 School
Maestro III Setup Options:
REQUIREMENTS:
The School Maestro III program will run on any computer that supports
the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. The Framework is supported on Win98
and up which includes WinME, Win2K, and WinXP. However, SQL Server Express
is only supported on Win2K SP4, WinXP SP2, and Win2003 SP1. Thus, if
you need to use a Win98 computer, your database would need to be hosted
on a different computer. For best results, Win2K or WinXP are recommended
for School Maestro III users.
PROGRAM INSTALLATION:
Four different setups programs are available. The correct setup program
is determined by your installation requirements. Using the web browser
interface does not require a setup program.
The first setup program is for single users only. It installs the School
Maestro III program and the SQL Server Express database engine on an
individual computer. SQL Server Express is configured for XCopy deployment.
This allows you to copy the program folder with your database to a USB
memory drive. You can then just take the USB memory drive to another
computer and run the program directly from the memory drive with your
current data. This is very useful for teachers that want to work both
at home and at school. Alternatively, you can install the program on
both computers and then just move your database back and forth using
the included backup and restore program.
The second setup program is for setting up a file/database server for
network user. It installs the School Maestro III program and the SQL
Server Express database engine on a file/database server. This setup
would be used by a network administrator that needs to install everything
on a server so that multiple workstations can load and run the program
from the server. The server would also act as the database server.
The third setup program is for a network user that needs to connect
to a separate database server and does not load the program from a file
server. It installs just the School Maestro III program. It requires
that your database be hosted on a separate computer. The database server
could be another computer on your network, or it could be a server on
the Internet. You would use this setup program if you want to install
a full copy of School Maestro III at home and use it to connect to the
school's database via the Internet. You could also install the full
copy of School Maestro III on a workstation at school and connect to
the school database via the network. However, if you have a network,
you would typically just install the program on a file server and your
workstation would load the program from the file server.
The fourth setup program is for setting up a workstation for a network
user. The workstation loads the program from a file server and connects
to a database on the same file server or on a separate database server.
If you have a setup CD, it will include all the setup programs and will
also include the .NET Framework 2.0 and SQL Server Express. If you download
a setup program, you would download just the setup program(s) you need.
When you run a downloaded setup program, it will check to see if you
have already installed the .NET Framework and SQL Server Express (if
required). If those need to be installed, it will automatically download
and install them for you.
SINGLE USER SETUP:
This setup is used to install both School Maestro III and the SQL
Server Express database engine. If you need to connect to a database
that has multiple users then you should not use this setup program.
If the .NET Framework 2.0 is not currently installed on your computer,
it will be downloaded or installed from the CD. If SQL Server Express
is not currently installed on your computer, it will be downloaded or
installed from the CD. Windows installer version 3.1 will also be downloaded
or installed from the CD if it is not currently installed. A single
user setup configures SQL Server Express to use a user instance. It
uses Windows authentication, does not enable TCP connections and does
not enable the SQL Browser service. When you operate in this mode, you
can manually copy your database between computers as a normal file or
use the included backup and restore program to move your database between
computers. The program and database can be completely run from a USB
memory drive if desired.
SERVER SETUP FOR NETWORK USE:
This setup is used to install both School Maestro III and the SQL
Server Express database engine on a file/database server. If you are
going to use an existing copy of SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005, SQL
Server Express, or MSDE, then you should not use this setup program
(use the program only setup for network use). If the .NET Framework
2.0 is not currently installed on your computer or server, it will be
downloaded or installed from the CD. If SQL Server Express is not currently
installed on your computer or server, it will be downloaded or installed
from the CD. Windows installer version 3.1 will also be downloaded or
installed from the CD if it is not currently installed. After installing
SQL Server Express a sample School Maestro III database will be attached
to the database engine and configured for access using SQL authentication.
The setup program will also install the School Maestro III DB Manager
and School Maestro III DB Configuration programs. The DB Manager program
is used if you need to change account logins, database user accounts,
backup and restore databases, and detach and attach databases. It can
also be used to create a Windows task that will automatically backup
and maintain your database on a daily basis. The DB Configuration program
is used to configure School Maestro III to use the correct account information
to connect to the database.
If you install the program on a file server so that other workstations
can load the program from the file server, you need to give those users
permissions on the folder where you install the program. Typically,
you would put all the teachers into a single user group then give that
user group NTFS permissions on the folder where you install the program
on the server. You would then share the folder so that the teacher workstations
can access the folder (the workstation setup program below will setup
the workstations to load the program from this folder).
PROGRAM ONLY SETUP FOR NETWORK USE:
This setup installs the School Maestro III program but does not install
the SQL Server database engine. Use it if you have your database on
another computer and don't want to load the program from a file server.
Also, use this setup program if you have your own copy of SQL Server
2000 or 2005 and want to use your SQL Server instead of SQL Server Express.
Since the database is located on a separate server, you will need to
run the School Maestro DB Configuration program when you are done installing
to configure School Maestro to connect to your database. If you have
your own SQL Server a copy of a School Maestro III starter database
is included on the CD in the \StarterDatabase folder. You would need
to add a login for the School Maestro III program, attach the starter
database, add the new login to the database as a user, set the default
database for the new login to the starter database, and then run the
DB Configuration program to configure School Maestro III to use your
connection information.
Network users at school can use the program only setup to install the
program at home. They would then need to know the database connection
information. It is recommended that this information not be made public.
The recommended method would be to create a CD or USB memory drive that
contains the RemoteDeploy.exe, RemoteDeploy.msi, smaest3.lic files and
the \dotnetfx folder from the setup CD. Also include the smaest3.exe.config
file that is generated at school. It encrypts the connection information
so that the home user does not need to use the DB Configuration program
to manually enter in the connection information.
Note: When connecting to a database on a server on your network or to
a server on the Internet, you may need to adjust your firewall settings
to allow traffic on the port used by SQL Server. The exact steps depend
on the type of firewall and how you have configured your SQL Server.
Contact the program author for additional information.
WORKSTATION SETUP FOR NETWORK USE:
This setup configures a workstation to load the School Maestro III
program from a file server. School Maestro III should first be installed
on the file server using the full setup above. When the program is loaded
from a file server, it gets the necessary connection information from
the smaest3.exe.config file on the file server. The setup program will
configure the code access security on the workstation to allow it to
load and run the School Maestro III program from the file server. It
will also make the necessary registry entries to allow the workstation
user to use the online help features of the program via the network.
USING THE WEB INTERFACE:
If you use the web browser interface to connect to your database,
you do not need to install anything, just use your browser.
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS:
Single users that install the program using the single user setup
can install the program on multiple computers (home and school) and
then just move their database back and forth. This can be done using
the included backup and restore program or you can copy the entire program
folder with database to a removable drive such as a USB memory drive
and then run the program directly from that at various locations.
Network users keep their data in a single database on a database server
and cannot move it on a daily basis. They can work from multiple computers
that are on the network at school. To work at home or at other remote
locations, they can either install the program only setup and connect
to the remote database or use their web browser to run a web application
that connects to the remote database. If they use the School Maestro
III windows program, then the database server firewall must be opened
to the Internet to allow remote connections. This can be done for specific
IP numbers and specific ports. A Windows 2003 server with SQL Server
2005 is recommended for this as they may be configured to prevent hackers
from continuously trying to connect to the SQL Server. If they use the
web browser application, the database server firewall must be opened
to a web server. Teachers then connect to the web server with their
browser to run the School Maestro III web application.
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