalogs. |
Server and Client Installers |
The following properties, with the exception of INSTALLDIR, are only relevant to Aeon Server installers. Boolean properties can be enabled by setting them either to ‘1’ or ‘yes’, the latter being case insensitive.
| Property | Description | Default Value |
|---|---|---|
| INSTALLDIR | This describes the root directory that will be used for the product installation. The standard client applications (Aeon Client, Customization Manager, and Staff Manager) will be installed to this directory. |
C:\Program Files\Aeon\ |
| D.Web | The Aeon web components and web pages will be installed to this directory. |
[INSTALLDIR]Web\ |
| D.TestWeb | The TestWeb copy of the Aeon web components and web pages will be installed to this directory. |
[D.Web]TestWeb\ |
| D.WebPlatform |
The Aeon WebPlatform component will be installed to this directory. |
[INSTALLDIR]WebPlatform\ |
| DB_Server | The address of the SQL Server or SQL Server instance on which the Aeon database will be created. | 127.0.0.1 |
|
DB_INTEGRATED_SECURITY |
If enabled, the installer will use the credentials of the current user to connect to the database. With this option, it is not necessary to specify a username and password provided the current user has the necessary permissions. |
no |
|
DB_LOGIN_USERNAME |
The username to use when providing credentials to the SQL Server to create the Aeon database. |
sa |
|
DB_LOGIN_PASSWORD |
The password to use when providing credentials to the SQL Server to create the Aeon database. |
none |
|
DB_CATALOG |
The name of the Aeon database. |
AeonData |
|
DB_LOCALSERVER |
This indicates whether the SQL Server is running on the same file system where Aeon is being installed. The practical effect of this option is that if DB_LOCALSERVER is enabled, the installer will attempt to create the DB_DIR and DB_BACKUP_DIR directories if they do not already exist. |
yes |
|
DB_DIR |
The Aeon database files will be created in this directory. |
[INSTALLDIR]Database |
|
DB_BACKUP_DIR |
The Aeon database backup files will be created in this directory. |
[INSTALLDIR]Database |
|
DB_PERFORMBACKUP |
If enabled, the installer will back up the Aeon database before updating it. |
Yes |