Multi-Instance Utility
The MIU is a tool ASI provides for setting up or updating additional copies of iMIS after the first. Unfortunately, it does have some weaknesses:
- It is more suited for creating a new copy than refreshing an existing copy
- It does not update details of iPV and WCM sites, only the iMIS application (the staff web view)
- It does not update some publishing service paths
- It does not preserve local additions
Installing iMIS to allow for multiple instances
- The first copy of iMIS should always be a "clean" copy installed with a demo database. This instance is never to be customized or used to hold real data.
- The first copy of iMIS can install to the default path.
- Additional copies of iMIS need to be in C:\Program Files\ASI\ and named to match the database exactly. This is important! If the install folder doesn't match the database name, additional manual steps are necessary every time a database has to be refreshed.
- All iMIS sites should run using a login of appserver_imis or similar. If desired, separate SQL logins can be created for each database, or for each web server, but the main thing is not to run as "sa".
- "appserver_imis" follows the pattern servername_appname. "appserver" refers generically to the web server running the iMIS .NET application. Other applications on the same server may use a login of "appserver_dashboards" or similar.
Things MIU doesn't update (but should)
- Temp directories (3 settings - fix via SQL)
- Workflow service log location (edit WorkflowService.exe.config)
- Publish server log location (edit PublishingService.exe.config)
- Publishing folders for additional copies of PublishService for WCM (edit PublishingService.exe.config)
- Website URLs for all WCM sites
- SystemName (edit via iMIS System Setup)
- SoaHost ports (two files in Net folder)
WCM sites
WCM uses the "Net" folder (Typically C:\Program Files\ASI\imis_live\Net). Configuring WCM sites is simpler when they can use the same folder. This isn't possible when the WCM site will use a different domain than the staff site, or when WCM will be at a different folder depth than iMIS (root of the site, or a nested directory). In this case, the WCM site must be created using a copy of the Net folder. This document refers to such sites as "detached sites".
Creating a detached site
High level summary (site ABC)
- Choose a unique PublishServerCode (unique within database) for the new site
- Choose a unique port (unique across all databases) for the new publishing service
- Copy the Net folder to a new location.
- Recommend copying it within the same iMIS folder and naming it for the new site (e.g. copy C:\Program Files\ASI\imis_live\Net to C:\Program Files\ASI\imis_live\Net.www.abc.org)
- To save a lot of space, remove the ASIDBUpgrade folder from the copy.
- Create an empty folder in the same iMIS folder for secure content for the site, and an indexing catalog using that folder
- indexingCatalog_www.abc.org
- Through iMIS Content Management, define the new publishing service using the new PublishServiceCode and Net.www.abc.org path.
- Manually edit web.config and bin\PublishingService.exe.config with the PublishServiceCode and port
- Manually register the new Publishing service from the new folder
- Use an appropriate name reflecting the database name and the site name
- Basic syntax: c:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\RegSvcs /appname:AsiPublishing15_imis_live_www.abc.org "C:\Program Files\ASI\imis_live\Net.www.abc.org\bin\AsiPublishing.exe"
- In IIS, create a new application pool as a copy of the app pool used by iMIS
- In IIS, create a new website or the new virtual directory and assign it to the new app pool.
Updating a detached site
After upgrading the main copy of iMIS in the Net folder, use BeyondCompare to copy the upgrade into the WCM folder
- Manually merge *.config files
- Carefully copy standard ASI folders
- Overwrite files not changed in WCM but changed by the upgrade
- Delete files removed by the upgrade
- Merge changes for any customized files