Ontario: Network Installation

Network installation instructions.

Depending on the speed of your DVD-Drive, this installation may take a significant amount of time due to the large amount of video content contained in this product. If you intend to use this software on more than one computer, we recommend that you install this software on a network
server.

LAN server requirements:

The LAN server must be a Windows server, and it needs to have sufficient speed, memory, and network bandwidth available to be able to serve multiple video streams. The number of simultaneous users, and therefore the relative power of the server required, will vary.

It is not necessary to activate and run the program on the server, but if you wish to do so, then the server will also need to meet the minimum specifications for a PC workstation – see below.


Classroom server requirements:

It is possible to serve the program from a PC workstation to a small number of other users where service from a LAN server is not available. This is limited by Windows to a maximum of 10 users.

The minimum specifications for a PC server are higher than for a single-user workstation. In addition to the PC workstation specifications. This PC should also have a processor rated at 3GHz or faster; and a minimum of 2Gb of RAM. A Gigabit network connection is also recommended.

PC workstation requirements:

• A Windows PC (or an Intel Mac with VMWare Fusion or Parallels)
• 20.3 Gigabytes of available hard-drive space
• Intel Pentium 4 processor (or equivalent) – or better
• 512 MB memory – or better
• 128 MB video card – or better
• 1024 x 768 resolution – or higher
• A DVD-ROM Drive
• Windows 2000, XP, or Vista
• Windows Media Player 9.0 – or later (built-in to XP)
• Internet Explorer 6 or later (Windows needs this to be installed for the program to run correctly. Our program does not load or run Internet Explorer, or give the user any direct access to any of that program’s features)
• Adobe Flash Player 7 – or later
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 – or later
• Please also be aware that the CDX ARK program uses a web server to access its content, and will not function correctly if it’s installed on a computer that has an existing web server or MySQL database running.

Installation Procedure:

1. Start the Installation.

Insert CDX ARK Plus disc 1. This will load the install program. Click the ‘Next’ button to proceed with the installation. Note that you must have a DVD-ROM drive as the installation program will not load on a CD-ROM only drive.

2. Read the End-User License Agreement.

Read the End-User License Agreement, check ‘I accept the terms in the License Agreement, and click the ‘Next’ button to proceed.

3. Choose your Installation Type.

Choose the ‘Server Install’ option for a networked LAN installation.

4. Choose an Installation Path.

The recommended installation path is C:\Program Files\CDX Global\CDX Ark Plus (this is the default). When you have selected an installation path, click the ‘Next’ button to proceed. Please be aware that you will need approx. 20.3 Gigabytes of available hard-drive space for a full installation. Ensure that your hard drive has enough free space when you select a location to install the software. Then simply confirm the installation by clicking the ‘Install’ button.
 
5. Installation in Progress.

Please wait while the installation copies the program, inserting each DVD-ROM disc when prompted. Click the ‘OK’ button when you have inserted the new DVD-ROM, and the drive has finished reading the disc. Please be aware this may take a considerable amount of time.
 
6. Complete the Installation.

When the install program has finished, click the ‘Finish’ button to complete the installation. You can then launch CDX ARK Plus and activate the software if this is a single user installation.
 
Server-side configuration steps:
 
1. You can configure the server using the Network Configuration tool, which can be accessed by running the ‘NetworkConfiguration.exe’ file found in the CDX ARK installation folder on your server.

 
2. Click ‘Server Settings’,

 
3. In the ‘IP Address’ drop-down box choose ‘Automatic’ to have the server listen on all of its IP Addresses, or choose a specific IP Address,
 
4. The default web port will be 8080, but if this is already used, choose another free port,
 
5. The default MySQL port will be 3506, this will usually not need to be changed but you can specify a different port if you wish to do so,
 
6. Make sure ‘Start as a Service’ shows a ‘tick’ in the box,
 
7. Click the ‘Start Server’ button,
 
8. Once the server is running, click the ‘Close’ button,
 
9. Create a network share to the ARK installation folder,
 
10. Lastly, ensure that you’ve set the correct permissions for the installation folder so that your client users are able to access the installation folder. For most server configurations this means that it must be set as a minimum to ‘Read Only’ permission, but you may specify higher permissions if you wish.
 
Client-side configuration steps:
 
1. Each client computer only needs a shortcut to the CDX ARK program on the server. This should be done by creating a shortcut to the ‘CDXPlusStart.exe’ file, which can be found in the installation folder on the server. There is no need to install anything else on each client computer.
 
2. Login to the client computer as a Local Administrator,
 
3. Create a network mapping to the CDX ARK installation folder on the server,
 
4. This folder should contain the ‘CDXPlusStart.exe’ file,
 
5. Right-click on the ‘CDXPlusStart.exe’ file and choose ‘Send To’ then ‘Desktop’ to create the shortcut,
 
6. This will create a shortcut to CDX ARK program on the client desktop,
 
7. Rename the shortcut to ‘CDX ARK’ or another file name of your preference,
 
8. This shortcut can now be used to access the server installation of the CDX ARK program,
 
9. Run the shortcut to activate this client instance,
 
10. Repeat this process for each client computer.
 
Change your settings:
 
1. If you wish to make changes to your server settings, or wish to close the CDX LAN Server, you can also do this by running the using the Network Configuration tool ‘NetworkConfiguration.exe’ file found in the CDX ARK installation folder on your server.
 
2. Your settings can’t be edited while the server is running. Click on the ‘Stop Server’ button in the Network Configuration window, and then choose ‘Server Settings’ to make changes.
 
Activation Procedure:
 
Please be aware that a network installation does not need to be activated, and you should only activate the individual computers on which you intend to run the program, as follows:
 
1. Start the Activation.

Start the activation by clicking on the ‘CDXPlusPC’ shortcut on your desktop.
 
2. Make sure you have your Activation Key .
The Activation Key consists of five sets of eight numbers and letters separated by hyphens. You will need this code to activate your software. If you do not have this, contact your supervisor.
 
3. Input your Activation Information.

Copy the activation key exactly as it appears into the activation box – including the hyphens. The program will automatically detect when you’ve correctly input the complete key and will then activate the program. Please be aware that the only valid characters for your key are 0 to 9, A to F, and the hyphen character. A “0” character is always a zero.
 
4. Complete the Activation.

Click the ‘OK’ button to complete the activation process, and run the program.

 

For users in Ontario, please look here for more information about the initiative: http://www.cdxglobal.com/ontario/