Installation

Installation of Inventory Pro involves setting up the SQL Server database, deploying the Desktop web application, and optionally configuring the Mobile application. The PowerShell installer automates most configuration tasks including Windows Features, IIS setup, and required drivers.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have administrative rights on the server and SQL Server credentials available before beginning installation.

Automatically Installed by Installer:

• IIS with required features (ASP, ASP.NET 4.5, ISAPI Extensions/Filters)
• URL Rewrite Module 2
• Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server (MSOLEDBSQL 19)
• Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 (x86 and x64)
• IIS Compression Module

Contact CISS if you encounter any issues during installation.

Installation Overview

Database Setup

The database can be set up manually using SQL Server Management Studio or via PowerShell automation scripts.

Manual Setup (SSMS)

1. Extract Database Backup

Extract the database backup file (.bak) from the provided .zip archive.

2. Enable Mixed Mode Authentication

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your instance
2. Right-click the server name → Properties → Security
3. Select SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode
4. Click OK, then right-click the server and select Restart

3. Create SQL Login

Open a new query window and execute:

CREATE LOGIN [YourUserName]
WITH PASSWORD = N'YourSecurePassword',
DEFAULT_DATABASE = [master],
CHECK_EXPIRATION = OFF,
CHECK_POLICY = OFF

4. Restore Database

1. Right-click Databases → Restore Database
2. Select Device and browse to your .bak file
3. Name the database using the convention: {prefix}_clientName2015

5. Link Database User

Execute on the restored database:

USE [live_clientName2015]
EXEC sp_change_users_login 'Auto_Fix', 'YourUserName'

Automated Setup (PowerShell)

For automated SQL Server Express installation:

# Run the SQL Express Installer script
& "SQL Express Installer.ps1"

This script performs:

1. Downloads SQL Server 2019 Express installer
2. Creates directory structure (C:\InventoryPro\Backup, Data, Log, TempDB)
3. Runs silent installation with configuration file
4. Optionally installs SQL Server Management Studio
5. Prompts for database restore

Database Directories

Remote Database Server

If running SQL Server on a dedicated server:

• Open firewall port 1433 (or your custom port)
• Consider using a non-default port for security
• Ensure the application server can reach the database server

Desktop Application

Installer Configuration (install.xml)

Before running the installer, configure install.xml in the installation package:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Configuration>
  <!-- Root location for all Inventory Pro files -->
  <root>C:\InventoryPro</root>

  <!-- Install folder name (creates C:\InventoryPro\Desktop) -->
  <installFolder>Desktop</installFolder>

  <!-- Primary domain name (use localhost if not using DNS) -->
  <domainName>inventorypro.local</domainName>

  <!-- IIS Site name (defaults to domainName if blank) -->
  <siteName></siteName>

  <!-- Require SSL for all traffic -->
  <requireSSL>true</requireSSL>

  <!-- Enable Active Directory authentication -->
  <enableActiveDirectory>false</enableActiveDirectory>

  <!-- Enable email notifications -->
  <enableEmail>false</enableEmail>

  <!-- Database server (servername:port or localhost) -->
  <databaseServer>localhost</databaseServer>

  <!-- Database name -->
  <databaseName>live_clientName2015</databaseName>
</Configuration>

After installation, this file is stored at C:\InventoryPro\install.xml for future upgrades.

Running the Installer

1. Extract the installation package from the provided .zip file
2. Open the extracted folder and double-click run.bat
3. Select from the installer menu

The installer menu options:

Select Option 1 for initial installation (~10 minutes), then review the validation results for any errors.

Windows Features Installed

The installer automatically enables these IIS features:

Tools Installed

The installer downloads and installs these components automatically:

Dual Instance Support

To run two instances (e.g., production and test) on the same server:

1. Create secondary.xml in the C:\InventoryPro folder
2. Configure with different installFolder, domainName, and databaseName
3. The installer will process both configurations automatically

Installation Validation

After installation, the validator checks:

• Directory paths exist and are accessible
• DLL files are registered correctly
• COM+ objects (Misc_Reports_d) are configured
• IIS site and application pools are started
• ADODB and report objects load correctly

Mobile Application

The Mobile application is installed after the Desktop application and shares the same IIS site.

Install

1. Extract the Mobile installation package
2. Run run.bat and select Option 1
3. Installation takes approximately 2-5 minutes

The installer:

• Creates C:\InventoryPro\Desktop\Mobile subfolder
• Configures a separate IIS application pool (siteName_Mobile)
• Sets up the ASP.NET 4.7.2 application

Mobile Configuration (Web.config)

Configure the database connection in Web.config:

<connectionStrings>
  <add name="dbConnectionString"
       connectionString="server=ServerName\Instance;database=DatabaseName;
                        connection timeout=30;uid=UserName;password=Password;
                        pooling=true"
       providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>

<appSettings>
  <add key="RequireSSL" value="true" />
  <add key="PageSize" value="25" />
  <add key="BarcodeReaders" value="code_128_reader,upc_reader" />
</appSettings>

Mobile App Settings

Supported Barcode Readers

Configure BarcodeReaders with any combination:

Mobile Security Settings

Configuration

Desktop Configuration (global.asa)

The primary configuration file is global.asa in the application root. Settings use the format:

Application("OptionName") = Value

Connection String

Application("ConnectionString") = "Provider=MSOLEDBSQL;Data Source=ServerName\Instance;Initial Catalog=DatabaseName;User Id=UserName;Password=Password;"

Upgrading? Replace sqloledb or sqloledb.1 with msoledbsql in your connection string.

Core Settings

Security Settings

Authentication Options

Email Settings

Display Settings

System Flags

Custom Login Banner

Add a custom banner to the login screen by creating CustomBanner.html in the Framework folder:

<div style="padding: 10px; background: #f0f0f0; border-radius: 4px;">
  <h4>Welcome to Inventory Pro</h4>
  <p>For support, contact helpdesk@example.com</p>
  <p><small>By logging in, you agree to our terms of use.</small></p>
</div>

Post-Installation

SSL Certificate Setup

We recommend using Let’s Encrypt for SSL if your organization doesn’t have an existing certificate framework.

1. Configure DNS to point to your server
2. Install certificate in IIS
3. Add HTTPS binding to the site
4. Set RequireSSL = True in global.asa

Verify Installation

After installation, verify the application:

1. Open https://localhost/InventoryPro (or your configured URL)
2. Log in with default admin credentials (provided separately)
3. Change the admin password immediately
4. Navigate to System → Admin Options to configure your environment

Initial Configuration Checklist

Additional Configuration

Deployment Scripts

For development and staging environments, PowerShell deployment scripts automate the build and deploy process.

Deploy-Desktop.ps1

Deploys Desktop application to dev or live servers:

# Deploy to dev server
Deploy-Desktop.ps1 -repository "InventoryPro" -Context "dev"

# Deploy to live server with validation
Deploy-Desktop.ps1 -repository "InventoryPro" -Context "live"

Deploy-Mobile.ps1

Deploys Mobile application with automatic build detection:

# Deploy to dev server
Deploy-Mobile.ps1 -client "InventoryPro" -Context "dev"

# Deploy to live server
Deploy-Mobile.ps1 -client "InventoryPro" -Context "live"

Deploy-Database.ps1

Builds and deploys database schema changes:

# Deploy to local development
Deploy-Database.ps1 -ClientName "InventoryPro" -Target "localhost" -TargetDatabase "live_ipol2015"

# Deploy to dev server
Deploy-Database.ps1 -ClientName "InventoryPro" -Target "10.1.0.173" -TargetDatabase "test_za2015"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

“Provider not found” or connection errors:

• Verify MSOLEDBSQL driver is installed (Installer Option 7)
• Update connection string to use msoledbsql or msoledbsql19 provider
• Check SQL Server is running and accessible

DLLs not registered:

• Run installer Option 1 to re-register all DLLs
• Check that Application Pool is set to Enable 32-Bit Applications = True
• Verify COM+ application “Misc_Reports_d” exists in Component Services

Site won’t start (port conflict):

• Check if another site is using port 80/443
• Verify no other application is using the configured hostname
• Check Windows Firewall settings

Document engine crashes:

• Reset IIS: iisreset
• Verify SpecialFolder path exists and has write permissions
• Check COM+ application is properly configured

Session timeout issues:

• Verify SessionTimeout in global.asa
• Check IIS Application Pool idle timeout settings
• Ensure cookie settings allow session persistence

Mobile app won’t connect:

• Verify Web.config connection string is correct
• Check Mobile application pool is running
• Ensure SSL certificate covers Mobile subdirectory

Validation Commands

Run from PowerShell to diagnose issues:

# Check IIS site status
Get-Website | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*InventoryPro*" }

# Check application pool status
Get-WebAppPoolState -Name "siteName_Desktop"

# Test database connectivity
Invoke-Sqlcmd -Query "SELECT @@VERSION" -ServerInstance "localhost"

# Test COM object registration (run in 32-bit PowerShell)
# Launch: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
$conn = New-Object -ComObject ADODB.Connection
$report = New-Object -ComObject Misc_Reports_d.rpt2_5x1

Log Files

Support

For installation assistance, contact CISS with:

• install_log.txt from the installation folder
• Screenshots of any error messages
• Server OS version and SQL Server version
• IIS configuration export if applicable