noah nwnw5

rev:2012/11/04

Install Frequently Asked Questions

Installations, licenses and upgrades

I1.1: How do I install a new NOAH License Key?
I1.2: How can I figure out which NOAH options are enabled?
I1.3: Where is the noah.config file that controls NOAH configuration?
I1.4: How do I upgrade NOAH to a new NOAH release?
I1.5: How do I see if the support programs for Content Searching are install?
I1.6: What can I remove after V3 database format conversion?
I1.7: Can I 'repeat' the conversion to V3?
I1.8: Can I go back to pre-V3 NOAH?

Files, files, files ...

I2.1: How can I delete a NOAH database and start again?
I2.2: How do I empty the WasteBasket?
I2.3: What files and directories do I need to back up on a regular basis?

Elinks

I3.1: How do I change the elinks icon to my company's logo and website link?
I3.2: How do I customize the slideshow generation?

Database Integrity

I4.1: How do I recover from corrupted index files in NOAH?
I4.2: How do I test the NOAH server file locking to ensure data integrity?

Windows 2003 Server Issues

I5.1: Do I have to allow all unknown CGI extensions ?
I5.2: I can't change dir or open Help files in Internet Explorer .. what's going on?
I5.3: NOAH 'hangs' waiting for something .. what did I do wrong?

Installations, licenses and upgrades

I1.1: How do I install a new NOAH License Key?     ( top )

When you purchase a NOAH license key, you will be directed to a link that instructs you on how to install the key. This link will always be the latest info on how to do this.

If you have lost this link or have other issues that require you to re-install a previous license, follow these instructions:

NOAH License Key installation instructions for Windows

  1. Download and save the NOAH License Key (noah.key) in the NOAH administration directory of your installation.

    The default setting in Windows is typically 'C:\\noah_admin' and is the answer you gave to question Q9 during the installation of NOAH.

  2. 'run' the program called installkey in this administration directory.

  3. If this license requires a 32 character activation key, enter it when prompted.

    The simple way to do this is to copy the activation code from your email (ctrl-c) and paste it into the command prompt by right-clicking on the command prompt title bar and selecting 'Edit -> Paste' option.

    No, the ctrl-v short cut does not work for a command prompt window!

  4. The installkey program will install the noah.key file in the NOAH database directory and rename the existing noah.key file with a timestamp so it can not be lost.

NOAH License Key installation instructions for Linux

  1. Download and save the NOAH License Key (noah.key) in the NOAH administration directory of your installation.

    The default location in a Linux installation is typically '/usr/local/noah/admin/bin' and is the answer you gave to question Q9 during the installation of NOAH.

  2. Open a shell window as admin privileges (root) and cd to this administration directory.

  3. verify that the new 'noah.key' file is in this directory and then execute ./installkey

  4. If this license requires a 32 character activation key, enter it when prompted.

    Use copy and paste if possible to make it easier.

  5. The installkey program will install the noah.key file in the NOAH database directory and rename the existing noah.key file with a timestamp so it can not be lost.

I1.2: How can I figure out which NOAH options are enabled?     ( top )

At the bottom of almost all pages in NOAH there is a copyright line that includes information on who the product is licensed to with an additional string of information separated with colons (:).

In the example: "1000:1007:0:0:ScEm:2005/0901" the information breaks down in order as follows:

1000:       - Client Identification number
1007:       - NOAH License Key serial number
0:          - Maximum number of users. If '0', no limit.
0:          - Maximum number of files. If '0', no limit.
S           - if upper case, indicates that Client Scripting is enabled.
c           - if upper case, indicates that Document Configuration Management 
              Option is enabled. (future option).
E           - if upper case, indicates that Email Notification is enabled.
M           - if upper case, indicates that multiple database support is enabled.
T           - if upper case, indicates that Content Searching support is enabled.
2005/09/02  - Indicates the NOAH expiry date. if 'no expiry', 
              then NOAH does not expire.

I1.3: Where is the noah.config file that controls NOAH configuration?     ( top )

The noah.config file typically resides in the directory /var/local/noah/default for Unix and \noah_data\default for windows. Look at the install.config file in your installation directory to refresh your memory if you can not find it!

I1.4: How do I upgrade NOAH to a new NOAH release?     ( top )

Follow the steps in install-help

I1.5: How do I see if the support programs for Content Searching are install?     ( top )

Go to: http://noah.nordicwind.ca/3rdparty/

I1.6: What can I remove after V3 database format conversion?     ( top )

Once you have successfully converted your database to the V3 format, you can remove the following files:

Your database directory is typically c:\noah_data\default for windows and /var/local/noah/default for linux.

NOTE Don't delete the directory 'dir_data' by mistake!
NOTE Make sure you have backed up these NOAH files before you remove them!

I1.7: Can I 'repeat' the conversion to V3?     ( top )

You can repeat your conversion if you delete file 'fileno.max' in your database and login again and follow any additional 'delete' instructions in the 'converter' program.

You will ofcourse loose anything 'new' you added to this V3 database!

I1.8: Can I go back to pre-V3 NOAH binaries?     ( top )

Yes, for V3.1.1, you can re-install an earlier version of NOAH (pre-V3.1.1) and it will pick up where it left off with the 'old' database.

NOTE: There is no guarantee that after V3.1.1 you will still be able to do this! (It depends on what features are added, data format migration etc.)

Files, files, files ...

I2.1: How do you delete a NOAH database and start again?     ( top )

The simplest answer is to delete the NOAH data directory and then login to NOAH again and the NOAH data directory will be recreated with the default .tab.template files.

I2.2: How do I empty the WasteBasket ?     ( top )

Run the purge command in the admin directory. See purge command.

I2.3: What files and directories do I need to back up on a regular basis?     ( top )

The easiest way to see what directories NOAH depends on is by logging into NOAH as user 'admin' and clicking on the 'Admin Actions' noah.config button. This will bring you to a menu that shows you the configuration of your NOAH installation. You will be able to see what directories NOAH is running in and you can make your decisions on what to backup from here.

If you are only interested in ensuring that you have not lost documents and user logins, then you want to backup the data_dir directory as defined in the database.config file at the bottom of the noah.config page.

You may also be interested in preserving your 'NOAH Admin Directory' which contains the purge command and email configuration and template files.

Elinks

I3.1: How do I change the elinks icon to my company's logo and website link?     ( top )

Login into NOAH as user 'admin' and go to the 'Admin Actions' noah.config menu and look at the elinks_http and elinks_logo parameters. (Click on these parameters to get help).

I3.2: How do I customize the slideshow generation?     ( top )

In the cgi-bin directory you will see a slideshow.template file. It has a few variables such as :SERVER: and :INSERT_DATA: that tell noah how to modify this template for a specific collection of files in elinks. You can compare this template with actual generated slideshow.html files to see how this works. You can change this template to what ever you like to create a custom slideshow as long as you can tollerate the :INSERT_DATA: format.

Database Integrity

I4.1: How do I recover from corrupted index files in NOAH?     ( top )

A corrupt index file is a rare event and has only happened with earlier versions of NOAH.

If you are running an old version of NOAH, then the solution is to download and install the latest version of NOAH and run the fix-index program in the NOAH admin directory (same directory as purge).

If you have any doubts on how to deal with a index file corruption problem, contact NOAH by email and describe your problem and we can advise you on what action to take.

I4.2: How do I test the NOAH server file locking to ensure data integrity?     ( top )

In the admin directory, there is a program called locks. Run this program with the -pause option and then try to edit a database entry through the server with a browser. You will see that the server pauses and waits until you supply an ENTER to the locks program to unlock the database.

Windows Server 2003 Issues

I5.1: Do I have to allow all unknown CGI extensions ?     ( top )

No you don't. You can add a web service .. call it NOAH and then add the .cgi files in the cgi-bin-noah directory to this service. At last count, there are seven .cgi files .. make sure you get them all! Set the NOAH service to 'Allow' and you are all set!

I5.2: I can't change dir or open Help files in Internet Explorer .. what's going on?     ( top )

Probably what has happened is that your browser (Internet Explorer) is set to disallow javascript. This can easily happen if you change the server to be attached to an IP address or URL and then try to open this URL with IE as user 'administration' on the Windows 2003 Server which sets very tight security as a default!

The solution is to either add this IP address or URL to your local network under Internet Options or enable javascript on your browser.

I5.3: NOAH 'hangs' waiting for something .. what did I do wrong?     ( top )

If you find that you get some success but then you find that a NOAH page just hangs and does nothing, it is possible you did not follow the Windows 2003 installation instructions in the correct order .. i.e. you jumped to the browser login before you set up everything!

What is probably happening is that the permissions for the 'noah_data' directory are not set to the default Internet Guest user but rather an administrator or some other username .. and then IIS (as Internet Guest User) tries to access or change files in the noah_data directory and does not have permission .. so it waits until it does ...

First, check to see if you have one of the following .cgi programs running on the server with the Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del) and end these before proceeding with a fix: { login.cgi, cdocs.cgi, admin.cgi, download.cgi, upload.cgi, misc.cgi, elinks.cgi }.

Now verify the permissions of the files and directories in the noah_data directory and try to change ALL of them to the Internet Guest User .. or a simpler approach, if you are just starting up, is to simply logout of NOAH (from browser) and delete (or rename) the noah_data directory and then log in again. The login will re-create the noah_data directory with the IIS Internet Guest User permissions. If the permissions keep coming up wrong, then you have missed a step in the Windows 2003 Server installation steps and have probably not enabled the Anonymous User correctly for all the NOAH IIS directories.

NOTE that the permission of a directory will be the 'special' permission case which requires you to click a number of buttons to figure-out what the permissions are for the Internet Guest user.


contact: noah@nordicwind.ca Copyright © 2004-2012 Nordicwind Inc. - All rights reserved.