Windows 2003 Filer Installation Reference

AppLogic 2.7.x+ includes a reference template application Sys_Filer_Windows03. This application includes a Filer_Windows03 appliance which is missing a placeholder volume named windows. This volume is created using WIN03S as a base (Windows 2003 Server Standard Edition R2). Please first create the Windows Server appliance WIN03S as described here.

These instructions for building the Windows filer assume that the WIN03S appliance exists and contians a boot volume that is 3GB in size. The filer should be made to have a 3GB boot volume. Please ensure that your grid contains a WIN03S appliance with a 3GB boot volume before creating your Windows filer.

1. Import the Sys_Filer_Windows03 application from your AppLogic 2.7.x+ distro: "./aldo ai grid=mygrid applications=Sys_Filer_Windows03"
   • Note that you must be a grid maintainer in order to do this
2. Import the system_ms catalog from your AppLogic 2.7.x+ distro: "./aldo ci grid=mygrid catalogs=system_ms"
   • Note that you must be a grid maintainer in order to do this
   • Note that the system_ms catalog contains the IIS03yx4/IIS03yx8 assemblies which contain references to the /system_ms:IIS03y appliances. The application editor will display an error message every time an application is opened as long as any one of the /system_ms:IIS03y appliances are missing. To resolve this issue, either create all of the /system_ms:IIS03y appliances or remove the unused IIS03yx4/IIS03yx8 appliances from the system_ms catalog.
3. Make a new singleton from WIN03S:
   • Create a new application. Include an instance of WIN03S and branch the class.
   • Enable the external interface:
     • In the application editor right-click on the singleton and select Modify Boundary.
     • In the Interfaces tab check the box for External Interface.
   • Start the application and access the graphic console of the singleton.
   • If necessary, configure the network settings for the external interface as described in the section above for the Windows Server.
4. Install devcon, a command line utility for managing devices provided by Microsoft:
   • Point IE at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311272
   • Open and run the self-extracting executable devcon.exe
   • Unzip the contents to the folder C:\devcon\
5. Un-install optional windows components such as IIS which conflict with the operation of Filer_Windows03 or are simply un-necessary. Open Control Panel=>Add or Remove Programs=>Windows Components and un-install:
   • Application Server
   • Email Services
   • Management and Monitoring Tools
   • Networking Services
   • Security Configuration wizard
   • Windows Deployment Services
   • Windows Media Services
6. Install the Windows Filer msi. This self-executing installer can be downloaded from the grid controller through the internal interface. This interface has already been properly configured through DHCP.
   • To find the internal IP address of the controller, in a command line shell execute ipconfig /all and note the IP address of the DHCP server for the last enumerated interface (e.g., Local Area Connection 5).
   • Point IE at http://IP-address:8080/download/ and download the current Windows Filer msi (e.g., Filer_Windows-1.0.0-1.msi):
     • Right-click on the msi file and select Save Target As to download the file to the desktop.
   • Double-click on the msi file on the desktop to perform the installation.
   • Delete the msi file and empty the Recycle Bin.
7. Prevent system shutdown dialogs from popping up (reason for system shutdown)
   • Open the Start menu and run "gpedit.msc"
   • Go under "Computer Configuration" > "Administrative Templates"
   • Click on "System"
   • On the right pane double-click on "Display Shutdown Event Tracker"
   • Choose "Disabled" and click Apply
8. This requires maintainer access to the grid. Stop the application and copy the boot volume to the windows volume in the Sys_Filer_Windows03 application, e.g.:
   • app unlock Sys_Filer_Windows03
   • vol copy my-app:WIN03S.boot Sys_Filer_Windows03:windows
   • Open Sys_Filer_Windows03 in the application editor and configure the Filer_Windows windows placeholder volume to be the windows application volume. Save and exit.
   • app lock Sys_Filer_Windows03
9. The Sys_Filer_Windows03 template application is now ready for use.

-- StephenQ - 21 Sep 2008