Release 9.1 Installation Guide

©2010 B lackboard Inc . Propr i e tary and Conf i dent ia l

Release 9.1

Installation Guide

Blackboard Learn Blackboard Learn 9.1: Installation Guide ©2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

Publication Date: September 3, 2010

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Contents Getting Started ............................................................................................................................... 9

About the Installation Process ................................................................................................ 10

Fresh Installations ............................................................................................................ 10

Upgrades .......................................................................................................................... 10

Preferred Technical Skills ....................................................................................................... 11

Database Skills ................................................................................................................. 11

Network Skills ................................................................................................................... 11

Operating System and Application Server Skills .............................................................. 11

Developer Skills ................................................................................................................ 12

About the Blackboard Learn Installer and Updater ................................................................. 13

The Installer and Updater Are One Tool .......................................................................... 13

Update Process ................................................................................................................ 13

What the Installer and Updater Can Do ........................................................................... 13

What the Installer and Updater Cannot Do ...................................................................... 14

Understanding the Database Schema .................................................................................... 15

Database Schema Naming ............................................................................................... 15

The Database Statistics Schema ..................................................................................... 15

Statistics Schema Decoupling .......................................................................................... 16

Understanding Load Balancing ............................................................................................... 17

Load Balanced Configurations ......................................................................................... 17

Benefits of Scaling Out with Additional Web/Application Servers .................................... 18

Defining the Host Environment ............................................................................................... 19

Read the Hardware Sizing Information ............................................................................ 19

Choose an Operating System .......................................................................................... 19

Choose a Database .......................................................................................................... 19

Decide the Number of Servers ......................................................................................... 20

Database Clustering ......................................................................................................... 20

File System Storage and Database File Storage ............................................................. 20

Collaboration Server ......................................................................................................... 20

Review and Next Steps .................................................................................................... 21

Planning the Installation .......................................................................................................... 22

Develop a Learning Model ................................................................................................ 22

Create a Test Environment ............................................................................................... 22

Establish a Support Infrastructure .................................................................................... 22


Run a Pilot Program ......................................................................................................... 23

Rollout ............................................................................................................................... 23

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers ............................................................................. 24

Set Up the Hardware and Software ........................................................................................ 25

Required Hardware .......................................................................................................... 25

Required Software ............................................................................................................ 25

Set JAVA_HOME ............................................................................................................. 25

Confirm NTFS File System ............................................................................................... 26

Confirm Windows Server 2003 Operating System Prerequisites ..................................... 26


Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features ............................................. 26

Create a Domain User ...................................................................................................... 26

Configure SQL Server Agent Startup ............................................................................... 27

Synchronize Server Clocks .............................................................................................. 27

Ports ................................................................................................................................. 27

Network ............................................................................................................................. 28

Database .......................................................................................................................... 28

Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features ................................................ 29

Before You Begin ............................................................................................................. 29

How to Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features ................................ 29

(Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage .............................................................. 32

Setting Up SQL Server Failover ....................................................................................... 32

Setting Up a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files ......................... 32

(Optional) Set Up File System Storage ................................................................................... 33

About File System Storage ............................................................................................... 33

How to Set Up a Shared File System ............................................................................... 33

Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist .................................................................................. 35

Blackboard Basics ............................................................................................................ 35

Application Server Checklist ............................................................................................. 35

Database Server Checklist ............................................................................................... 36

Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet ............................................................................... 37

Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database ............................................. 42

Where to Find the Installer ............................................................................................... 42

Before Running the Installer ............................................................................................. 42

How to Run the Installer ................................................................................................... 42

Next Steps ........................................................................................................................ 45


Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration .......................................................... 46




Collaboration Server ......................................................................................................... 47

Dedicated File System Server .......................................................................................... 47

Set JAVA_HOME ............................................................................................................. 48

Confirm NTFS File System ............................................................................................... 48

Confirm Windows Server 2003 Prerequisites ................................................................... 48


Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features ............................................. 49

Create a Domain User ...................................................................................................... 49

Add the Domain User to the IIS_WPG Group .................................................................. 49

Set Up IIS Security ........................................................................................................... 50

Configure SQL Server Agent Automatic Startup .............................................................. 50


Ports ................................................................................................................................. 51

Network ............................................................................................................................. 51

Database .......................................................................................................................... 51

Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features ................................................ 53

Before You Begin ............................................................................................................. 53

How to Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features ................................ 53


Setting Up SQL Server Failover ....................................................................................... 56

Setting Up a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files ......................... 56

(Optional) Set Up File System Storage ................................................................................... 57


How to Set Up a Shared File System ............................................................................... 57



Application Servers Checklist ........................................................................................... 59


(Optional) File System Server Checklist ........................................................................... 61

(Optional) Collaboration Server Checklist ........................................................................ 61

Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet ............................................................................... 62

Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database ............................................. 67





Next Steps ........................................................................................................................ 70

Install the Blackboard Learn on Additional Application Servers ............................................. 71

(Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment .............................................................. 72

How to Set Up an Optional Clustered Tomcat Environment ............................................ 72

How to Remove a Tomcat Cluster ................................................................................... 73

(Optional) Set Up a Collaboration Server ............................................................................... 74

Set Up the Blackboard Services on Each Application Server................................................. 75

Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer ...................................................................................... 77

Test the System ................................................................................................................ 77

Troubleshooting Windows Installation ..................................................................................... 78

Log File.................................................................................................................................... 79

Pages Will Not Load ................................................................................................................ 80

Installation Failure Due to Strict Password Requirements (SQL Server) ............................... 82

Blackboard Support Site and Knowledge Base ...................................................................... 83

Contact Blackboard Technical Support................................................................................... 84

Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers ..................................................................................... 85




Create a UNIX User for Blackboard Learn ....................................................................... 86


Ports ................................................................................................................................. 87

Network ............................................................................................................................. 87

Configure Oracle 10g .............................................................................................................. 88

Oracle 10g (Release 2) Compatibility ............................................................................... 88

Database Block Size ........................................................................................................ 88

Confirm AL16UTF16 Character Set ................................................................................. 89


Oracle RAC....................................................................................................................... 90

Setup a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files................................. 90

(Optional) Set Up File System Storage for UNIX .................................................................... 91


How to Set Up Shared File System .................................................................................. 91




Application Server Checklist ............................................................................................. 92


Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet for UNIX ................................................................ 94

Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server .................................. 99




Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration ................................................................ 103

Set Up the Hardware and Software ...................................................................................... 104

Required Hardware ........................................................................................................ 104

Required Software .......................................................................................................... 104

Collaboration Server ....................................................................................................... 104

Dedicated File System Server ........................................................................................ 104

Load-Balancing Methods ................................................................................................ 105

Create a UNIX User for Blackboard Learn ..................................................................... 105

Synchronize Server Clocks ............................................................................................ 105

Ports ............................................................................................................................... 105

Network ........................................................................................................................... 106

Configure Oracle 10g ............................................................................................................ 107

Oracle 10g (Release 2) Compatibility ............................................................................. 107

Database Block Size ...................................................................................................... 107

Confirm AL16UTF16 Character Set ............................................................................... 108

(Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage ............................................................ 109

Oracle RAC..................................................................................................................... 109

Setup a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files............................... 109

(Optional) Set Up File System Storage ................................................................................. 110

About File System Storage ............................................................................................. 110

How to Set Up Shared File System ................................................................................ 110

Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist ................................................................................ 111

Blackboard Basics .......................................................................................................... 111

Application Server Checklist ........................................................................................... 111

File System Server Checklist .......................................................................................... 112

Collaboration Server Checklist ....................................................................................... 112

Database Server Checklist ............................................................................................. 112

Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet ............................................................................. 113

Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server ................................ 118

Where to Find the Installer ............................................................................................. 118


Before Running the Installer ........................................................................................... 118

How to Run the Installer ................................................................................................. 118

Install the Blackboard Learn on Additional Application Servers ........................................... 122

(Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment ............................................................ 123

How to Set Up an Optional Clustered Tomcat Environment .......................................... 123

How to Remove a Tomcat Cluster ................................................................................. 124

(Optional) Set Up a Collaboration Server ............................................................................. 125

Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer .................................................................................... 126

Test the System .............................................................................................................. 126

Troubleshooting UNIX Installation ........................................................................................... 127

Log File.................................................................................................................................. 128

Blackboard Support Site and Knowledge Base .................................................................... 129

Contact Blackboard Technical Support................................................................................. 130

Uninstalling Blackboard Learn ................................................................................................. 131

About Uninstalling Blackboard Learn .................................................................................... 132

Before Running the Uninstaller on UNIX ........................................................................ 132

Uninstalling on a Load-Balanced System ....................................................................... 132

How to Uninstall Blackboard Learn ................................................................................ 132


Getting Started

Getting Started About the Installation Process


About the Installation Process

Fresh Installations

If this is the first time you have installed Blackboard Learn, make sure to read the Release Notes for the release that you are installing and any subsequent Service Packs, and then read this section carefully. After reading the Release Notes and this section, you should be able to make informed decisions about the configuration of Blackboard Learn at your institution. The next step will be to read the configuration and installation instructions appropriate for the host environment: Windows® or UNIX®.

If you are an experienced Blackboard Learn administrator, you will find some helpful information in this section. After a quick review, proceed to the configuration and installation instructions appropriate for your host environment.

Upgrades

If you are upgrading from a previous version of Blackboard Learn, see the Upgrade topics in Blackboard Learn Help.

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Getting Started Preferred Technical Skills


Preferred Technical Skills Installing and supporting a Blackboard installation hosted at the institution requires some specific technical skills. It is important that human resources that understand the installation and support of enterprise software are available to install and maintain Blackboard Learn.

Before attempting to install, ensure that the appropriate skill sets are available to support the installation and maintenance of Blackboard Learn.

Database Skills

The following database skills are recommended for installing and maintaining Blackboard Learn.

• Experience with Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle

• Accessing and running SQL scripts

• Performing online and offline database backup and restore

• Monitoring and reconfiguring database parameters to meet growing demand

• Tuning the performance of the host machine and the database server

Network Skills

The following networking skills are recommended for installing and maintaining Blackboard Learn.

• Troubleshooting network bottlenecks

• Knowledge of authentication and experience with institutional authentication methods (LDAP, Microsoft Active Directory®, or similar method)

• Experience supporting 24/7 network environments with failover contingencies

• Experience configuring load-balanced solutions

Operating System and Application Server Skills

The following operating system and application server skills are recommended for installing and maintaining Blackboard Learn.

• Experience with Microsoft IIS® or Apache™

• Experience with the operating system including file management and permissions

• Experience with optimization and monitoring techniques

• Comfortable using a text editor to make changes to configuration files

• Experience installing software

• Starting and stopping applications on the server to avoid damaging or corrupting the workstation or database

• Creating scheduled jobs to automate system processes such as backup and log file management

• Installing and troubleshooting operating systems

• Comfortable using the command line interface

Getting Started Preferred Technical Skills


• Knowledge of how application servers work and how to start and stop the various servers and system processes

• Knowledge of how to add hardware to the server

• Performing tape backups and tape archive programs and understand how to use these backup tools to move files around the system and between machines

• Experience managing multiple points of integration

Developer Skills

The following skills are recommended to create Blackboard Building Blocks or to use the Event-Driven API.

• Knowledge of compiling software

• Experience with relational databases

• Experience with Java development at the mid to senior programmer level

• Experience programming Java Server pages

• Experience with JDBC™ 2.0

• Experience with Java™ SE

• Experience with Connection pooling

• Creating and testing JSPs

• Experience with object-oriented programming

Getting Started About the Blackboard Learn Installer and Updater


About the Blackboard Learn Installer and Updater The Blackboard Learn Installer and Updater scans the server and either installs a new installation of Blackboard Learn or updates an existing installation. The Installer and Updater also handles the capabilities that can be licensed with Blackboard Learn.

• Course Delivery

• Community Engagement

• Content Management

• Outcomes Assessment

The features related to these capabilities are installed or updated based on the license file. This means that all users follow the same install and update procedures regardless of which capabilities are licensed.

The Installer and Updater Are One Tool

Install and update tasks are accomplished using the same tool. When this tool is referred to as the Installer, it is describing how the tool functions when installing software for the first time. When this tool is referred to as the Updater, it is describing how the tool functions when it is run on an existing installation.

Update Process

The Installer and Updater will update the system when run on an existing installation. Updates are used to install:

• New releases: Set of fixes and major new functions

• Application Packs: Set of fixes and some minor new functions

• Service Packs: Small set of fixes

The update will include all previous updates, hotfixes, and service packs into one package. From time to time, Blackboard will release hotfixes to address specific issues. Hotfixes will not use the Installer and Updater tool because they are so limited in scope. All hotfixes are included in the next update.

What the Installer and Updater Can Do

The Installer and Updater can install set of capabilities in Blackboard Learn. It can be run on single-server, dual-server, and load-balanced configurations. The Installer and Updater can be run more than once. If stopped, the Installer and Updater must be restarted from the beginning.

The Installer and Updater presents several options when it is run on an existing installation:

• Update: Installs the new features and fixes associated with a new release. An error message will appear if it is not possible to update from the current version to the Updater version.

• Pre-Update Change Report: Reviews the current system configuration to ensure that the Updater can be run successfully. The Pre-Update Change Report also details the files that will be changed by the Updater.

Getting Started About the Blackboard Learn Installer and Updater


• Provide New License: This option processes a new license file for the system. It is used to license additional capabilities or change the licensing of current capabilities.

• Uninstall: This option removes Blackboard Learn capabilities.

• Uninstall App Server Only: This option removes Blackboard Learn capabilities from a dedicated App Server in a load-balanced installation. It does not remove the database or shared file system. It does not remove any software from the other App servers.

WARNING! When providing a new license, downtime is required. This installation option will perform a full upgrade, shutting down services.

What the Installer and Updater Cannot Do

The Installer and Updater cannot be used to return to an earlier release. Running the Installer of an earlier version on a newer installation will not successfully convert the installation to the earlier release.

The Installer and Updater does not install any other software, including prerequisite operating systems and databases. For example, Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must first install Small-Scale Oracle, provided by Blackboard, before running the Installer and Updater. For more information about Small-Scale Oracle, see the Small-Scale Oracle topics in Blackboard Learn Help.

The Installer and Updater does not install supplemental tools such as OptiSERV or EnviSERV for communicating with the Blackboard Transact and the Snapshot Tools for integration with other information system on campus. These tools must be downloaded and installed separately.

Finally, the Installer and Updater does not allow for any advanced configuration such as setting up LDAP Authentication, SSL, or Virtual Installation. For more information, see the Using Blackboard Learn Authentication, About SSL and SSL Choice, and About Virtualizing the Blackboard Reference Architecture topics in Blackboard Learn Help.




Getting Started Understanding the Database Schema


Understanding the Database Schema

Database Schema Naming

Database schema names have received a re-work for this latest version of Blackboard Learn. When upgrading an existing instance, or creating a testing environment for an institution using the legacy database schema names, please refer to the following table. Manual database schema name changes on an existing schema should only be done with the assistance of Blackboard support. Legacy environments should specify the legacy information within the database identifier option in the installer when creating testing environments.

Schema Name Legacy Schema Name

BBLEARN BB_BB60

BBLEARN_ADMIN BBADMIN

BBLEARN_STATS BB_BB60_STATS

CMS_DOC CMS_FILES_*

The Database Statistics Schema

The activity_accumulator_cr procedure has been modified to insert new records into the new table activity_accumulator_queue instead of directly into the activity_accumulator table. The new table will be smaller in size, which reduces the performance impact of activity_accumulator_cr, which runs for every user action. Use of indexes on activity_accumulator_queue table should be avoided in the interest of application performance.

A job has been scheduled via the Oracle DBMS_JOB interface to run a stored procedure activity_accumulator_update which flushes the queue table every 10 minutes into the actual activity_accumulator. The activity_accumulator_update copies data from the queue table to activity_accumulator. The production table that holds the data permanently. This job inserts data in 2000-record batches to the activity_accumulator (though it leaves between 500-2000 records behind each time). Between the hours of 23:00 and 00:00 each night, database time, the job moves a higher volume of data in order to clean up any missed records from previously.

The activity_accumulator table contains attendance/activity data which is used by many institutions as part of grading information, and is thus among the most important data in the database. It is crucial that this table be recoverable in the event of media failure. Though the insertion and deletion are performed at the same time, with the insert taking place first, the data is still available in the queue table and available for the next push should a rollback be required. Given the importance of this data, logging is enabled should an incident occur in an incorrectly configured Database or other disaster recovery need arise.

The PurgeAccumulator job is unchanged and still runs at 1:00 am every day to perform its three functions of summarize (system tracking), synchronize (BBLEARN to BBLEARN_STATS), and purge (BBLEARN).

Note If the Oracle parameter job_queue_processes is set to zero, the activity_accumulator_update job will not run. As a symptom, the system tracking pages would start showing zeros and course activity reports would show no activity.

Getting Started Understanding the Database Schema


Statistics Schema Decoupling

The statistics schema BBLEARN_STATS can be moved to a separate database or physical system, and settings will be preserved when running PushConfigUpdates. The values in BBLEARN_admin.BB_INSTANCE are populated from bbconfig.database.stats.server.name in bb-config.properties. This performance enhancement benefits clients who use Managed Hosting, as well as those with sophisticated data management needs.

Getting Started Understanding Load Balancing


Understanding Load Balancing Blackboard Learn supports installation across multiple application servers with a hardware load balancer or a software solution. Blackboard Learn performance is better when the servers are dedicated to Blackboard Learn processes and requests. Using a software solution for load-balancing puts additional strain on the processors as load-balancing is handled by the application servers, not by a separate piece of hardware.

Load Balanced Configurations

The following diagram shows an example of a multiple application server configuration.

Multiple Application Server Configurations

Getting Started Understanding Load Balancing


Load-balanced configurations may include as many as six application servers. Also required are a database server (or failover cluster), a file system server, and a Collaboration Tool server. Select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. The Collaboration server may not be spread across multiple application servers because all users participating in a Collaboration session must share the same resources. A hardware load-balancer is optional. Using a hardware load-balancer is the preferred method of load-balancing. A network switch is used to handle communications from the client machines to the application servers and the Collaboration server. A separate switch is used to handle a secure, private connection between the application servers and the file system and database servers. The database and file system must be on a secure, private network.

The diagram also shows integration with an LDAP server or servers to handle authentication and an SIS system to share data with Blackboard Learn. Integrating these components with a load-balanced configuration is not difficult, but does require each Web/application server to share the same settings.

Finally, the diagram shows a Storage Area Network (SAN) device and a backup device. A SAN device is not required but many institutions choose to use one. Regular, frequent data backup and consistent recovery procedures are critical parts of any Blackboard Learn configuration. The diagram shows a tape drive backup but any backup method may be used that meets the needs of the institution.

Benefits of Scaling Out with Additional Web/Application Servers

Scaling out distributes the computing workload among multiple servers by clustering or load balancing, with the ability to add servers to increase capacity. By distributing the workload, processing resources are spread among multiple servers, which improves both performance and the availability of the overall service.

Down time is reduced with a scale out approach because most single points of failure are removed. If a server goes down, other servers pick up the load dynamically, allowing the application to continue servicing clients.

For more information about configuring a Blackboard Learn environment to achieve the best performance possible, see the Optimization topics in Blackboard Learn Help.


Getting Started Defining the Host Environment


Defining the Host Environment Before installing the Blackboard Learn software, it is necessary to create a healthy environment to host Blackboard Learn. At this stage, decisions include determining the number of servers, the operating system and database software to use, how powerful the servers must be, the appropriate amount of disk space, and whether the network is capable of handling the anticipated traffic.

Read the Hardware Sizing Information

The About Hardware Sizing in a Dell Environment and About Hardware Sizing in a Sun Microsystems Environment topics in Blackboard Learn Help provide detailed information about choosing the appropriate hardware based on size, scalability, performance, and redundancy needs. Read this guide before continuing.

Choose an Operating System

Blackboard supports operating systems from three vendors for hosting Blackboard Learn:

• Microsoft Windows Server®

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux®

• Sun Solaris™

For the exact versions of the databases that are supported, see "Supported Technologies" in the Release Notes for the release that you are installing. It is critical that the operating system used to host Blackboard Learn is a supported or compatible operating system. It is critical that the operating system used to host Blackboard Learn is a supported or compatible operating system.

SPARC hardware is required for to install and run Blackboard Learn under Solaris operating systems.

Choose a Database

This is an easy decision after selecting the operating system because Blackboard supports only one database for each supported operating system. Blackboard supports Microsoft SQL Server®, Enterprise Edition, when Blackboard Learn is hosted on a Windows operating system (the Standard Edition is compatible with Blackboard Learn). Blackboard supports an Oracle® database when Blackboard Learn is hosted on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Sun Solaris operating system.

When Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition is hosted on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Sun Solaris operating system, Blackboard provides a special version of Oracle called Small-Scale Oracle. Small-Scale Oracle is the only database supported for Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition when hosted on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Sun Solaris operating system. For more information about Small-Scale Oracle, see the Small-Scale Oracle topics in Blackboard Learn Help.

When Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition is hosted on a Windows operating system, the supported version of Microsoft SQL Server must be used.

For the exact versions of the databases that are supported, see "Supported Technologies" in the Release Notes for the release that you are installing.







Decide the Number of Servers

Read the About Hardware Sizing in a Dell Environment and About Hardware Sizing in a Sun Microsystems Environment topics in Blackboard Learn Help to determine hardware requirements for the installation. For the purposes of running the Installer, match the hardware to one of the following models:

• One server: This configuration hosts Blackboard Learn application software, file system, and database on one machine. Keep in mind that a one server configuration is appropriate for running a test system or Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition. Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition can be run only on one server.

• Two servers: This configuration hosts Blackboard Learn application software with the file system on one machine and the database on another machine. This configuration is appropriate for institutions with a smaller user base that do not need the performance or redundancy of a load-balanced configuration.

• Load-balanced: This configuration hosts the file system on one machine, the database on another machine, and the application software is replicated on multiple machines to handle more activity. This configuration offers the greatest scalability and redundancy.

Database Clustering

Some institutions may require database clustering as a redundancy to ensure that the system is always available, even in the event of a database server crash.

For Windows, Blackboard supports installation on a Microsoft SQL Server Failover configuration. For more information, see Set Up Database Clustering and Storage for Windows.

For UNIX, Blackboard offers support for Oracle RAC with all versions of Oracle supported by Blackboard. For more information, see Set Up Database Clustering and Storage for UNIX.

File System Storage and Database File Storage

In many instances, it is useful to store data, such as the files uploaded to a Course, on separate storage hardware. For more information, see Set Up File System Storage for Windows or Set Up File System Storage for UNIX. This is handled at the operating system level by pointing some directories or all directories to a separate storage device. Likewise, it is possible to offload storage of the database files to a separate hardware, such as a SAN.

Collaboration Server

Blackboard Learn includes features for synchronous communication such as a Chat Tool and a Whiteboard Tool. These features are wrapped into the Collaboration Tool available within Courses. The Collaboration Tool communications are handled by a dedicated service that requires its own ports.

Select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. The Collaboration server may not be spread across multiple application servers because all users participating in a Collaboration session must share the same resources. A single server must be configured to run the Collaboration server. This server must handle Collaboration sessions and performance will be unaffected by other requests. The application servers are configured to connect users to one server that handles all the Collaboration sessions.




During installation, it is possible to specify that a separate machine will handle all Collaboration Tool communications. This requires that either an existing application server be dual-purposed, or a dedicated server be configured to host the Collaboration server. Those institutions running Blackboard Learn on just one or two servers, obviously would never opt to create a dedicated Collaboration server, and instead dual-purpose the existing application server. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server for Windows in a Load-Balanced Configuration or Set Up a Collaboration Server for UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration. With the exception of that topic, all references to a Collaboration Server assume that your environment is using a single existing application server that has been dual-purposed as the Collaboration server.

Do not connect the Collaboration server to the load balancer.

Review and Next Steps

The decisions that define the host environment guide the installation process. The next step before running the Installer is configuring the environment. The following table outlines the configuration path to follow for each possible configuration:

Operating System and Database Number of Servers Refer to Section

Microsoft Windows and SQL Server One Install on Windows on One or Two Servers

Two Install on Windows on One or Two Servers

Load-Balanced Install on Windows in a Load-Balanced Configuration

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Small-Scale Oracle

One Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers

Sun Solaris and Small-Scale Oracle One Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Oracle One Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers

Two Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers

Load-Balanced Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration

Sun Solaris and Oracle One Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers

Two Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers

Load-Balanced Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration

Getting Started Planning the Installation


Planning the Installation This topic covers some issues that may need to be addressed while planning and preparing for Blackboard Learn. Each school or institution that uses Blackboard Learn is unique and will require specific and detailed planning to implement Blackboard Learn. The information in this topic should not be used as a comprehensive guide but rather as a set of items that should be considered and adapted to each institution.

Develop a Learning Model

Before installing Blackboard Learn or making it available to users, it is important to define how it will be used at the institution. Having a sound plan for how Blackboard Learn will be used helps ensure that configuration and security decisions are aligned with the goals of the institution. Some items to consider include:

• Define a naming convention for Courses and users on the system.

• Determine what information and areas of the system are accessible to each set of users (Instructors, Students, Guests, and so forth). When the community engagement capabilities have been licensed, Administrators have the flexibility to present different brands and content to users depending on their assigned Institution Roles. Institution Roles are defined by the institution to match their organization.

• Identify the other information systems will interact with Blackboard Learn. Define which system owns the data.

• Build a team to manage the system, support users, and develop tools and content.

These are just a few examples of the decisions that go into developing a learning model. Each institution will have a unique approach appropriate for its users.

Create a Test Environment

Creating a test environment is a critical step in the process. A test environment allows system and database administrators to tune the software for maximum performance based on the needs of the institution. Developers use the test environment to build System Extensions prior to rollout as well as developing tools for integrating with other information systems at the institution.

Finally, a test environment helps resolve potential issues with hardware or software before rolling out Blackboard Learn to users.

Establish a Support Infrastructure

Having qualified, trained staff to support users is important to operating smoothly with little interruptions to users. Define what level of support is required and when it should be available to users. Some institutions may require 24/7 support while others can operate with less. After training staff and defining support availability and expectations be sure to communicate this information to users.

Getting Started Planning the Installation


Run a Pilot Program

After the software is installed, configured, and tested and the support staff is trained, it is a good idea to launch a pilot program. A pilot program lets a few users on the system to work with the software in the context of the learning model. This is a good time to spot roadblocks or issues that may impact users when the software is rolled out. Also, the pilot program participants (especially the Instructors) can take a leadership role among their peers when the software is rolled out. These users can train other users on the software and help them successfully adopt the learning model.

Rollout

When Blackboard Learn is ready for users, it is important to communicate key information to users. Make sure that the user base has access to training sessions, support, and other resources to help them begin using the system.


Install on Windows on One or Two Servers

This section explains the required hardware, software, and necessary steps to properly install Blackboard Learn on one or two Windows servers.

1. Set Up the Hardware and Software

2. (Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage

3. (Optional) Set Up File System Storage

4. Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist

5. Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet

6. Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers Set Up the Hardware and Software


Set Up the Hardware and Software This section reviews the configuration steps necessary before installing Blackboard Learn.

Required Hardware

The About Hardware Sizing in a Dell Environment and About Hardware Sizing in a Sun Microsystems Environment topics in Blackboard Learn Help detail several different hardware configurations based on performance, cost, and redundancy. Make sure that the planned hardware configuration meets the needs of the institution.

Required Software

For the exact versions of the operating systems, databases, and Java SE Developers Kit (JDK™) that are supported, see "Supported Technologies" in the Release Notes for the release that you are installing. It is critical that the software used to host Blackboard Learn meets requirements.

The supported version of the JDK can be downloaded at http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp.

If installing on multiple servers, download and install the JDK on each application server.

Make sure that the server or servers are dedicated to Blackboard Learn. Make sure that the server is not using valuable space and resources running unnecessary applications.

Set JAVA_HOME

The correct version of the JDK must be installed on the application server and the JAVA_HOME environment variable must be set. The JDK installer first installs the JDK, and then installs the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Ensure that these are installed to different locations and that the JRE installer is not allowed to overwrite portions of the JDK.

WARNING! Make sure that the path to the JDK does not include any spaces. For example, do not use C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_18. Instead, use C:\Java\jdk1.6.0_18.

Follow these steps to set the JAVA_HOME environment variable:

1. Make sure that the correct version of the JDK is installed on the application server.

2. Right-click Computer and select Properties.

3. Click Advanced System Properties.

4. Click Environment Variables.

5. In the system variables list, find JAVA_HOME and click Edit. If JAVA_HOME does not exist in the system variables list, click New. A pop-up window will appear. The Variable name should read JAVA_HOME.

6. Enter the full path to the JDK in the Variable value field. For example, C:\Java\jdk1.6.0_18.

7. Click OK.

Note Click paths for Windows 2003 and SQL 2005 will vary slightly from the steps presented here for Windows 2008 and SQL Server 2008.



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Confirm NTFS File System

Blackboard Learn will work only with the NTFS file system. It will not work correctly if the Windows file system is FAT32. Follow the steps below to confirm that the disk is using the NTFS file system.

1. Double-click My Computer on your desktop.

2. Right-click the drive where Blackboard Learn will be installed.

3. Select Properties.

4. The File system field must display NTFS. If it displays FAT32, consult the operating system documentation for steps to convert the drive to NTFS.

5. Repeat these steps on each application server, the database server, and the file system server.

Confirm Windows Server 2003 Operating System Prerequisites

If using Windows Server 2003, the following requirements must be met before beginning:

• Install the Windows 2003 Resource Kit and the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit on each application server.

Download the Windows Resource Kit and the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit from Microsoft at http://download.microsoft.com.

• Install the SQL Server Client Tools on each application server.

The Client Tools allow the application servers to communicate with the database. Without the Client Tools, the Installer will fail. After installation, if the Client Tools are not available, the application server will not be able to query the database or enter database transactions.


There is no Windows 2008 Resource Kit software package available from Microsoft for download at this time. The resource kit exists primarily as documentation for the Windows 2008 release.

There is no IIS 7 Resource Kit software package available from Microsoft for download at this time. The resource kit exists primarily as documentation for the Windows 2008 release.

SQL Server Client Tools needs to be installed on each application server.

Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features

For more information, see Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features.

Create a Domain User

Create a domain user (for example, "blackboard") that will have access to the application server, the file server, and the database server. This user must be part of the Administrators group throughout the setup and installation. After this user is created, use it to log in to the servers.

When installing on one server, the application server, file system, and database are all run on one machine.

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When the installation is complete, you may remove the domain user from the Administrators group as a security precaution. Remember to continue to use the domain user to run the Blackboard services.

Configure SQL Server Agent Startup

The SQL Server Agent must be running and set to Automatic startup for Blackboard Learn, where instance is the name of the database instance (blank for a default instance).

1. Right-click Computer and select Manage.

2. From the Server Manager, click Configuration and then click Services.

3. Right-click SQL Server Agent (instance) and select Properties.

4. From the Startup type drop-down list, select Automatic.

5. Click OK.

Synchronize Server Clocks

Check the date and time on the system and make sure it is accurate and that the time zone is set correctly. If installing on two servers, check that the time on the application server and database server match. Remember that the servers may be in a different time zone than the users. The server time zone should be the same as the time zone used by the majority of users, instead of the physical location of the server. Blackboard Learn uses the server date and time to control the availability of time-sensitive materials. It is important that users have a clear expectation of when materials will be available and when assignments are due.

Windows clients connected to a Domain can check their time offset using the following command, where domain_name is replaced with your Windows domain: w32tm/monitor/domain:domain_name

Windows clients that are connected to a domain can force time synchronization using the following command: w32tm/resync

Ports

Blackboard Learn requires TCP/IP ports to communicate. The following list details the required ports and their default values. Make sure to configure server security and any firewalls to allow communication on the required ports.

• Web server port (default value: 80): This port handles communication between users and the server.

• Collaboration server TCP/IP port (default value: 8010): This port handles TCP communication for the Collaboration server. By default, TCP communication connects users to the Collaboration server.

• Collaboration server HTTP port (default value: 8011): This port handles HTTP communication for the Collaboration server. HTTP is a backup if TCP communication fails.

• Secure Web server HTTPS port (default value:443): This port handles SSL over HTTP communication between the users and the server. SSL capability is usually configured after the initial installation is complete.



WARNING! Do not use a firewall to redirect ports. The internal port configured on the server must match the external port on the external firewall.

Network

Keep in mind the following when connecting Blackboard Learn to the network:

• Do not use underscores in the machine name for the server or servers. Some versions of Internet Explorer block cookies if the machine name includes an underscore.

• Set up the DNS server to resolve server names.

• Check with a network engineer to make sure that the network can handle the anticipated load after Blackboard Learn is made available to users.

• An SMTP server is available so that the Installer can connect to it.

• An SMTP server has to remain available when the application is running in order to deliver email notifications.

Database

Keep in mind the following when installing and configuring Microsoft SQL Server:

• Install SQL Server at the drive level. For example, C:\SQL Server.

• Use Mixed Mode Security Authentication.

• Make sure SQL Server is installed using a local account.

• Blackboard recommends using the default instance name. If the default instance name is not used, the instance name must not include any underscores, spaces, or punctuation. Use only alphanumeric characters.

• If an instance other than the default is used, make sure that the instance is not case sensitive.

• The SQL Server Client Tools must be installed on the application server. This is not necessary if Blackboard Learn is installed on just one server.

• Blackboard Learn supports SQL Server failover. For more information, see Set Up Database Clustering and Storage.

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features


Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features

Before You Begin

Windows Server 2008 uses IIS 7. Before installation of Blackboard Learn 9.1, IIS 7 needs to be configured with specific Role Services and other settings.

Blackboard recommends that you do not manually edit the %windir%\system32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config file to configure these options. This will result in errors that require a backup and restore of the last known good backup of the IIS 7 configuration that was managed by the IIS.

If you manually backed up the applicationHost.config file, restoring this manual backup and restarting IIS 7 will not fix errors generated by manually editing this file to configure IIS 7.

By default, IIS 7 will check every two minutes for changes to the configuration files and will automatically create backups of them, maintaining a history of ten backups. Use the oldest of these backups to restore IIS 7 to a working state.

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe list backup%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe restore backup "CFGHISTORY_0000000021"

Once the configuration has been restored and verified through web browser access, then use the appcmd utility to configure the necessary features of IIS 7 as described in the section above.

If this approach does not solve the problem with IIS 7 generating errors, remove and then reinstall the IIS 7 Role.

If you need to reinstall the IIS 7 Role, you can use the %BLACKBOARD%\tools\admin\WebsiteReinstall.bat command to re-establish the Blackboard Web site within IIS.

How to Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features

1. Install the IIS 7 Role in Windows Server 2008 Server Manager and configure Role Services:

a. Click Start, select Administrative Tools, and then select Server Manager.

b. Click Roles, and under the Roles Summary heading, click Add Roles.

c. From the list of displayed roles, select Web Server (IIS).

d. Click Next.

At a minimum, the following five (5) role services must be installed in addition to the default role services:

Role Services > Web Server > Application Development > ISAPI Extensions

Role Services > Web Server > Application Development > ISAPI Filters

Role Services > Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility > IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Role Services > Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility > IIS 6 WMI Compatibility



Role Services > Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility > IIS 6 Scripting Tools

To enhance performance, troubleshooting, and offer additional web server configuration options, Blackboard recommends that the following role services also be installed:

Role Services > Web Server > Common HTTP Features > all five (5) role services enabled

Role Services > Web Server > Application Development > all seven (7) role services enabled

Role Services > Web Server > Security > all eight (8) role services enabled

Role Services > Management Tools > all three (3) role services enabled

Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Capabilities > all four (4) role services enabled.

Of the role services listed in this step, the following are will be of the most interest: Role Services > Common HTTP Features > HTTP Redirection (to allow for HTTP redirection, in the event that the site is renamed)

Role Services > Security > Windows Authentication (to allow for Active Directory integrated authentication)

Role Services > Security > IP and Domain Restrictions (to allow for greater control of web server access)

Role Services > Performance > Dynamic Content Compression (to allow for enhanced performance)

e. Select Windows Process Activation Service (.NET Environment), and then click Add Required Role services.

2. Disable the Default Web Site:


b. From the left menu, click the plus sign next to Roles to expand the tree.

c. Click the plus sign next to Web Server IIS, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

d. Under the Connections heading, click the plus sign next to the %HOSTNAME%, and then click the plus sign next to Sites.

e. Right-click Default Web Site and from the drop-down menu select Manage Web Site, and then select Stop.

3. Back up the current IIS 7 configuration and verify.

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe

add backup "Blackboard Pre-Change"

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe list backup



4. Modify the IIS 7 configuration to permit double escaping within URLs (applies to all sites).

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config /section:system.webServer/Security/requestFiltering -allowDoubleEscaping:True

5. Modify the IIS 7 configuration to allow upload files greater than 20MB in size, specified in bytes (applies to all sites).

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:requestFiltering -requestLimits.maxAllowedContentLength:104857600


%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe

add backup "Blackboard Post-Change Backup"


7. Restart the IIS service.


b. From the left menu, click the plus sign next to Configuration and then click Services.

c. From the list of services, right-click World Wide Web Publishing Service and select Restart.

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers (Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage


(Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage Setting up SQL Server Failover and setting up a separate storage device for the data files and log files are optional steps. Many institutions, particularly Blackboard Learn – Basic Edition clients, will not need to set up SQL Server Failover or to set up the data files and log files on a separate storage device.

Setting Up SQL Server Failover

Blackboard Learn can be run using database clustering for redundancy. Database clustering instantly transfers database requests to an identical server if the database server fails.

Blackboard Learn is designed to work with Microsoft SQL Server Failover clusters. SQL Server Failover provides added fault tolerance to the database by using another database in the cluster in the case of an error that causes the production database to fail.

A SQL Server Failover cluster is based on the same design as a Windows cluster. A group of servers are joined to provide continual service in the event of an outage or failure. When SQL Server is forced to shut down, another server steps in to handle requests.

The process for setting up a Microsoft SQL Server failover cluster is done at the operating system and database level before installing Blackboard Learn.

1. Set up the Microsoft server cluster.

2. Install SQL Server and configure the failover cluster.

3. Install Blackboard Learn.

The following is a list of tips for setting up SQL Server failover.

• Use four public IP addresses: node 1, node 2, Windows cluster server, and virtual SQL server.

• The local disk of each node must be attached to a separate SCSI controller. It should not use the same one that is attached to the RAID system.

• The RAID SCSI controller IDs of the two nodes must be different.

• RAID SCSI BIOS must be set up to enable cluster (shared bus).

• The names of the network cards cannot contain spaces or special characters.

• Do not use the default instance name for installing SQL server on a virtual server.

• MSDTC service must be running before starting SQL server setup.

For more information about installing and configuring a Microsoft SQL Server failover cluster, see Microsoft TechNet at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/. While Blackboard supports SQL Server failover with Blackboard Learn, Microsoft is the best resource for information about installing and configuring a Microsoft SQL Server failover cluster.

Setting Up a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files

The Installer will prompt for the directory where the database data files and log files should be stored. Consult the Microsoft SQL Server documentation for information about storing these files on a separate device. Keep in mind that the storage device should have a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server.

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Install on Windows on One or Two Servers (Optional) Set Up File System Storage


(Optional) Set Up File System Storage Setting up file system storage on a separate storage device is an optional step for Blackboard Learn - Enterprise Edition clients.

Note Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must use the local default location of c:\blackboard\content.

About File System Storage

All of the content files for Blackboard Learn, such as files uploaded to Courses and image files, are stored by default in the blackboard\content directory. If the content management capabilities have been licensed, the Content Collection has several content directories, each one dedicated to one of the top-level directories. For example, the \library directory stores all the files for the Library.

In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server.

These instructions detail how to set up the blackboard\content directory on a separate file server. The same methods can be repeated to set up the content management directories on a separate file server. The use of a separate storage device requires additional configuration of the Blackboard services to allow them to run under the permission of a domain user.

How to Set Up a Shared File System

Follow these steps to setup the blackboard\content directory on another server.

1. Log in to the file server as a domain user (for example, domain\blackboard) with administrative privileges. This is the user that runs the Web/application server. That is, this must be the user that logs in to the application server and owns control of the Blackboard services. In this example, the domain user is "blackboard."

2. Create a directory to store Blackboard Learn content files. For example, C:\bb_content.

3. Right-click on the bb_content directory and select Properties.

4. From the Sharing tab, click Advanced Sharing.

5. Select Share this folder.

6. Click Permissions. The Permissions for bb_content window displays.

7. Set Permissions so that the Administrators and the domain user who will be running the Blackboard services, such as "blackboard," have full control. No other users should have access to this directory.

8. After setting permissions, click the Security tab, and then click Edit.

9. Set Security so that the Administrators and the domain user who will be running the Blackboard services, such as "blackboard," have full control. No other users should have access to this directory.

10. Click OK.

11. When prompted by the Installer for the location of the blackboard\content directory, type \\FILESERVER\bb_content.

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers (Optional) Set Up File System Storage


12. If the content management capabilities will be installed, the Installer will prompt for the location of the individual Content Collection directories. When prompted, type the path to \\FILESERVER\bb_content\storage followed by a subdirectory name for each individual content management directory. For example, the \users directory should be stored in \\FILESEVER\bb_content\storage\users. Alternatively, the Content Collection files can be stored on a separate, dedicated, share directory.

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist The installation checklist below and the installation worksheet should be completed before installing Blackboard Learn on one or two servers. Completing both the checklist and the worksheet prior to installation will help ensure a successful installation.

If Blackboard Learn will only be installed on one server, that machine must pass the checklist for both the application server and the database server.

Blackboard Basics

Review the following list to make sure that Blackboard has provided everything necessary to begin installation.

• A valid Blackboard Learn license file is accessible from the application servers. To receive a license file, contact your Blackboard Client Representative.

• The Installer has been downloaded to the application servers. To receive instructions for downloading the Installer, contact your Blackboard Client Representative.

• The Administrator has contact information for Blackboard Client Support and a login for Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com.

Application Server Checklist

Review the following list to make sure that the application server is prepared for installation.

• The machine is connected to the network and powered on.

• The machine meets the minimum hardware requirements.

• A supported version of the operating system is installed on the machine.

• The supported version of the JDK is installed on the machine.

• The supported version of IIS is installed. If a remote content directory will be used, a domain user has been created and IIS security configured appropriately.

• The machine is dedicated to Blackboard Learn and has no unnecessary software installed.

• The Administrator has a plan for managing log files.

• The Administrator has a plan for backing up the application file system.

• The DNS (Domain Name Server) is set to resolve the server name. Note that the server name should not contain underscore characters. Some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer block cookies from machines with an underscore in the name.

• If the database is running on a separate server, the SQL Server Client libraries are installed on the application server.

• Any firewalls are configured to allow access to Blackboard Learn ports. These ports are defined when the Installer is run. It is not possible to use a firewall to redirect to a different port. Blackboard Learn must be available to users on the ports specified during the installation and not served through an alternate port.

• The server clock is synchronized with the other servers used in Blackboard Learn configuration. If the server clocks are not synchronized, there may be differences between

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Install on Windows on One or Two Servers Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


the displayed availability of time-sensitive content and the actual availability of time-sensitive content.

• The Windows file system is set to NTFS. Blackboard Learn will not work with a FAT32 file system.

• The Installer can connect to the SMTP server.

Database Server Checklist

Review the following list to make sure that the database server is prepared for installation. Remember that if Blackboard Learn will only be installed on one server, the database server and application server are configured on one machine.




• A supported version of SQL Server was installed on the root directory with Mixed Mode Security authentication using a local account.

• If using a SQL Server failover cluster, make sure that the cluster is configured and SQL Server is running properly.

• The person installing Blackboard Learn knows the SQL Server Administrator password and what instance of SQL Server will support Blackboard Learn.


• SQL Server is running. If SQL Server was installed just prior to Blackboard Learn, restart the database machine after installing SQL Server and prior to installing Blackboard Learn.

• The database administrator has a plan for backing up the database and managing database log files.


• If a database instance other than the default will be used, the instance name includes only alphanumeric characters. Do not use punctuation or other characters, including underscores.

• Verify that the SQL Server Database job agent can be successfully started up before installing or updating the database. (See SQL Server Agent Automatic Startup.) If the job cannot be run, notify the Database Administrator so that it can be fixed before running the Installer.

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet


Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet The installation worksheet helps identify all the information required by the Installer when installing on one or two servers. Filling out the worksheet prior to installation will help the installation process run smoothly.

The following information is needed by the Installer to complete the installation.

Blackboard Destination Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to a directory on the application server where Blackboard Learn will reside. The Installer will create a directory called blackboard within this directory.

Setup Type: Select the Full Installation option to install Blackboard Learn on one or two servers. This option is also used when installing Blackboard Learn on the database and first application server in a Load-Balanced configuration.

License File: ___________________________________________

The path to the current license file for this release and your institution. If a current License File is not available, contact your Blackboard Client Representative to request one. The License file determines which capabilities, such as the Content Collection, are installed. The license file will be detected automatically if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer.

Java Location: ___________________________________________

The path to the JDK.

Shared Content Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the directory where the Blackboard Learn content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system will be stored. The default location is c:\blackboard\content. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage for Windows.

Note Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must use the local default location.

Application Server Machine Name: ___________________________________________

The name of the application server. The Installer will automatically populate this value. The Installer must be run on the application server. To find the machine name of a server, follow the steps below.

1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties.

2. Click the Network Identification tab.

3. The full computer name and the domain name both appear. The full computer name is the application server Machine Name with the domain name appended (webservermachinename.domain).



Application Server Domain Name: ___________________________________________

The name of the domain where the Web server resides. The application server Machine Name and the application server Domain Name form the URL for Blackboard (http://webservermachinename.domain). Because these names form the URL, do not use any characters other than standard letters and numbers in the application server name or the domain name. Underscores and spaces will cause problems.

Application Server Port Number: ___________________________________________

The port that the application engine uses. The default value is 8009.

Web Server Port Number: ___________________________________________

The port that the Web server will use for http connections with clients. The default value is 80.

Database Hostname: ___________________________________________

The domain name and machine name where the SQL Server database that Blackboard Learn will use is installed. The database machine name can be found the same way as the Web server machine name. When installed on a one server configuration, the database machine name is the same as the application server machine name. For this reason, the default value is the machine name of the local machine.

Database Instance: ___________________________________________

The name of the SQL Server instance that will run the Blackboard Learn database. This may be left blank if Blackboard Learn will run on the default instance of SQL Server.

SQL System Database Administrator Password: _______________________________

The SQL System Database Administrator password associated with the "sa" login.

Blackboard Database User Password: ___________________________________________

A password for a SQL Server user that Blackboard Learn creates at install. This account is also used by the application to access the database.

Blackboard Database Report User Password: __________________________________

The password for the Database Report User. This is a SQL Server user that Blackboard Learn uses.

Database Identifier: ___________________________________________

Database identifiers must be unique within the database server. The database identifier is, by default, BBLEARN. If this parameter is left blank, it will default to BBLEARN. This option is not visible during an upgrade, and is typically used exclusively in a multi-tenancy environment. A multi-tenancy environment offers the ability to host multiple Blackboard Learn instances on a single machine without the data being shared between instances. Multi-tenancy environments are not standard. If you are upgrading your environment and wish to rename your database identifier, contact Blackboard Support for assistance.

Database Data Files Directory: ___________________________________________

The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database data files (.mdf). This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be on the database server.



Database Log Files Directory: ___________________________________________

The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database log files (.ldf). This directory will not store application or Web logs. This directory must be on the database server.

Content Management Database Password: _______________________

This is the password for the database user that the Installer creates for the Content Collection databases. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Courses Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management \courses directory. This directory will store all of the files under the \courses heading. This value is only required if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Institution Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management \institution directory. This directory will store all of the files under the \institution heading. This value is only required if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Library Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management \library directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /library heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Organization Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management \orgs directory. This directory will store all of the files under the \orgs heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Users Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management \users directory. This directory will store all of the files under the \users heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Collaboration Server Machine Name: _________________________________________

The machine name that runs the Collaboration Server. It is possible to dual-purpose an existing application to also serve as the Collaboration Server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. In one server and two server configurations, this machine name is the same as the application server machine name.

Collaboration Server TCP/IP Port: ___________________________________________

TCP/IP is the preferred communication method for the Collaboration server. The default port is 8010.

Collaboration Server HTTP Port: ___________________________________________

HTTP communication is used to connect users to the Collaboration server is TCP/IP communication is unavailable. The default port is 8011.



SMTP Server: ___________________________________________

The full hostname of the SMTP server that Blackboard Learn will use to send emails. For example: smtp.blackboard.com. The parameter bbconfig.email.bitbucket_address=email_address must be added and set in the bb-config.properties file to avoid system-generated messages, such as enrollment notifications and discussion board subscriptions from being sent to the system administrator. The bit-bucket email address should be set to a valid campus address that has no recipients, failure to use a valid address will result in rejection by email servers.

Administrator Password: ___________________________________________

The Administrator account has full Administrator privileges. This account and the root_admin account are the only two accounts that can log in until more users are created.

Integration User Password: ___________________________________________

The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, click Integration Password.

For more information about the integration account, see the Editing the Integration Password topic in Blackboard Learn Help.

Root Administrator Password: ___________________________________________

The root_admin account has full administrative privileges including the management of Virtual Installations through the Administrator Panel. When the root_admin account user views the Administrator Panel, the Manage Virtual Installations link appears at the top of the panel. The root_admin can log in to any Virtual Installation and access the Virtual Installation management features from this link.

The root_admin account is created even if your license does not include the use of additional Virtual Installations. The root_admin account can be modified from the Edit Root Administrator Profile page.

Administrator Name: ___________________________________________

The name of the Administrator.

Administrator Email: ___________________________________________

The email address of the Administrator.

Institution Name: ___________________________________________

The institution that will be using Blackboard Learn.

Institution Type: Select one of the following options:

• K-12

• Higher Education

• Continuing Education

• Corporate

• Professional Association

• Hobby




City: ___________________________________________

The state, province, or territory where the institution is located.

State: ___________________________________________


ZIP/Postal Code: ___________________________________________

The ZIP or Postal Code where the institution is located.

Country: ___________________________________________

The Country where the institution is located.

Install on Windows on One or Two Servers Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database


Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database The Installer is launched from a command line prompt and may be run using the command line interface or the graphical interface. The Installer presents a series of questions about the system. In many cases, the Installer automatically detects the required settings and provides default values.

Where to Find the Installer

To request a current license file for this release and your institution and instructions for downloading the Installer, contact your Blackboard Client Representative.

Before Running the Installer

Make sure that the system meets the supported software requirements and is properly configured before running the Installer. To confirm that the system is ready for installation, see the Pre-Installation Checklist.

The instructions below assume the following:

• You are currently logged in as the domain user, such as "blackboard."

• The Installer is run on a two server system. The instructions reference the application server and the database server. When installing on one server, these machines are the same.

• The Installer is run using the graphical interface. The command line interface requires the same inputs from the user. The only difference between the command line and the GUI interface is navigation. The graphical interface uses mouse-clicks instead of keystrokes to accept a value and continue. The command line places the default or anticipated value in brackets. You may either enter a new value or simply press ENTER to select the value in brackets.

• The optional steps for installing the content management capabilities: These steps are included for testing purposes. Blackboard recommends that the content management capabilities be used only with Load-Balanced systems.

• The user is logged in as the "domain user."

How to Run the Installer

1. Place both the Installer and the license file in a directory on the application server. The Installer will automatically recognize the license file as long as it is named bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer. The following steps use C:\bb_installer as an example.

2. Double-click the Installer. Alternatively, open a command line prompt and navigate to the directory that contains the Installer.

3. Run the following command to launch the Installer graphical interface: C:\bb_installer>java –jar installer_file

To launch the Installer command line interface, run the following command: C:\bb_installer>java –jar installer_file -text

Remember that the rest of these steps assume that the graphical interface is being used.



4. After reading the welcome message, press ENTER to continue.

5. Provide the directory where Blackboard will be installed. To accept the default value of C:\blackboard, click Next. Blackboard does not recommend changing this default.

6. To select the type of installation, type 1for Full Installation and press ENTER.

7. After reading the License Agreement, click Accept to continue the installation. To refuse the terms of the agreement and close the Installer, click Do Not Accept.

8. Provide the path and location of the license file. To accept the default value, click Next. To search for the license file, click Browse and then click Next.

9. Provide the location of the JDK. To accept the default value, click Next. To search for the JDK, click Browse and then click Next.

10. Provide the location of the Shared Content Directory, which is used to store the content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage for Windows. To accept the default value of c:\blackboard\content, press ENTER.


11. Provide the name of the application server. The Installer detects the machine name of the server it runs on and uses that to populate the default value.

12. Provide the domain that hosts the application server. The Installer detects this value and populates the default value.

13. Provide the port number for the application server. This is the port that the application uses for communication. The default value is 8009.

14. Provide the port number for the Web server. This is the port that is used for http connections with users. The default value is 80.

15. Click Next after completing all the fields on the page. The next page asks for information about the database server. Remember that single server installations use the same machine as both the application server and the database server.

16. Provide the database server hostname. The default value is the current machine. This is the correct value for single server installations. If installing on two servers, enter a value for the separate database machine. Keep in mind that the hostname is represented by machine_name.domain_name.

17. Provide the database instance. In most cases, the default instance, which has no name, is used.

18. After completing all of the fields on the page, click Next. The next page asks for the database passwords.

19. Provide the SQL Server database administrator password. This is the password associated with the sa login. By default, the password for this account is blank.

20. Provide the Blackboard database user password. This database login is used by the application to access the database.

21. Provide the Blackboard database report user password. This database login is used by the application to access the reporting database.

22. Optional step for Content Collection Users: Provide the content management database password. This login is used by the application to access content management database.



23. After completing all of the fields on the page, click Next. The next page asks where to store the database data files and the database log files.

24. Provide the location where the database data files (.mdf) will be stored. This directory must be on the database server or on a storage device with a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server. On a single server installation, the default value is C:\blackboard\mssql\data\. Click Next to accept the default or click Browse to provide a new value and then click Next.

25. Provide the location where the database log files (.ldf) will be stored. This directory must be on the database server or on a storage device with a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server. On a single server installation, the default value is C:\blackboard\mssql\data\. Click Next to accept the default or click Browse to provide a new value and then click Next.

26. After completing all of the fields on the page, click Next.

27. Optional step for Content Collection Users: Provide the storage directories for content management:

/courses - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\courses.

/institution - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\institution.

/library - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\library.

/orgs - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\orgs.

/users - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\users.


29. Provide the Collaboration server hostname. In a one or two server environment, the default value is the application server. In a load-balanced environment, select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server. The Collaboration server runs Virtual Classroom and chat sessions.

30. Provide the TCP port number for the Collaboration server. The Collaboration server uses TCP/IP as the preferred communication method for performance reasons. The default port number is 8010.

31. Provide the HTTP port number for the Collaboration server. The Collaboration server uses HTTP as a backup method of communication if TCP/IP is not available. The default port number is 8011.


33. Provide the location of the SMTP server and click Next. The SMTP server is used to send out email communications. Enter the hostname as machine_name.domain_name.

34. Provide the Blackboard Learn Administrator password. The Administrator account has full privileges.

35. Provide the Blackboard Integration password. The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, click Integration Password.

36. Provide the Blackboard root administrator password. The root_admin account has full administrative privileges including the management of Virtual Installations through the



Administrator Panel. When the root_admin account user views the Administrator Panel, the Manage Virtual Installations link appears at the top of the panel. The root_admin can log in to any Virtual Installation and access the Virtual Installation management features from this link. While it is necessary to enter a password for this account, it is very rare that a system with Virtual Installations will be run on one server or two servers.


38. Provide the following information about the administrator and the institution:

• Name and email address of the system administrator

• Name of Institution

• Type of Institution - The value must be one of the following: K-12, Higher Education, Continuing Education, Corporate, Professional Association, or Hobby

• City, State, Country, and ZIP Code of the institution's address


40. Select the Server Type. This is information is used for better management of centralized services. Options include: Production, Staging, Test, and Development. Properly categorize each server when running the installer.

41. Click Next.

42. Click Next again to install the software. If the Installer was launched from the command line, do not close the command line window or any of the other windows that pop-up during the installation.

If the Installer failed, check the Installer log and see Troubleshooting to diagnose and fix the problem.

Next Steps

Make sure to remove the domain user from the Administrators group on each server. This is a security step recommended by Microsoft that prevents the domain user, which is used to run services, from acting as an Administrator.

If a separate storage device has been configured with a UNC path (\\server\share),make sure configure the services with proper permissions.


Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration

The following section explains the required hardware, software, and necessary steps to properly install Blackboard Learn on Windows in a load-balanced configuration. It also includes a section on proper review of the installation and next steps in administration of the system.







7. Install the Blackboard Learn Software on Additional Application Servers

8. (Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment

9. (Optional) Set Up Collaboration Server

10. Set Up the Blackboard Services on Each Application Server

11. Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Set Up the Hardware and Software


Set Up the Hardware and Software A load-balanced configuration requires that the first application server and database server be installed using the two server configuration model. After that, the Installer can be run again on each additional application server to install only those components. Each additional Web/application server must also meet the required prerequisites.

Make sure that the hardware, software, and network are prepared before beginning to configure and install Blackboard Learn in a load-balanced environment.

Required Hardware


Required Software



Download and install the JDK on each application server.



Select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. Alternatively, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server. The Collaboration server may not be spread across multiple application servers because all users participating in a Collaboration session must share the same resources. A single server must be configured to run the Collaboration server. This server must handle Collaboration sessions and performance will be unaffected by other requests. The application servers are configured to connect users to one server that handles all the Collaboration sessions.

Do not connect the Collaboration server to the load-balancer.

Dedicated File System Server

Set aside one server as a dedicated file system server. The content files must be centralized so that all files are available to users regardless of the application server handling the connection. The application servers are configured to find the content files in a directory on the file system server.






Set JAVA_HOME

The correct version of the JDK must be installed on the application server and the JAVA_HOME environment variable must be set. The JDK installer first installs the JDK, then the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Ensure that these are installed to different locations and the JRE installer is not allowed to overwrite portions of the JDK.

WARNING! Make sure that the path to the JDK does not include any spaces. For example, do not use C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_18. Instead, use C:\Java\jdk1.6.0_18.

Follow these steps to set the JAVA_HOME environment variable:

1. Make sure that the correct version of the JDK is installed on the application server.

2. Right-click Computer and select Properties.

3. Click Advanced System Properties.

4. Click Environment Variables.

5. In the system variables list, find JAVA_HOME and click Edit. If JAVA_HOME does not exist in the system variables list, click New. A pop-up window will appear. The Variable name should read JAVA_HOME.

6. Enter the full path to the JDK in the Variable value field. For example, C:\Java\jdk1.6.0_18.

7. Click OK.

Note Click paths for Windows 2003 and SQL 2005 will vary slightly from the steps presented here for Windows 2008 and SQL Server 2008.

Confirm NTFS File System

Blackboard Learn will work only with the NTFS file system. It will not work correctly if the Windows file system is FAT32. Follow the steps below to confirm that the disk is using the NTFS file system.

1. Double-click My Computer.

2. Right-click on the disk where Blackboard Learn will be installed.

3. Select Properties.

4. The File System field should show NTFS. If it shows FAT32, consult the operating system documentation for instructions on converting the disk to a NTFS file system.

5. Repeat these steps on each application server, the database server, and the file system server.

Confirm Windows Server 2003 Prerequisites

If using Windows Server 2003, the following requirements must be met before beginning:

• Install the Windows 2003 Resource Kit and the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit on each application server.

Download the Windows Resource Kit and the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit from Microsoft at http://download.microsoft.com.

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• Install the SQL Server Client Tools on each application server.

The Client Tools allow the application servers to communicate with the database. Without the Client Tools, the Installer will fail. After installation, if the Client Tools are not available, the application server will not be able to query the database or enter database transactions.


There is no Windows 2008 Resource Kit software package available from Microsoft for download at this time. The resource kit exists primarily as documentation for the Windows 2008 release.

There is no IIS 7 Resource Kit software package available from Microsoft for download at this time. The resource kit exists primarily as documentation for the Windows 2008 release.

SQL Server Client Tools needs to be installed on each application server.

Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features

For more information, see Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features.

Create a Domain User

Create a domain user (for example, “blackboard”) that will have access to the application servers, the file server, and the database server. This user must be part of the Administrators group throughout the setup and installation. After this user is created, use it to log in to the servers.

Add the Domain User to the IIS_WPG Group

The domain user created in the steps above must be added to the IIS_IUSRS Group, where domain_name is replaced with your Windows domain: w32tm/monitor/domain:domain_name. If this association is not created, the website will not display.

1. Log in as the domain user.


3. From the Server Manager, click Configuration, and then click the plus sign next to Local Users and Groups to expand the folders.

4. Click Groups.

5. Right-click on IIS_IUSRS.

6. Select Add to Group from the drop-down list.

7. Click Add.

8. Enter the domain user blackboard.

9. Click OK.

10. If asked to enter the username and password for that account, do so, and then click OK.



Set Up IIS Security

The domain user created in the steps above must be added to IIS security. Follow these steps to configure IIS on each application server.

1. Log in as the domain user (for example, domain\blackboard) on the first application server.


3. From the Server Manager, click Roles, click Web Server (IIS) and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

4. Stop the Default Web Site by expanding Sites, right-clicking on Default Web Site, selecting Manage Web Site, and then selecting Stop.

5. Configure Directory Security by clicking the Features View button at the bottom of the page and then double-clicking Authentication.

6. Right-click on Anonymous Authentication and select Edit. IUSR should appear in the specific user field.

7. Configure the Application Pool by clicking Application Pools.

8. Right-click DefaultAppPool and select Advanced Settings.

9. Under the Process Model heading, in the Identity /NetworkService cell, click the ... (ellipses) button.

10. Select Custom account and then click Set.

11. Enter the domain user name and password and then click OK.

12. Restart IIS so that the changes will take effect.

13. Repeat these steps for each application server.

Configure SQL Server Agent Automatic Startup

The SQL Server Agent must be running and set to Automatic startup for Blackboard Learn where %INSTANCE% is the name of the database instance (blank for a default instance).


2. From the Server Manager, click Configuration and then click Services.

3. Right-click SQL Server Agent (instance) and select Properties.

4. From the Startup type drop-down list, select Automatic.

5. Click OK.


Check the date and time on the system and make sure it is accurate and that the time zone is set correctly. Check that the time on the application server and database server match. Remember that the servers may be in a different time zone than users. Blackboard Learn uses the server date and time to control the availability of time-sensitive materials. It is important that users have a clear expectation of when materials will be available and when assignments are due.



Windows clients connected to a Domain can check their time offset using the following command where domain_name is replaced with your Windows domain: w32tm/monitor/domain:domain_name

Windows clients that are connected to a domain can force time synchronization using the following command: w32tm/resync

Ports

Blackboard Learn requires ports to communicate. The list below details the required ports and their default values. Make sure to configure server security and any firewalls to allow communication on the required ports. All application servers must use the same port settings.



• Collaboration server HTTP port (default value: 8011): This port handles HTTP communication for the Collaboration server. HTTP is a backup if TCP communication fails.

• Secure Web server HTTPS port (default value:443): This port handles SSL over HTTP communication between the users and the server. SSL capability is usually configured after the initial installation is complete.


Network


• Do not use underscores in the machine name for the server or servers.

• Set up the DNS server to resolve the hardware load-balancer. The hardware load-balancer will then direct traffic to the application servers. Set up a separate DNS entry for the dedicated Collaboration server.


• An SMTP server is available so that the Installer can connect to it.


Database

Keep in mind the following when installing and configuring Microsoft SQL Server:

• Install SQL Server at the drive level, for example, C:\SQL Server.

• Use Mixed Mode Security Authentication.

• Make sure SQL Server is installed using a local account.



• Blackboard recommends using the default instance name. If the default instance name is not used, the instance name must not include any underscores, spaces, or punctuation. Use only alphanumeric characters.

• If an instance other than the default is used, make sure that the instance is not case sensitive.

• The default password for the 'sa' account is a blank value.

• The SQL Server Client Tools must be installed on each application server.

• Blackboard Learn supports SQL Server failover. For more information, see Set Up Database Clustering and Separate Storage.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features


Configuring Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features

Before You Begin

Windows Server 2008 uses IIS 7. Before installation of Blackboard Learn 9.1, IIS 7 needs to be configured with specific Role Services and other settings.

Blackboard recommends that you do not manually edit the %windir%\system32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config file to configure these options. This will result in errors that require a backup and restore of the last known good backup of the IIS 7 configuration that was managed by the IIS.

If you manually backed up the applicationHost.config file, restoring this manual backup and restarting IIS 7 will not fix errors generated by manually editing this file to configure IIS 7.

By default, IIS 7 will check every two minutes for changes to the configuration files and will automatically create backups of them, maintaining a history of ten backups. Use the oldest of these backups to restore IIS 7 to a working state.

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe list backup%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe restore backup "CFGHISTORY_0000000021"

Once the configuration has been restored and verified through web browser access, then use the appcmd utility to configure the necessary features of IIS 7 as described in the section above.

If this approach does not solve the problem with IIS 7 generating errors, remove and then reinstall the IIS 7 Role.

If you need to reinstall the IIS 7 Role, you can use the %BLACKBOARD%\tools\admin\WebsiteReinstall.bat command to re-establish the Blackboard Web site within IIS.

How to Configure Windows Server 2008 IIS 7 Roles and Features

1. Install the IIS 7 Role in Windows Server 2008 Server Manager and configure Role Services:


b. Click Roles, and under the Roles Summary heading, click Add Roles.

c. From the list of displayed roles, select Web Server (IIS).

d. Click Next.

At a minimum, the following five (5) role services must be installed in addition to the default role services:

Role Services > Web Server > Application Development > ISAPI Extensions

Role Services > Web Server > Application Development > ISAPI Filters

Role Services > Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility > IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Role Services > Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility > IIS 6 WMI Compatibility



Role Services > Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Compatibility > IIS 6 Scripting Tools

To enhance performance, troubleshooting, and offer additional web server configuration options, Blackboard recommends that the following role services also be installed:

Role Services > Web Server > Common HTTP Features > all five (5) role services enabled

Role Services > Web Server > Application Development > all seven (7) role services enabled

Role Services > Web Server > Security > all eight (8) role services enabled

Role Services > Management Tools > all three (3) role services enabled

Management Tools > IIS 6 Management Capabilities > all four (4) role services enabled.

Of the role services listed in this step, the following are will be of the most interest: Role Services > Common HTTP Features > HTTP Redirection (to allow for HTTP redirection, in the event that the site is renamed)

Role Services > Security > Windows Authentication (to allow for Active Directory integrated authentication)

Role Services > Security > IP and Domain Restrictions (to allow for greater control of web server access)

Role Services > Performance > Dynamic Content Compression (to allow for enhanced performance)

e. Select Windows Process Activation Service (.NET Environment), and then click Add Required Role services.

2. Disable the Default Web Site:


b. From the left menu, click the plus sign next to Roles to expand the tree.

c. Click the plus sign next to Web Server IIS, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

d. Under the Connections heading, click the plus sign next to the %HOSTNAME%, and then click the plus sign next to Sites.

e. Right-click Default Web Site and from the drop-down menu select Manage Web Site, and then select Stop.

3. Back up the current IIS 7 configuration and verify. %windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe add backup "Blackboard Pre-Change"




4. Modify the IIS 7 configuration to permit double escaping within URLs (applies to all sites).

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config /section:system.webServer/Security/requestFiltering -allowDoubleEscaping:True

5. Modify the IIS 7 configuration to allow upload files greater than 20MB in size, specified in bytes (applies to all sites).

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:requestFiltering -requestLimits.maxAllowedContentLength:104857600


%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe add backup "Blackboard Post-Change Backup"


7. Restart the IIS service.


b. From the left menu, click the plus sign next to Configuration and then click Services.

c. From the list of services, right-click World Wide Web Publishing Service and select Restart.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage


(Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage Setting up SQL Server Failover and setting up a separate storage device for the data files and log files are optional steps. Many institutions, particularly Blackboard Learn – Basic Edition clients, will not need to set up SQL Server Failover or to set up the data files and log files on a separate storage device.

Setting Up SQL Server Failover

Blackboard Learn can be run using database clustering for redundancy. Database clustering instantly transfers database requests to an identical server if the database server fails.

Blackboard Learn is designed to work with Microsoft SQL Server Failover clusters. SQL Server Failover provides added fault tolerance to the database by using another database in the cluster in the case of an error that causes the production database to fail.

A SQL Server Failover cluster is based on the same design as a Windows cluster. A group of servers are joined to provide continual service in the event of an outage or failure. When SQL Server is forced to shut down, another server steps in to handle requests.

The process for setting up a Microsoft SQL Server failover cluster is done at the operating system and database level before installing Blackboard Learn.

1. Set up the Microsoft server cluster.

2. Install SQL Server and configure the failover cluster.

3. Install Blackboard Learn.

The following is a list of tips for setting up SQL Server failover.

• Use four public IP addresses: node 1, node 2, Windows cluster server, and virtual SQL server.

• The local disk of each node must be attached to a separate SCSI controller. It should not use the same one that is attached to the RAID system.

• The RAID SCSI controller IDs of the two nodes must be different.

• RAID SCSI BIOS must be set up to enable cluster (shared bus).

• The names of the network cards cannot contain spaces or special characters.

• Do not use the default instance name for installing SQL server on a virtual server.

• MSDTC service must be running before starting SQL server setup.

For more information about installing and configuring a Microsoft SQL Server failover cluster, see Microsoft TechNet at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/. While Blackboard supports SQL Server failover with Blackboard Learn, Microsoft is the best resource for information about installing and configuring a Microsoft SQL Server failover cluster.

Setting Up a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files

The Installer will prompt for the directory where the database data files and log files should be stored. Consult the Microsoft SQL Server documentation for information about storing these files on a separate device. Keep in mind that the storage device should have a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server.

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Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up File System Storage



Note Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must use the local default location of c:\blackboard\content.


All of the content files for Blackboard Learn, such as files uploaded to Courses and image files, are stored by default in the blackboard\content directory. If the content management capabilities have been licensed, the Content Collection has several content directories, each one dedicated to one of the top-level directories. For example, the \library directory stores all the files for the Library.


These instructions detail how to set up the blackboard\content directory on a separate file server. The same methods can be repeated to set up the content management directories on a separate file server. The use of a separate storage device requires additional configuration of the Blackboard services to allow them to run under the permission of a domain user.

How to Set Up a Shared File System

Follow these steps to setup the blackboard\content directory on another server.

1. Log in to the file server as a domain user (for example, domain\blackboard) with administrative privileges. This is the user that runs the Web/application server. That is, this must be the user that logs in to the application server and owns control of the Blackboard services. In this example, the domain user is "blackboard."

2. Create a directory to store Blackboard Learn content files. For example, C:\bb_content.

3. Right-click on the bb_content directory and select Properties.

4. From the Sharing tab, click Advanced Sharing.

5. Select Share this folder.

6. Click Permissions. The Permissions for bb_content window displays.

7. Set Permissions so that the Administrators and the domain user who will be running the Blackboard services, such as "blackboard," have full control. No other users should have access to this directory.

8. After setting permissions, click the Security tab, and then click Edit.

9. Set Security so that the Administrators and the domain user who will be running the Blackboard services, such as "blackboard," have full control. No other users should have access to this directory.

10. Click OK.

11. When prompted by the Installer for the location of the blackboard\content directory, type \\FILESERVER\bb_content.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up File System Storage


12. If the content management capabilities will be installed, the Installer will prompt for the location of the individual Content Collection directories. When prompted, type the path to \\FILESERVER\bb_content\storage followed by a subdirectory name for each individual content management directory. For example, the \users directory should be stored in \\FILESEVER\bb_content\storage\users. Alternatively, the Content Collection files can be stored on a separate, dedicated, share directory.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist The installation checklist below and the installation worksheet should be completed before installing Blackboard Learn in a load-balanced configuration. Completing both the checklist and the worksheet prior to installation will help ensure a successful installation.

Blackboard Basics


• A valid Blackboard Learn license file is accessible from the application servers. To receive a license file, contact your Blackboard Client Representative.


• The Administrator has contact information for Blackboard Technical Support and a login for Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com.

Application Servers Checklist

Review the following list to make sure that each application server is prepared for installation.




• The supported version of the JDK is installed on the machine.

• The supported version of IIS is installed. If a remote content directory will be used, a domain user has been created and IIS security configured appropriately.




• The DNS (Domain Name Server) is set to resolve the name of the load balancer. Note that the load balancer name should not contain underscore characters. Some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer block cookies from machines with an underscore in the name.

• Blackboard Learn application servers must be part of the Windows domain. An alternate scenario involves the DNS service may be enabled on Blackboard Learn application server with a forward lookup record created for it on the application server.

• If the database is running on a separate server, the SQL Server Client libraries are installed on the application server.

• Blackboard Learn connects to the SQL Server instance over TCP/IP. The SQL Server network utility must be used to enable the TCP/IP protocol before installation. Blackboard recommends use of the Named Pipes protocol.





• The server clock is synchronized with the other servers used in Blackboard Learn configuration. If the server clocks are not synchronized, there may be differences between the displayed availability of time-sensitive content and the actual availability of time-sensitive content.



• If using a clustered Tomcat environment, the Server Groups and Ports have been configured. This is especially important when upgrading an existing clustered Tomcat environment.


Review the following list to make sure that the database server is prepared for installation:




• A supported version of SQL Server was installed on the root directory with Mixed Mode Security authentication using a local account.

• If using a SQL Server failover cluster, the cluster is configured and SQL Server is running properly.

• The person installing Blackboard Learn knows the SQL Server Administrator password and what instance of SQL Server will support Blackboard Learn.


• SQL Server is running. If SQL Server was installed just prior to Blackboard Learn, restart the database machine after installing SQL Server and prior to installing Blackboard Learn.


• The file system is set to NTFS. Blackboard Learn will not work with a FAT32 file system.

• If a database instance other than the default will be used, the instance name includes only alphanumeric characters. Do not use punctuation or other characters, including underscores.

• Verify that the SQL Server Database job agent can be successfully started up before installing or updating the database. For more information, see SQL Server Agent Automatic Startup. If the job cannot be run, notify the Database Administrator so that it can be fixed before running the Installer.



(Optional) File System Server Checklist

If file system storage will be set up on a separate storage device, review the following list to make sure that the file system server is prepared for installation.


• A directory to store the Blackboard content is configured and shared. Another directory for content management content (available only if the content management capabilities have been licensed) is configured and shared, if desired.

• The domain user that will run the application services has full access to the shared directories.

(Optional) Collaboration Server Checklist

If the Collaboration server will be set up on a Separate Device, make sure that the Collaboration server uses a different DNS name than that of the application servers.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet


Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet The installation worksheet helps identify all of the information required by the Installer when installing in a load-balanced configuration. Filling out the worksheet prior to installation will help the installation process run smoothly.

Note Most of the values asked for by the Installer must be the same for each application server and the Collaboration server. All ports and settings that point to the database server, Collaboration server, and file system server must be the same for all.



The path to a directory on the application server where Blackboard Learn will reside. Note that the Installer will create a directory called blackboard within this directory.

Setup Type: Select one of the following options:

• Full Installation: Select this option to install the database and the first application server.

• Appserver-only Installation Select this option when installing the second and all subsequent application servers or when setting up the Collaboration server on a separate device.

License File: ___________________________________________

The path to the current license file for this release and your institution. If a current License File is not available, contact your Blackboard Client Representative to request one. The License file determines which capabilities, such as the Content Collection, are installed. The license file will be detected automatically if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer.

Java Location: ___________________________________________



The path to the directory where the Blackboard Learn content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system will be stored. The default location is c:\blackboard\content. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage.



The name of the application server. The Installer will automatically populate this value. The Installer must be run on the application server. Complete the following steps to find the machine name of a server.

1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties from the context menu.

2. Click the Network Identification tab.



3. The full computer name and the domain name both appear. The full computer name is the application server Machine Name with the domain name appended (webservermachinename.domain).


The name of the domain where the Web server resides. The application server Machine Name and the application server Domain Name form the URL for Blackboard (http://webservermachinename.domain). Because these names form the URL, do not use any characters other than standard letters and numbers in the application server name or the domain name. Underscores and spaces will cause problems.


The port that the application engine uses. The default value is 8009.




The domain name and machine name where the SQL Server database that Blackboard Learn will use is installed. The database machine name can be found the same way as the Web server machine name.

Database Instance: ___________________________________________

The name of the SQL Server instance that will run Blackboard Learn database. This may be left blank if Blackboard Learn will run on the default instance of SQL Server.

SQL System Database Administrator Password: _______________________________

The SQL System Database Administrator password associated with the "sa" login.

Blackboard Database User Password: ________________________________________

A password for a SQL Server user that Blackboard Learn creates at install. This account is also used by the application to access the database.


The password for the Database Report User. This is a SQL Server user that Blackboard Learn uses.


Database identifiers must be unique within the database server. The database identifier is, by default, BBLEARN. If this parameter is left blank, it will default to BBLEARN. This option is not visible during an upgrade, and is typically used exclusively in a multi-tenancy environment. A multi-tenancy environment offers the ability to host multiple Blackboard Learn instances on a single machine without the data being shared between instances. Multi-tenancy environments are not standard. If you are upgrading your environment and wish to rename your database identifier, contact Blackboard Support for assistance.

Database Data Files Directory: ___________________________________________

The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database log files (.mdf). This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be on the database server.



Database Log Files Directory: ___________________________________________

The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database log files (.ldf). This directory will not store application or Web logs. This directory must be on the database server.


The password for the database user that the Installer creates for the content management databases. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.


Enter the path to the content management /courses directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /courses heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities is licensed.


The path to the content management /institution directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /institution heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.


The path to the content management /library directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /library heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Orgs Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /orgs directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /orgs heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Users Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /users directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /users heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.


The machine name that runs the Collaboration Server. It is possible to dual-purpose an existing application to also serve as the Collaboration Server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. In Load-Balanced configurations, it is important to direct all Collaboration Tool traffic to one server to maintain session integrity across users.


TCP/IP is the preferred communication method for the Collaboration Server. The default port is 8010.


HTTP communication is used to connect users to the Collaboration Server is TCP/IP communication is unavailable. The default port is 8011.



SMTP Server: ___________________________________________

The full hostname of the SMTP server that Blackboard Learn will use to send email. For example: smtp.blackboard.com. The parameter bbconfig.email.bitbucket_address=email_address must be added and set in the bb-config.properties file to avoid system-generated messages, such as enrollment notifications and discussion board subscriptions from being sent to the system administrator. The bit-bucket email address should be set to a valid campus address that has no recipients, failure to use a valid address will result in rejection by email servers.




The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, click Integration Password











Institution Type: choose from one of the following options

• K-12



• Corporate


• Hobby




City: ___________________________________________


State: ___________________________________________


ZIP/Postal Code: ___________________________________________


Country: ___________________________________________


Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database


Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database The Installer is launched from a command line prompt and may be run using the command line interface or the graphical interface. The Installer presents a series of questions about the system. In many cases, the Installer automatically detects the required settings and provides default values.




Make sure that the system meets the supported software requirements and is properly configured before running the Installer. To confirm that the system is ready for installation, see the Pre-Installation Checklist.


• You are currently logged in as the domain user, such as "blackboard."

• The Installer is run on a two server system. The instructions reference the application server and the database server. When installing on one server, these machines are the same.

• The Installer is run using the graphical interface. The command line interface requires the same inputs from the user. The only difference between the command line and the GUI interface is navigation. The graphical interface uses mouse-clicks instead of keystrokes to accept a value and continue. The command line places the default or anticipated value in brackets. You may either enter a new value or simply press ENTER to select the value in brackets.


• The user is logged in as the "domain user."


1. Place both the Installer and the license file in a directory on the application server. The Installer will automatically recognize the license file as long as it is named bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer. The following steps use C:\bb_installer as an example.

2. Double-click the Installer. Alternatively, open a command line prompt and navigate to the directory that contains the Installer.

3. Run the following command to launch the Installer graphical interface:

C:\bb_installer>java –jar installer_file

To launch the Installer command line interface, run the following command:

C:\bb_installer>java –jar installer_file -text

Remember that the rest of these steps assume that the graphical interface is being used.




5. Provide the directory where Blackboard will be installed. To accept the default value of C:\blackboard, click Next. Blackboard does not recommend changing this default.

6. To select the type of installation, type 1for Full Installation and press ENTER.

7. After reading the License Agreement, click Accept to continue the installation. To refuse the terms of the agreement and close the Installer, click Do Not Accept.

8. Provide the path and location of the license file. To accept the default value, click Next.To search for the license file, click Browse and then click Next.

9. Provide the location of the JDK. To accept the default value, click Next. To search for the JDK, click Browse and then click Next.

10. Provide the location of the Shared Content Directory, which is used to store the content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage. To accept the default value of c:\blackboard\content, press ENTER.


11. Provide the name of the application server. The Installer detects the machine name of the server it runs on and uses that to populate the default value.

12. Provide the domain that hosts the application server. The Installer detects this value and populates the default value.

13. Provide the port number for the application server. This is the port that the application uses for communication. The default value is 8009.

14. Provide the port number for the Web server. This is the port that is used for http connections with users. The default value is 80.

15. Click Next after completing all the fields on the page. The next page asks for information about the database server. Remember that single server installations use the same machine as both the application server and the database server.

16. Provide the database server hostname. The default value is the current machine. This is the correct value for single server installations. If installing on two servers, enter a value for the separate database machine. Keep in mind that the hostname is represented by machine_name.domain_name.

17. Provide the database instance. In most cases, the default instance, which has no name, is used.

18. After completing all of the fields on the page, click Next. The next page asks for the database passwords.

19. Provide the SQL Server database administrator password. This is the password associated with the sa login. By default, the password for this account is blank.

20. Provide the Blackboard database user password. This database login is used by the application to access the database.

21. Provide the Blackboard database report user password. This database login is used by the application to access the reporting database.

22. Optional step for Content Collection Users: Provide the content management database password. This login is used by the application to access content management database.



23. After completing all of the fields on the page, click Next. The next page asks where to store the database data files and the database log files.

24. Provide the location where the database data files (.mdf) will be stored. This directory must be on the database server or on a storage device with a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server. On a single server installation, the default value is C:\blackboard\mssql\data\. Click Next to accept the default or click Browse to provide a new value and then click Next.

25. Provide the location where the database log files (.ldf) will be stored. This directory must be on the database server or on a storage device with a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server. On a single server installation, the default value is C:\blackboard\mssql\data\. Click Next to accept the default or click Browse to provide a new value and then click Next.


27. Optional step for Content Collection Users: Provide the storage directories for content management:

/courses - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\courses.

/institution - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\institution.

/library - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\library.

/orgs - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\orgs.

/users - The default value is blackboard_directory\storage\users.


29. Provide the Collaboration server hostname. In a one or two server environment, the default value is the application server. In a load-balanced environment, select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server. The Collaboration server runs Virtual Classroom and chat sessions.

30. Provide the TCP port number for the Collaboration server. The Collaboration server uses TCP/IP as the preferred communication method for performance reasons. The default port number is 8010.

31. Provide the HTTP port number for the Collaboration server. The Collaboration server uses HTTP as a backup method of communication if TCP/IP is not available. The default port number is 8011.


33. Provide the location of the SMTP server and click Next. The SMTP server is used to send out email communications. Enter the hostname as machine_name.domain_name.

34. Provide the Blackboard Learn Administrator password. The Administrator account has full privileges.

35. Provide the Blackboard Integration password. The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, click Integration Password.

36. Provide the Blackboard root administrator password.The root_admin account has full administrative privileges including the management of Virtual Installations through the



Administrator Panel. When the root_admin account user views the Administrator Panel, the Manage Virtual Installations link appears at the top of the panel. The root_admin can log in to any Virtual Installation and access the Virtual Installation management features from this link. While it is necessary to enter a password for this account, it is very rare that a system with Virtual Installations will be run on one server or two servers.


38. Provide the following information about the administrator and the institution:

• Name and email address of the system administrator

• Name of Institution

• Type of Institution - The value must be one of the following: K-12, Higher Education, Continuing Education, Corporate, Professional Association, or Hobby

• City, State, Country, and ZIP Code of the institution's address


40. Select the Server Type. This is information is used for better management of centralized services. Options include: Production, Staging, Test, and Development. Properly categorize each server when running the installer.

41. Click Next.

42. Click Next again to install the software. If the Installer was launched from the command line, do not close the command line window or any of the other windows that pop-up during the installation.

If the Installer failed, check the Installer log and see Troubleshooting to diagnose and fix the problem.

Next Steps

Make sure to remove the domain user from the Administrators group on each server. This is a security step recommended by Microsoft that prevents the domain user, which is used to run services, from acting as an Administrator.

If a separate storage device has been configured with a UNC path (\\server\share),make sure configure the services with proper permissions.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Install the Blackboard Learn on Additional Application Servers


Install the Blackboard Learn on Additional Application Servers The Installer must be run multiple times to set up each application server. After the first application server and the database have been installed using the Full Installation option, run the installer again using the Appserver-only Installation option to install the rest of the application servers and the optional Collaboration server.

The Installer will prompt for the same information as a Full Installation. Instead of creating the database, however, the Installer will attempt to connect to the database.

When executing the Installer on the additional application servers, pay close attention to the values of the ports and host names. Be sure that the hostname for the Web server matches the load-balanced URL and is not set to the name of the individual server. Be sure that the Collaboration tool (virtual chat, virtual classroom) ports are set properly. Remember that the following settings must be the same across all application servers (and the Collaboration server):

• Application Server Port Number

• Web Server Port Number

• Database Machine Name

• Database Domain Name

• SQL Server Instance Name

• SQL Server Database Administrator Password

• Blackboard Database User Password

• Blackboard Database Report User Password

• CMS Database User Password

• Database Data Files Directory

• Database Log Files Directory

• Content Directory

• Content Management Directories

• Collaboration server Machine Name

• Collaboration server http Port

• Collaboration server TCP/IP Port

• Administrator Password

• root_admin Password

• Integration Password

• Administrator and Institution Details

When the installation is complete, each application server can be accessed individually and tested separately. Complete tests should also be run from the load-balanced URL.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment


(Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment Tomcat clustering was introduced for scalability purposes when the Blackboard Learn architecture was 32-bit and customers wanted the ability to increase their memory usage on a single server. With the option to virtualize on both 32-bit and 64-bit, Blackboard’s benchmarking efforts have moved away from Tomcat cluster deployments.

Customers can achieve similar performance in a virtual environment on the same physical server with multiple virtual instances as with a bare metal configuration with many Tomcat cluster instances. The difference in configurations is a smaller demand on the Apache or IIS web server fronting the Tomcat instance(s). The option to deploy a 64-bit JVM with larger heap sizes has suppressed the need for customers to run in a cluster option.

Blackboard recommends that customers consider a deployment approach consisting of larger 64-bit JVMs that are distributed across physical servers with the option to virtualize the hardware to take advantage of the CPU and Memory capacity of these systems.

However, new installations can optionally be configured to use a clustered Tomcat environment.

Existing clustered Tomcat environments performing an upgrade must use the following steps.

How to Set Up an Optional Clustered Tomcat Environment

1. Go to blackboard_home\config.

2. Open the bb-config.properties file.

3. Search for the bbconfig.tomcat.cluster.enable variable.

4. Change the default value from FALSE to TRUE.

5. Go to blackboard_home\tools\admin.

6. Launch the Push Config Updates script by running the PushConfigUpdates.bat file.

7. Create a new ServerGroup in Blackboard Learn

a. Go to blackboard_home\tools\admin.

b. Create a ServerGroup with a specified port number by running the following command:

ServerGroupManager.bat -c -n new_group_name -p new_port_number

8. Launch the Install Cluster script by running the InstallCluster.bat file. After running the file, you will be prompted for the following information:

a. Cluster ID: Provide a unique ID, such as node1 or node2. It should not be a cluster ID that is already assigned.

b. Server shutdown port: The default is 8005. Add 1000 to the default to make it 9005. If you already have 9005 in use, use 10005.

c. JK Connector port: The default is 8009. Add 1000 to the default to make it 9009.

d. Cluster Listener port: The default is 4000. Add 1000 to the default to make it 5000.

The cluster is now created.

9. Stop your server by running ServiceController.bat services.stop.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment


10. Start your server by running ServiceController.bat services.start.

WARNING! Upgrading an environment with an existing tomcat cluster, the cluster will be broken if the ServerGroup is not updated.

How to Remove a Tomcat Cluster

1. Go to blackboard_home\tools\admin.

2. Stop your server by running ServiceController.bat services.stop.

3. Launch the Remove Cluster script by running RemoveCluster.bat.

4. Specify the cluster to be deleted, when prompted.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up a Collaboration Server


(Optional) Set Up a Collaboration Server The separate collaboration server is optional because one of the application servers can be used as the Collaboration server.

Complete the following steps to configure a separate Collaboration server.

1. Install an additional application server on a machine that is not configured as part of the load-balanced server environment. This application server must have a hostname separate from the multiple Web/app configuration host name. Finally, the Collaboration server should be resolvable in the DNS so that it is accessible from the Internet.

2. For each application server, set the following property in the bb-config.properties file to prevent the Collaboration server from running on the local host: bbconfig.Collaborationserver.run.on.localhost=false

3. Run the following command: blackboard\tools\admin\PushConfigUpdates.cmd

4. Start the bb-tomcat service on each application server. Do not start the bb-Collaboration service. The bb-Collaboration service must always be stopped on the application servers that are not acting as the Collaboration server.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for all application servers.

6. Stop the bb-tomcat service on the Collaboration server.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Set Up the Blackboard Services on Each Application Server


Set Up the Blackboard Services on Each Application Server The Blackboard services on each application server must be configured to run with permissions of the 'domain user' to properly access shared resources.

Follow these steps to modify the IIS and Blackboard services on each application server.

1. Log on to the first application server as the domain user with administrative privileges.


3. Front the Server Manager, click Configuration, and then double-click Services.

4. Open Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Services.

5. Configure the Blackboard Collaboration Service by right clicking BBLEARN-Collab, and then selecting Properties.

6. Click the Log on tab.

7. Select This account.

8. Browse to and select the domain user.

9. Enter and confirm the password for the domain user.

10. Click OK.

11. Configure the Blackboard Learn Tomcat service by right-clicking BBLEARN-Tomcat, and then selecting Properties.

12. Click the Log on tab.

13. Select This account.

14. Browse to and select the domain user.

15. Enter and confirm the password for the domain user.

16. Click OK.

17. Repeat these steps for each application server.

Note When setting up services and using a domain user, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143504.aspx. If services are not correctly associated to a domain user, it is possible that the service or services will not start when the server is started.

When PushConfigUpdates is run to modify configuration parameters, the above changes to the services will need to be re-applied. To avoid this extra step, add the domain user and password to the Blackboard configuration file, bb-config.properties.

The following parameters can be configured with the username (account) and password of the domain user. These are found in the windows - platform configuration section of bb-config.properties:

• bbconfig.appserver.service.account.win

• bbconfig.appserver.service.password.win

• bbconfig.Collaborationserver.service.account.win

• bbconfig.Collaborationserver.service.password.win

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143504.aspx�

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Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Set Up the Blackboard Services on Each Application Server


The user (account) name must be specified in the form {domainname}\\{username}, or if the account belongs to the local computer, specify the name in the form .\\{username}. Alternatively, it can be specified as {username}@{fqdn}.

If this section is not configured, repeat the steps in this section after running PushConfigUpdates.

IMPORTANT! After running any updates, ensure that these service settings are still correct.

Install on Windows on a Load-Balanced Configuration Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer


Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer The hardware load balancer should be set up according to the instructions included with the load balancer.

When setting up a hardware load balancer, it is important that each application server maintains user session affinity for the entire of the session. Session affinity must be based on the user's cookie. In other words, after a user logs in and a session is created on a particular application server, that server must handle all requests associated with that session until it is closed.

Test the System

Test the system by going to a workstation other than any of the Blackboard servers. Open a Web browser and go the URL of the shared hostname configured during load balancing setup.


Troubleshooting Windows Installation

Troubleshooting Windows Installation Log File


Log File The Installer creates a log file named bb_installer_log.txt. This file is found in the blackboard\logs directory.

If the Installer fails, check the log file to help determine the problem. The log file includes a considerable amount of information about the installation process. Each time the Installer is run, the attempt is appended to the log file. Make sure to focus on the latest attempt, which will be last in the log file.

Because of the amount of information in the log file, the problem may not be immediately apparent. Try searching for the following strings at the bottom of the installation log: BUILD FAILED or Root Cause. Look closely at the log file both above and below the search string (BUILD FAILED or Root Cause) for the reason the installation failed.

If the log file does not help diagnose the problem, keep a copy of the file in case you need to contact Blackboard Learn Technical Support by logging in to Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com. Technical Support will use the log file to diagnose the problem.


Troubleshooting Windows Installation Pages Will Not Load


Pages Will Not Load If certain pages in Blackboard Learn will not open or take too long to load, do the following to resolve this issue:

Modify the Windows registry and add the following keys:

1. Click Start > Run > regedit.

2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters.

3. Add the following two values:

TcpTimedWaitDelay=dword:0000001e

MaxUserPort=dword:0000fde8

These are DWORD values. After they have been created, you can double-click to edit their Decimal values.

Turn off Full Text Search on SQL Server:

1. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Services.

2. Stop and disable Microsoft Search and SQL Server Full Text Search service.

Turn off all network card offload functionality (disable TCP Checksum Offload):

1. Right-Click My Computer > Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager.

2. Click Network Adapters and then right-click Broadcom BCM5708S NetXtreme II GigE > Properties.

3. Click Advanced Tab > Property: Checksum Offload > Value: None.

4. Click Advanced Tab > Property: Large Send Offload > Value: Disable.

Disable network card power saving features:

1. Right-click My Computer > Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager.

2. Click Network Adapters and then right-click Broadcom BCM5708S NetXtreme II GigE > Properties.

3. Click Management Tab > Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power > OK.

4. Reboot the system.

Turn off the TCP Chimney:

1. Click Start > Run.

2. Type cmd, and then press ENTER.

3. At the command prompt, type Netsh int ip set chimney DISABLED, and then press ENTER.

To dynamically turn on TCP Chimney by using the NETsh.exe tool:

1. Click Start > Run.

2. Type cmd, and then press ENTER.

Troubleshooting Windows Installation Pages Will Not Load


3. At the command prompt, type Netsh int ip set chimney ENABLED, and then press ENTER.

Note For more information, consult the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 912222.

Troubleshooting Windows Installation Installation Failure Due to Strict Password Requirements (SQL Server)


Installation Failure Due to Strict Password Requirements (SQL Server) For an installation with SQL Server, the installation may fail because of the strict parameters for password requirements. The user will receive the following message:

Password validation failed. The password does not meet Windows policy requirements because it is too short.

To override or reset the password requirements, complete the following steps:

1. Create a text file mycustom.properties and add the following line to it (substitute the right value): bbconfig.database.jreport.password=pAssw0rd

2. Run the Installer as follows (text in caps should be filled in as appropriately): java -jar bb-as-PLATFORM-VERSION.jar -config mycustom.properties

Troubleshooting Windows Installation Blackboard Support Site and Knowledge Base


Blackboard Support Site and Knowledge Base The Blackboard Knowledge Base, which is accessible through Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com, includes several articles that may address your problem. If a login for Behind the Blackboard is unavailable, please contact a Blackboard Account Manager.

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Troubleshooting Windows Installation Contact Blackboard Technical Support


Contact Blackboard Technical Support For information about contacting Blackboard Technical Support, log in to Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com.



Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers The following section explains the required hardware, software, and necessary steps to properly install Blackboard Learn on one or two UNIX servers. It also includes a section on proper review of the installation and next steps in administration of the system.


2. Configure Oracle 10g

The Oracle media and initiation must be installed and configured manually. Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must install Small-Scale Oracle, which is provided by Blackboard, instead of Oracle 10g. For more information, see the Small-Scale Oracle topics in Blackboard Learn Help.





7. Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server


Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Set Up the Hardware and Software


Set Up the Hardware and Software This section reviews the configuration steps necessary before installing Blackboard Learn.

Required Hardware



Required Software




Create a UNIX User for Blackboard Learn

The Installer requires a user with permissions on the directory where Blackboard Learn will be installed. The UNIX user must be created prior to installation with the following parameters.

• The user name must be bbuser.

• bbuser must have a valid home directory. Blackboard recommends using /home/bbuser for Linux operating systems and /export/home/bbuser for Sun Solaris operating systems.


Check the date and time on the system and make sure it is accurate and that the time zone is set correctly. If installing on two servers check that the time on the application server and database server match. Remember that the servers may be in a different time zone than the users. The server time zone should be the same as the time zone used by the majority of users, instead of the physical location of the server. Blackboard Learn uses the server date and time to control the availability of time-sensitive materials. It is important that users have a clear expectation of when materials will be available and when assignments are due.




Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Set Up the Hardware and Software


Ports

Blackboard Learn requires ports to communicate. The list below details the required ports and their default values. Make sure to configure server security and any firewalls to allow communication on the required ports.



• Collaboration server HTTP port (default value: 8011): This port handles HTTP communication for the Collaboration server.

• Web server SSL port (default: 443): Primary web application port when SSL is in use.

• Collaboration server SSL port (default: 8443): Secure communication for the collaboration server.


Network


• Do not use underscores in the machine name for the server or servers. Internet Explorer 6 blocks cookies if the machine name includes an underscore.

• Set up the DNS server to resolve server names.


• An SMTP server must be available so that the Installer can connect to it.


Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Configure Oracle 10g


Configure Oracle 10g The Blackboard Learn Installer will not install the Oracle media and initial database for the Blackboard schema by default. System administrators should follow the instructions provided by Oracle for installing the Oracle media and database.

After the Oracle media and database are installed, configuration changes will need to be made to the Oracle instance before installing Blackboard Learn.

Oracle has made many changes in Release 10g to simplify administration responsibilities and improve sophistication of use.

For more information about configuring Oracle in a Blackboard Learn environment to achieve the best performance possible, see the Oracle topics in the Optimization section in Blackboard Learn Help.

Oracle 10g (Release 2) Compatibility

Prior to Oracle 10g (Release 2), the CONNECT role was granted eight privileges: create session, create table, create view, create synonym, create database link, create cluster, create sequence, and alter session. With the release of Oracle 10.2.0.1, only the create session privilege is granted to the CONNECT role. Oracle removed the additional privileges granted to the CONNECT role in Oracle 10g (Release 2) to provide additional security by enforcing a principle of least privileges.

Standard installations and upgrades require the CONNECT role to have the create session, create table, create view, create synonym, create sequence, and alter session privileges. Clustered installations and upgrades additionally require the CONNECT role to have the create cluster privilege. The following script will grant all eight privileges for installations and upgrades of Blackboard Learn on Oracle 10g (Release 2). The privileges are only required during the installation or upgrade, and may be revoked at the time of completion.

sqlplus "/as sysdba"

SQL> @$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/rstrconn.sql

SQL> commit; SQL> exit

Database Block Size

The parameter DB_BLOCK_SIZE specifies (in bytes) the size of the Oracle database blocks. This parameter must be set to 8192. Prior installations may have been set to 4096, and must be changed to 8192. Failure to set the Oracle database block size 8192 can cause an incorrect installation of Blackboard Learn.



Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Configure Oracle 10g


Confirm AL16UTF16 Character Set

The national alternate character set value for Oracle is AL16UTF16 (also referred to as UTF16). Administrators using Oracle should confirm that the national alternate character set is AL16UTF16 before installing Blackboard Learn. The National Character Set value can be determined by querying the v$ table using the following SQL command:

$ sqlplus ‘/ as sysdba’

SQL> select parameter, value from v$nls_parameters where parameter = ‘NLS_NCHAR_CHARACTERSET’;

PARAMETER Value

--------------------------------------------- -----------

NLS_NCHAR_CHARACTERSET AL16UTF16

Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers (Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage


(Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage These steps are optional. Many institutions will have no need to set up RAC or to set up the data files and index files on a separate storage device. If these options are unnecessary, proceed to the instructions for setting up a separate file system server.

Oracle RAC

Blackboard offers support for Oracle RAC with all versions of Oracle supported by Blackboard. For more information, see “Supported Technologies” in the Release Notes for the release that you are installing. For information about running Blackboard Learn with RAC, see the Oracle RAC Support on UNIX topic in Blackboard Learn Help.

Setup a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files

The Installer will prompt for the directory where the database data files and log files should be stored. For information about storing these files on a separate device, see the Oracle documentation. Keep in mind that the storage device should have a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server.



Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers (Optional) Set Up File System Storage for UNIX


(Optional) Set Up File System Storage for UNIX Setting up file system storage on a separate storage device is an optional step for Blackboard Learn - Enterprise Edition clients.

Note Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must use the local default location of /usr/local/blackboard/content.


All of the content files for Blackboard Learn, such as files uploaded to Courses and image files, are stored in the blackboard/content directory. If the content management capabilities have been licensed, the Content Collection has several content directories, each one dedicated to one of the top-level directories. For example, the /library directory stores all the files for the Library.


These instructions detail how to set up the blackboard/content directory on a separate file server. The same methods can be repeated to set up the content management directories on a separate file server.

How to Set Up Shared File System

Follow these steps to setup the blackboard/content directory on another server.

1. Log in to the file system server and create a directory that will store the content files.

2. Log in to the application server and create a mount at usr/local/blackboard/content that points directly to the content directory on the file system server. Using a symbolic link may cause problems with permissions when using building blocks.

Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist The installation checklist and the installation worksheet should be completed before installing Blackboard Learn on one or two servers. Completing both the checklist and the worksheet prior to installation will help ensure a successful installation.

If Blackboard Learn will be installed on only one server, the server must pass the checklist for both the application server and the database server.

Blackboard Basics


• A valid Blackboard Learn license file has been downloaded and is accessible from the application server. To receive a license file, contact your Blackboard Client Representative.




Review the following list to make sure that the application server is prepared for installation.




• The supported version of JDK is installed on the machine.




• The DNS (Domain Name Server) is set to resolve the server name. Note that the server name should not contain underscore characters. Some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 block cookies from machines with an underscore in the name.


• The server clock is synchronized with the other server or servers used in Blackboard Learn configuration. If the server clocks are not synchronized there may be differences between the displayed availability of time-sensitive content and the actual availability of time-sensitive content.

• A bbuser account has been created.


Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


• The bash shell is specified as the bbuser login shell and is also being used by the root user for all Blackboard Learn tasks including installation.



Review the following list to make sure that the database server is prepared for installation. Remember that if a one server configuration is used the database server and application server are configured on one machine.


• A supported operating system is installed on the machine.



• A supported version of Oracle is installed on the machine. Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition users must install Small-Scale Oracle, which is provided by Blackboard. For more information, see the Small-Scale Oracle topics in Blackboard Learn Help. Other Blackboard Learn users must install a supported, full version of Oracle obtained separately.

• The database has been created with the necessary initialization parameters.

• Oracle Listener and the Oracle database are running.


• The national (alternate) database character set is AL16UTF16.


Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet for UNIX


Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet for UNIX The installation worksheet helps identify all of the information required by Installer when installing on one or two servers. Filling out the worksheet prior to installation will help the installation process run smoothly.




Setup Type: Select the Full Installation option to install Blackboard Learn on one or two servers. This option is also used when installing Blackboard Learn on the database and first application server in a Load-Balanced configuration.

License File: ___________________________________________

The path to the License File. If a License File is not available, contact your Blackboard Client Representative to request one. The License file determines which capabilities are installed. The license file will be detected automatically if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer.

Java Location: ___________________________________________



The path to the directory where the Blackboard Learn content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system will be stored. The default location is /usr/local/blackboard/content. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage.



The name of the application server. The Installer will find the name of the machine that the Installer is on and automatically populate this value. The Installer must be run on the application server.


The name of the domain where the Web server resides. The application server Machine Name and the application server Domain Name form the URL for Blackboard (http://webservermachinename.domain). Because these names form the URL do not use any characters other than standard letters and numbers in the application server name or the domain name. Underscores and spaces will cause problems.


The port that the application engine uses. The default value is 8009. This port is internal to the Blackboard application and should not be available to end users.






The domain name and machine name where the Oracle database that Blackboard Learn will use is installed. The database machine name can be found the same way as the Web server machine name. When installed on a one server configuration, the database machine name is the same as the application server machine name. For this reason, the default value is the machine name of the local machine.

Oracle Database Instance Name: ___________________________________________

The Oracle SID where Blackboard Learn databases will reside.

Oracle Database Port: ___________________________________________

The Oracle Database port used by Blackboard Learn to communicate with the database. The default value is 1521.

Oracle (sys) System Database Administrator Password: _________________________

The Oracle Database Administrator password.


A password for an Oracle user that Blackboard Learn creates at install. This account is also used by the application to access the database.


The password for the Database Report User. This is an Oracle user that Blackboard Learn uses to access the reporting database.


The password a database user that the Installer creates for content management databases. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.


Database identifiers must be unique within the database server. The database identifier is, by default, BBLEARN. If this parameter is left blank, it will default to BBLEARN. This option is not visible during an upgrade, and is typically used exclusively in a multi-tenancy environment. A multi-tenancy environment offers the ability to host multiple Blackboard Learn instances on a single machine without the data being shared between instances. Multi-tenancy environments are not standard. If you are upgrading your environment and wish to rename your database identifier, please contact Blackboard Support for assistance.

Database Data Directory: ___________________________________________

The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database data files. This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be on the database server in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. Make sure that the directory has space to accommodate database growth. This directory must be created before installing Blackboard Learn.



Database Index Data File Directory: __________________________________________

The directory that will store database index data files. This directory must be on the database server in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. If possible, this directory should be separate from the data directory.


The path to the content management /courses directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /courses heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.




Enter the path to the content management /library directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /library heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Orgs Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /orgs directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /orgs heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities is licensed.

Users Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /users directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /users heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities is licensed.


The machine name that runs the Collaboration Server. It is possible to dual-purpose an existing application to also serve as the Collaboration Server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. In one server and two server configurations, this machine name is the same as the application server machine name.







SMTP Server: ___________________________________________

The full hostname (example: smtp.blackboard.com) of the SMTP server that Blackboard Learn will use to send emails. The parameter bbconfig.email.bitbucket_address=email_address must be added and set in the bb-config.properties file to avoid system-generated messages, such as enrollment notifications and discussion board subscriptions from being sent to the system administrator. The bit-bucket email address should be set to a valid campus address that has no recipients. Failure to use a valid address will result in rejection by email servers.
















• K-12



• Corporate


• Hobby




City: ___________________________________________


State: ___________________________________________


ZIP/Postal Code: ___________________________________________


Country: ___________________________________________


Install on UNIX on One or Two Servers Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server


Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server The Installer is launched from a command line prompt and may be run in command-line mode or GUI mode. The Installer presents a series of questions about the system. In many cases, the Installer automatically detects the required settings and provides default values. This topic also includes detailed information about the values required at each Installer prompt.




Make sure that the system meets the supported software requirements and is properly configured before running the Installer. To confirm that the system is ready for installation, see Pre-Installation Checklist.


• Blackboard Learn must be installed as root. Service startup and shutdown must also be performed as root.

• The Installer is run on a two-server system: The instructions reference the application server and the database server. When installing on one server, these machines are the same.

• The Installer is run using the command-line interface: The GUI Installer requires the same inputs from the user. The only difference between the command-line and the GUI interface is navigation. The GUI interface uses mouse-clicks instead of using keystrokes to accept a value and continue. The command line places the default or anticipated value in brackets. You may either enter a new value or simply press ENTER to select the value in brackets.



Follow the steps below to run the Installer on UNIX:

1. Place both the Installer and the license file in a directory on the application server. The Installer will automatically recognize the license file if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer. The following steps use /usr/local/bbinstaller/ as an example.

2. Open a command-line prompt and navigate to the directory that contains the Installer.

3. Execute the root user login profile: ./su -root

4. Run the following command to launch the Installer: /usr/local/bbinstaller/java -jar bb-installer.jar



If Xwindows or a similar GUI is running, the Installer will launch in GUI mode. (The following steps assume that the command line Installer is used). Use the “-text” option to force text mode even if a GUI is running.


Instructions display for navigating through the Installer prompts. The Installer, in most cases, will provide a default value in brackets. Press ENTER to accept the default and continue or enter a different value. Press ENTER to continue after entering a new value.

6. Provide the directory where Blackboard will be installed. To accept the default value of /usr/local/blackboard, press ENTER. Blackboard does not recommend changing this default.

7. To select the type of installation, type 1 and press ENTER to select Full Installation.

8. After reading the License Agreement, type Y and press ENTER to continue the installation. To refuse the terms of the agreement and close the Installer, type N and press ENTER

9. Provide the location of the license file. The Installer will detect the license file and use it as the default value if the license file is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer. Press ENTER to accept the default or enter a new value and then press ENTER.

10. Provide the location of the JDK. The Installer will use the path that was provided to launch the Installer.

11. Provide the location of the Shared Content Directory, which is used to store the content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage. To accept the default value of /usr/local/blackboard/content, press ENTER.


12. Provide the name of the application server. The Installer detects the machine name of the server it runs on and uses that to populate the default. Press ENTER to accept the default.

13. Provide the domain that hosts the application server. The Installer detects this value and populates the default. Press ENTER to accept the default.

14. Provide the port number for the application server. This is the port that the application uses for communication. The default value is 8009. Press ENTER to accept the default, or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

15. Provide the port number for the Web Server. This is the port that is used for http connections with users. The default value is 80. Press ENTER to accept the default, or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

16. Provide the database server hostname. The default value is the current machine. This is the correct value for one server installations. Press ENTER to accept the default if installing on only one server. If installing on two servers, provide a value for the separate database machine and press ENTER to continue. Keep in mind that the hostname is represented by machine_name.domain_name.

17. Provide the Oracle SID. Provide a value and then press ENTER.



18. Provide the Oracle sys database administrator password. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

19. Provide the Blackboard database user password. This database login is used by the application to access the database. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

20. Provide the Blackboard database report password. This database login is used by the application to access the reporting database. Enter a value and then press ENTER.

21. Optional Step for Content Collection Users: Provide the content management database password and then press ENTER. This login is used by the application to access content management database.

22. Provide the location for the database data directory and then press ENTER. The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database data files. This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. Make sure that the directory has space to accommodate database growth. This directory must be created before installing Blackboard Learn.

23. Provide the location for the database index directory and then press ENTER. The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database index files. This directory must be in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. If possible, this directory should be separate from the data directory.

24. Optional Step for Content Collection Users: Provide the storage directories for the content management storage locations and then press ENTER. For example, the default value is /usr/local/blackboard/cms/courses.

25. Provide the path to the content management /institution directory. The default value is /usr/local/blackboard/institution. Repeat for each of the four additional locations: Institution, Library, Orgs, and Users.

26. Provide the Collaboration server hostname. In a one or two server environment, the default value is the application server. In a load-balanced environment, select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server. The Collaboration server runs Virtual Classroom and chat sessions. Press ENTER to accept the default or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

27. Provide the TCP port number for the Collaboration server. The default port number is 8010. Press ENTER to accept the default or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

28. Provide the HTTP port number for the Collaboration server. The default port number is 8011. Press ENTER to accept the default or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

29. Provide the hostname of the SMTP server. The SMTP server is used to send out email communications. Keep in mind that the hostname is the represented by machine_name.domain_name. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

30. Provide the Blackboard Administrator password. The Administrator account has full privileges. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

31. Provide the Blackboard Integration password. The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, click Integration Password. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

32. Provide the Blackboard root administrator password.The root_admin account has full administrative privileges including the management of Virtual Installations through the Administrator Panel. When the root_admin account user views the Administrator Panel,



the Manage Virtual Installations link appears at the top of the panel. The root_admin can log in to any Virtual Installation and access the Virtual Installation management features from this link. While it is necessary to enter a password for this account, it is very rare that a system with Virtual Installations will be run on one server or two servers. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

33. Follow the prompts to enter the System Administrator's contact information.

34. Enter the Server Type. This is information is used for better management of centralized services. Options include: Production, Staging, Test, and Development. Properly categorize each server when running the installer.

35. Press ENTER to install the software. Do not close the command line window during the installation.

If the Installer failed, please check the Installer log and see Troubleshooting to diagnose and fix the problem.


Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration

The following section explains the required hardware, software, and necessary steps to properly install Blackboard Learn on UNIX on a load-balanced configuration. It also includes a section on proper review of the installation and next steps in administration of the system.


2. Configure Oracle 10g

The Oracle media and initiation must be installed and configured manually. Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must install Small-Scale Oracle, which is provided by Blackboard, instead of Oracle 10g. For more information, contact Blackboard Learn Technical Support by logging in to Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com.






8. Install the Blackboard Learn Software on Additional Application Servers

9. (Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment

10. (Optional) Install the Separate Collaboration Server

11. Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer


Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Set Up the Hardware and Software


Set Up the Hardware and Software A load-balanced configuration requires that the first application server and database server be installed using the two server configuration model. After that, the Installer can be run again on each additional application server to install only those components. Each additional Web/application server must also meet the required prerequisites.

Make sure that the hardware, software, and network are prepared before beginning to configure and install Blackboard Learn in a load-balanced environment.

Required Hardware

The About Hardware Sizing in a Dell Environment and About Hardware Sizing in a Sun Microsystems Environment topics in Blackboard Learn Help detail several different hardware configurations based on performance, cost, and redundancy. Read this document to make sure that the planned hardware configuration meets the needs of the institution.


Required Software



Download and install the JDK on each application server.



Select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. Optionally, configure a separate Collaboration server. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server. The Collaboration server may not be spread across multiple application servers because all users participating in a Collaboration session must share the same resources. A single server must be configured to run the Collaboration server. This server must handle Collaboration sessions and performance will be unaffected by other requests. The application servers are configured to connect users to one server that handles all the Collaboration sessions.

Do not connect the Collaboration server to the load-balancer.

Dedicated File System Server

Set aside one server as a dedicated file system server. The content files must be centralized so that all files are available to users regardless of the application server handling the connection. The application servers are configured to find the content files in a directory on the file system server.






Load-Balancing Methods

Institutions can use the load-balancing method of their choice as long as it adheres to a few basic principles:

• The load-balancing method must use cookie-based session affinity.

• If SSL is used, the same certificate must be shared by all the application servers. More information about SSL can be found in the About SSL and SSL Choice topic in Blackboard Learn Help. Do not use the "SSL acceleration" or "SSL off-load" features of the load-balancer.

• The /etc/hosts file must have an entry for the virtual IP’s hostname that points to the localhost (127.0.0.1).

Create a UNIX User for Blackboard Learn

The Installer requires a user with permissions on the directory where Blackboard Learn will be installed. The UNIX user must be created prior to installation with the following parameters.

• The user name must be bbuser.

• bbuser must have a valid home directory. Blackboard recommends using /home/bbuser for Linux operating systems and /export/home/bbuser for Sun Solaris operating systems.


Check the date and time on the system and make sure it is accurate and that the time zone is set correctly. If installing on two servers check that the time on the application server and database server match. Remember that the servers may be in a different time zone than users. The server time zone should be the same as the time zone used by the majority of users, instead of the physical location of the server. Blackboard Learn uses the server date and time to control the availability of time-sensitive materials. It is important that users have a clear expectation of when materials will be available and when assignments are due.

Ports

Blackboard Learn requires ports to communicate. The list below details the required ports and their default values. Make sure to configure server security and any firewalls to allow communication on the required ports. The port values must be the same for each application server.



• Collaboration server HTTP port (default value: 8011): This port handles HTTP communication for the Collaboration server.

• Web server SSL port (default: 443): Primary web application port when SSL is in use.

• Collaboration server SSL port (default: 8443): Secure communication for the collaboration server.





Network


• Do not use underscores in the machine name for the server or servers. Some versions of Internet Explorer block cookies if the machine name includes an underscore.

• Set up the DNS server to resolve the hardware load-balancer. The hardware load-balancer will then direct traffic to the application servers. Set up a separate DNS entry for the Collaboration server.


• An SMTP server must be available so that the Installer can connect to it.


Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Configure Oracle 10g


Configure Oracle 10g The Blackboard Learn Installer will not install the Oracle media and initial database for the Blackboard schema by default. System administrators should follow the instructions provided by Oracle for installing the Oracle media and database.

After the Oracle media and database are installed, configuration changes will need to be made to the Oracle instance before installing Blackboard Learn.

Oracle has made many changes in Release 10g to simplify administration responsibilities and improve sophistication of use.

For more information about configuring Oracle in a Blackboard Learn environment to achieve the best performance possible, see the Oracle topics in the Optimization section in Blackboard Learn Help.

Oracle 10g (Release 2) Compatibility

Prior to Oracle 10g (Release 2), the CONNECT role was granted eight privileges: create session, create table, create view, create synonym, create database link, create cluster, create sequence, and alter session. With the release of Oracle 10.2.0.1, only the create session privilege is granted to the CONNECT role. Oracle removed the additional privileges granted to the CONNECT role in Oracle 10g (Release 2) to provide additional security by enforcing a principle of least privileges.

Standard installations and upgrades require the CONNECT role to have the create session, create table, create view, create synonym, create sequence, and alter session privileges. Clustered installations and upgrades additionally require the CONNECT role to have the create cluster privilege. The following script will grant all eight privileges for installations and upgrades of Blackboard Learn on Oracle 10g (Release 2). The privileges are only required during the installation or upgrade, and may be revoked at the time of completion.

sqlplus "/as sysdba"

SQL> @$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/rstrconn.sql

SQL> commit; SQL> exit

Database Block Size

The parameter DB_BLOCK_SIZE specifies (in bytes) the size of the Oracle database blocks. This parameter must be set to 8192. Prior installations may have been set to 4096, and must be changed to 8192. Failure to set the Oracle database block size 8192 can cause an incorrect installation of Blackboard Learn.



Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Configure Oracle 10g


Confirm AL16UTF16 Character Set

The national alternate character set value for Oracle is AL16UTF16 (also referred to as UTF16). Administrators using Oracle should confirm that the national alternate character set is AL16UTF16 before installing Blackboard Learn. The National Character Set value can be determined by querying the v$ table using the following SQL command:

$ sqlplus ‘/ as sysdba’

SQL> select parameter, value from v$nls_parameters where parameter = ‘NLS_NCHAR_CHARACTERSET’;

PARAMETER Value

--------------------------------------------- -----------

NLS_NCHAR_CHARACTERSET AL16UTF16

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage


(Optional) Set Up Database Clustering and Storage These steps are optional. Many institutions will have no need to set up RAC or to set up the data files and index files on a separate storage device. If these options are unnecessary, proceed to the instructions for setting up a separate file system server.

Oracle RAC

Blackboard offers support for Oracle RAC with all versions of Oracle supported by Blackboard. For more information, see Supported Technologies in the Release Notes for the release that you are installing. For information about running Blackboard Learn with RAC, see the Oracle RAC Support on UNIX topic in Blackboard Learn Help.

Setup a Separate Storage Device for the Data Files and Log Files

The Installer will prompt for the directory where the database data files and log files should be stored. For information about storing these files on a separate device, see the Oracle documentation. Keep in mind that the storage device should have a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection to the database server.



Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up File System Storage



Note Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition clients must use the local default location of /usr/local/blackboard/content.


All of the content files for Blackboard Learn, such as files uploaded to Courses and image files, are stored in the blackboard/content directory. If the content management capabilities have been licensed, the Content Collection has several content directories, each one dedicated to one of the top-level directories. For example, the /library directory stores all the files for the Library.


These instructions detail how to set up the blackboard/content directory on a separate file server. The same methods can be repeated to set up the content management directories on a separate file server.

How to Set Up Shared File System

Follow these steps to setup the blackboard/content directory on another server.

1. Log in to the file system server and create a directory that will store the content files.

2. Log in to the application server and create a mount at usr/local/blackboard/content that points directly to the content directory on the file system server. Using a symbolic link may cause problems with permissions when using building blocks.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist The installation checklist and the installation worksheet should be completed before installing Blackboard Learn. Completing both the checklist and the worksheet prior to installation will help ensure a successful installation.

Blackboard Basics


• A valid Blackboard Learn license file has been downloaded and is accessible from the application server. To receive a license file, contact your Blackboard Client Representative.




Review the following list to make sure that each application server is prepared for installation.




• The supported version of JDK is installed on the machine.



• The DNS (Domain Name Server) is set to resolve the name of the load-balancer.


• The server clock is synchronized with the other servers used in Blackboard Learn configuration. If the server clocks are not synchronized, there may be differences between the displayed availability of time-sensitive content and the actual availability of time-sensitive content.

• A bbuser account has been created.



• If using a clustered Tomcat environment, the Server Groups, and Ports have been configured. This is especially important when upgrading an existing clustered Tomcat environment.


Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Complete the Pre-Installation Checklist


File System Server Checklist

Review the following list to make sure that the file system server is prepared for installation.


• A directory to store the Blackboard content is configured and shared. Another directory for the content management content (available only if the content management capabilities have been licensed) is configured and shared, if desired.

• The domain user that will run the application services has full access to the shared directories.

Collaboration Server Checklist

Review the following list to make sure that the Collaboration server is prepared for installation.

• The Collaboration server uses a different DNS name than that of the application servers.


Review the following list to make sure that the database server is prepared for installation. Remember that if a one server configuration is used, the database server and application server are configured on one machine.


• A supported operating system is installed on the machine.



• A supported version of Oracle is installed on the machine. Blackboard Learn - Basic Edition users must install Small-Scale Oracle, which is provided by Blackboard. For more information, contact Blackboard Learn Support. Other Blackboard Learn users must install a supported, full version of Oracle obtained separately.

• The database has been created with the necessary initialization parameters.

• Oracle Listener and the Oracle database are running.


• The national (alternate) database character set is AL16UTF16.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet


Complete the Pre-Installation Worksheet The installation worksheet helps identify all of the information required by the Installer. Filling out the worksheet prior to installation will help the installation process run smoothly.

Note Most of the values required by the Installer must be the same for each application server and for the Collaboration server. All ports and settings that point to the database server, Collaboration server, and file system server must be the same for all.




Setup Type: Select one of the following options:

• Full Installation: Select this option to install the database and the first application server.

• Appserver-only Installation Select this option when installing the second and all subsequent application servers or when setting up the Collaboration server on a separate device.

License File: ___________________________________________

The path to the License File. If a License File is not available, contact Blackboard Client Representative to request one. The License file determines which capabilities are installed. The license file will be automatically detected if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer.

Java Location: ___________________________________________



The path to the directory where the Blackboard Learn content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system will be stored. The default location is /usr/local/blackboard/content. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage.



The name of the application server. The Installer will find the name of the machine that the Installer is on and automatically populate this value. The Installer must be run on the application server.


The name of the domain where the Web server resides. The application server Machine Name and the application server Domain Name form the URL for Blackboard (http://webservermachinename.domain). Because these names form the URL do not use any characters other than standard letters and numbers (underscores and spaces will cause problems) in the application server name or the domain name.




The port that the application engine uses. The default value is 8009. This port is internal to the Blackboard application and should not be available to end users.




The domain name and machine name where the Oracle database that Blackboard Learn will use is installed. The database machine name can be found the same way as the Web server machine name. When installed on a one server configuration, the database machine name is the same as the application server machine name. For this reason, the default value is the machine name of the local machine.

Oracle Database Instance Name: ___________________________________________

The Oracle SID where Blackboard Learn databases will reside.

Oracle Database Port: ___________________________________________

The Oracle Database port used by Blackboard Learn to communicate with the database. The default value is 1521.

Oracle (sys) System Database Administrator Password: _________________________

The Oracle Database Administrator password.


A password for an Oracle user that Blackboard Learn creates at install. This account is also used by the application to access the database.


The password for the Database Report User. This is an Oracle user that Blackboard Learn uses to access the reporting database.


The password for the database user the Installer creates for the content management databases. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.


Database identifiers must be unique within the database server. The database identifier is, by default, BBLEARN. If this parameter is left blank, it will default to BBLEARN. This option is not visible during an upgrade, and is typically used exclusively in a multi-tenancy environment. A multi-tenancy environment offers the ability to host multiple Blackboard Learn instances on a single machine without the data being shared between instances. Multi-tenancy environments are not standard. If you are upgrading your environment and wish to rename your database identifier, please contact Blackboard Support for assistance.



Database Data Directory: ___________________________________________

The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database data files. This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be on the database server in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. Make sure that the directory has space to accommodate database growth. This directory must be created before installing Blackboard Learn.

Database Index Data File Directory: __________________________________________

The directory that will store database index data files. This directory must be on the database server in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. If possible, this directory should be separate from the data directory.


The path to the content management /courses directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /courses heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.



Library Directory:: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /library directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /library heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Orgs Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /orgs directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /orgs heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.

Users Directory: ___________________________________________

The path to the content management /users directory. This directory will store all of the files under the /users heading. This value is required only if the content management capabilities have been licensed.


The machine name that runs the Collaboration Server. It is possible to dual-purpose an existing application to also serve as the Collaboration Server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. In Load-Balanced configurations, it is important to direct all Collaboration Tool traffic to one server to maintain session integrity across users.







SMTP Server: ___________________________________________

The full hostname (example: smtp.blackboard.com) of the SMTP server that Blackboard Learn will use to send emails. The parameter bbconfig.email.bitbucket_address=email_address must be added and set in the bb-config.properties file to avoid system-generated messages, such as enrollment notifications and discussion board subscriptions from being sent to the system administrator. The bit-bucket email address should be set to a valid campus address that has no recipients, failure to use a valid address will result in rejection by email servers.
















• K-12






• Corporate


• Hobby

City: ___________________________________________


State: ___________________________________________


ZIP/Postal Code: ___________________________________________


Country: ___________________________________________


Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server


Install the Blackboard Learn Application Server and Database Server The Installer is launched from a command line prompt and may be run in command-line mode or GUI mode. The Installer presents a series of questions about the system. In many cases, the Installer automatically detects the required settings and provides default values. This topic also includes detailed information about the values required at each Installer prompt.




Make sure that the system meets the supported software requirements and is properly configured before running the Installer. To confirm that the system is ready for installation, see Pre-Installation Checklist.



• The Installer is run on a two-server system: The instructions reference the application server and the database server. When installing on one server, these machines are the same.

• The Installer is run using the command-line interface: The GUI Installer requires the same inputs from the user. The only difference between the command-line and the GUI interface is navigation. The GUI interface uses mouse-clicks instead of using keystrokes to accept a value and continue. The command line places the default or anticipated value in brackets. You may either enter a new value or simply press ENTER to select the value in brackets.



Follow the steps below to run the Installer on UNIX:

1. Place both the Installer and the license file in a directory on the application server. The Installer will automatically recognize the license file if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer. The following steps use /usr/local/bbinstaller/ as an example.

2. Open a command-line prompt and navigate to the directory that contains the Installer.

3. Execute the root user login profile: ./su -root

4. Run the following command to launch the Installer: /usr/local/bbinstaller/java -jar bb-installer.jar



If Xwindows or a similar GUI is running, the Installer will launch in GUI mode. (The following steps assume that the command line Installer is used). Use the “-text” option to force text mode even if a GUI is running.


Instructions display for navigating through the Installer prompts. The Installer, in most cases, will provide a default value in brackets. Press ENTER to accept the default and continue or enter a different value. Press ENTER to continue after entering a new value.

6. Provide the directory where Blackboard will be installed. To accept the default value of /usr/local/blackboard, press ENTER. Blackboard does not recommend changing this default.

7. To select the type of installation, type 1 and press ENTER to select Full Installation.

8. After reading the License Agreement, type Y and press ENTER to continue the installation. To refuse the terms of the agreement and close the Installer, type N and press ENTER

9. Provide the location of the license file. The Installer will detect the license file and use it as the default value if the license file is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the Installer. Press ENTER to accept the default or enter a new value and then press ENTER.

10. Provide the location of the JDK. The Installer will use the path that was provided to launch the Installer.

11. Provide the location of the Shared Content Directory, which is used to store the content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server. In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. For more information about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage. To accept the default value of /usr/local/blackboard/content, press ENTER.


12. Provide the name of the application server. The Installer detects the machine name of the server it runs on and uses that to populate the default. Press ENTER to accept the default.

13. Provide the domain that hosts the application server. The Installer detects this value and populates the default. Press ENTER to accept the default.

14. Provide the port number for the application server. This is the port that the application uses for communication. The default value is 8009. Press ENTER to accept the default, or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

15. Provide the port number for the Web Server. This is the port that is used for http connections with users. The default value is 80. Press ENTER to accept the default, or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

16. Provide the database server hostname. The default value is the current machine. This is the correct value for one server installations. Press ENTER to accept the default if installing on only one server. If installing on two servers, provide a value for the separate database machine and press ENTER to continue. Keep in mind that the hostname is represented by machine_name.domain_name.

17. Provide the Oracle SID. Provide a value and then press ENTER.



18. Provide the Oracle sys database administrator password. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

19. Provide the Blackboard database user password. This database login is used by the application to access the database. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

20. Provide the Blackboard database report password. This database login is used by the application to access the reporting database. Enter a value and then press ENTER.

21. Optional Step for Content Collection Users: Provide the content management database password and then press ENTER. This login is used by the application to access content management database.

22. Provide the location for the database data directory and then press ENTER. The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database data files. This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. Make sure that the directory has space to accommodate database growth. This directory must be created before installing Blackboard Learn.

23. Provide the location for the database index directory and then press ENTER. The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database index files. This directory must be in a directory where Oracle has read/write/execute privileges. If possible, this directory should be separate from the data directory.

24. Optional Step for Content Collection Users: Provide the storage directories for the content management storage locations and then press ENTER. For example, the default value is /usr/local/blackboard/cms/courses.

25. Provide the path to the content management /institution directory. The default value is /usr/local/blackboard/institution. Repeat for each of the four additional locations: Institution, Library, Orgs, and Users.

26. Provide the Collaboration server hostname. In a one or two server environment, the default value is the application server. In a load-balanced environment, select one of the existing application servers to also act as the Collaboration server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. For more information, see Set Up a Collaboration Server. The Collaboration server runs Virtual Classroom and chat sessions. Press ENTER to accept the default or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

27. Provide the TCP port number for the Collaboration server. The default port number is 8010. Press ENTER to accept the default or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

28. Provide the HTTP port number for the Collaboration server. The default port number is 8011. Press ENTER to accept the default or provide a new value and then press ENTER.

29. Provide the hostname of the SMTP server. The SMTP server is used to send out email communications. Keep in mind that the hostname is the represented by machine_name.domain_name. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

30. Provide the Blackboard Administrator password. The Administrator account has full privileges. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

31. Provide the Blackboard Integration password. The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, click Integration Password. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

32. Provide the Blackboard root administrator password.The root_admin account has full administrative privileges including the management of Virtual Installations through the Administrator Panel. When the root_admin account user views the Administrator Panel,



the Manage Virtual Installations link appears at the top of the panel. The root_admin can log in to any Virtual Installation and access the Virtual Installation management features from this link. While it is necessary to enter a password for this account, it is very rare that a system with Virtual Installations will be run on one server or two servers. Provide a value and then press ENTER.

33. Follow the prompts to enter the System Administrator's contact information.

34. Enter the Server Type. This is information is used for better management of centralized services. Options include: Production, Staging, Test, and Development. Properly categorize each server when running the installer.

35. Press ENTER to install the software. Do not close the command line window during the installation.

If the Installer failed, please check the Installer log and see Troubleshooting to diagnose and fix the problem.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Install the Blackboard Learn on Additional Application Servers


Install the Blackboard Learn on Additional Application Servers The Installer must be run multiple times to set up each application server. After the first application server and the database have been installed using the Full Installation option, run the installer again using the Appserver-only Installation option to install the rest of the application servers and the optional Collaboration server.

The Installer will prompt for the same information as a Full Installation. Instead of creating the database, however, the Installer will attempt to connect to the database.

Keep the following points in mind:


• Experienced administrators may choose to use the non-interactive Installer to setup the second and subsequent application servers.

When executing the Installer on the additional application servers, pay close attention to the values of the ports and host names. Be sure that the hostname for the Web server matches the load-balanced URL and is not set to the name of the individual server. Be sure that the Collaboration tool (virtual chat, virtual classroom) ports are set properly. Remember that the following settings must be the same across all application servers (and the Collaboration server):

• Application Server Port Number

• Web Server Port Number

• Database Machine Name

• Database Domain Name

• Oracle Database Password

• Blackboard Database User Password

• Blackboard Database Report User Password

• CMS Database User Password

• Database Data Files Directory

• Database Log Files Directory

• Content Directory

• Content Management Directories

• Collaboration server Machine Name

• Collaboration server http Port

• Collaboration server TCP/IP Port

• Administrator Password

• root_admin Password

• Integration Password

• Administrator and Institution Details

When the installation is complete, each application server can be accessed individually and separately tested; complete tests should also be run from the load-balanced URL.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment


(Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment Tomcat clustering was introduced for scalability purposes when the Blackboard Learn architecture was 32-bit and customers wanted the ability to increase their memory usage on a single server. With the option to virtualize on both 32-bit and 64-bit, Blackboard’s benchmarking efforts have moved away from Tomcat cluster deployments.

Customers can achieve similar performance in a virtual environment on the same physical server with multiple virtual instances as with a bare metal configuration with many Tomcat cluster instances. The difference in configurations is a smaller demand on the Apache or IIS web server fronting the Tomcat instance(s). The option to deploy a 64-bit JVM with larger heap sizes has suppressed the need for customers to run in a cluster option.

Blackboard recommends that customers consider a deployment approach consisting of larger 64-bit JVMs that are distributed across physical servers with the option to virtualize the hardware to take advantage of the CPU and Memory capacity of these systems.

However, new installations can optionally be configured to use a clustered Tomcat environment.

Existing clustered Tomcat environments performing an upgrade must use the following steps.

How to Set Up an Optional Clustered Tomcat Environment

1. Go to the Blackboard Learn home, /usr/local/blackboard/config.

2. Open the bb-config.properties file.

3. Search for the bbconfig.tomcat.cluster.enable variable, and modify the default value from FALSE to TRUE.

4. Go to blackboard_home/tools/admin.

5. Launch the Push Config Updates script by issuing ./PushConfigUpdates.sh.

6. Create a new ServerGroup in Blackboard Learn

a. Go to blackboard_home /tools/admin.

b. Create a ServerGroup with a specified port number by issuing: ./ServerGroupManager.sh -c -n new_group_name -p new_port_number

7. Launch the Install Cluster script by issuing ./InstallCluster.sh. After running the command, you will be prompted for the following information.

a. Cluster ID: Provide a unique ID, such as node1 or node2. It should not be a cluster ID that is already assigned.

b. Server shutdown port: The default is 8005. Add 1000 to the default to make it 9005. If you already have 9005 in use, use 10005.

c. JK Connector port: The default is 8009. Add 1000 to the default to make it 9009.

d. Cluster Listener port: The default is 4000. Add 1000 to the default to make it 5000.

The cluster is now created.

8. Stop your server by issuing ./ServiceController.sh services.stop.

9. Start your server by issuing ./ServiceController.sh services.start.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up a Clustered Tomcat Environment


10. Run the jps command from JAVA_HOME to see the bootstrap processes. You should see one Tomcat Process, and the number of Cluster Process IDs.

WARNING! Upgrading an environment with an existing tomcat cluster, the cluster will be broken if the ServerGroup is not updated.

How to Remove a Tomcat Cluster

1. Go to blackboard_home/tools/admin.

2. Stop your server by issuing./ServiceController.sh services.stop .

3. Launch the Remove Cluster script by issuing ./RemoveCluster.sh.

4. Specify the cluster to be deleted when prompted.

5. Verify the cluster was successfully removed by running the jps command from JAVA_HOME to see the bootstrap processes.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration (Optional) Set Up a Collaboration Server


(Optional) Set Up a Collaboration Server The separate collaboration server is optional because one of the application servers can be used as the Collaboration server.

Complete the following steps to configure a separate Collaboration server.

1. Install an additional application server on a machine that is not configured as part of the load-balanced server environment. This application server must have a hostname separate from the multiple Web/app configuration host name. Finally, the Collaboration server should be resolvable in the DNS so that it is accessible from the Internet.

2. For each application server, set the following property in the bb-config.properties file to prevent the Collaboration server from running on the local host. bbconfig.Collaborationserver.run.on.localhost=false

3. Run the following command: \blackboard\tools\admin\PushConfigUpdates.bat

4. Start the bb-tomcat and IIS services on each application server. Do not start the bb-Collaboration service. The bb-Collaboration service must always be stopped on the application servers that are not acting as the Collaboration server.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for all application servers.

6. Stop the bb-tomcat service on the Collaboration server.

Install on UNIX in a Load-Balanced Configuration Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer


Set Up the Hardware Load Balancer The hardware load balancer should be set up according to the instructions included with the load balancer.

When setting up a hardware load balancer, it is important that each application server maintains user session affinity for the entire of the session. Session affinity must be based on the user's cookie. In other words, after a user logs in and a session is created on a particular application server, that server must handle all requests associated with that session until it is closed.

Test the System

Test the system by going to a workstation other than any of the Blackboard servers. Open a Web browser and go the URL of the shared hostname configured during load balancing setup.


Troubleshooting UNIX Installation

Troubleshooting UNIX Installation Log File


Log File The Installer creates a log file named bb_installer_log.txt. This file is found in the blackboard/logs directory.

If the Installer fails, check the log file to help determine the problem. The log file includes a considerable amount of information about the installation process. Each time the Installer is run, the attempt is appended to the log file. Make sure to focus on the latest attempt, which will be last in the log file.

Because of the amount of information in the log file, the problem may not be immediately apparent. Try searching for the following strings at the bottom of the installation log: BUILD FAILED or Root Cause. Look closely at the log file both above and below the search string (BUILD FAILED or Root Cause) for the reason the installation failed.

If the log file does not help diagnose the problem, keep a copy of the file in case you need to contact Blackboard Technical Support by logging in to Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com. Technical Support will use the log file to diagnose the problem.


Troubleshooting UNIX Installation Blackboard Support Site and Knowledge Base


Blackboard Support Site and Knowledge Base The Blackboard Knowledge Base, which is accessible through Behind the Blackboard at http://behind.blackboard.com, includes several articles that may address your problem. If a login for Behind the Blackboard is unavailable, please contact a Blackboard Account Manager.

http://kb.blackboard.com/dashboard.action�


Troubleshooting UNIX Installation Contact Blackboard Technical Support


Contact Blackboard Technical Support For information about contacting Blackboard Technical Support, log in to Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com.



Uninstalling Blackboard Learn

Uninstalling Blackboard Learn About Uninstalling Blackboard Learn


About Uninstalling Blackboard Learn The Installer and Updater includes two uninstall functions.

• Uninstall completely removes the application files, content files, and the database.

• Uninstall App Server Only uninstalls only the application files, and leaves the content files and database. Typically, Uninstall App Server Only is used as part of the process when uninstalling a load-balanced system. However, it can be useful to uninstall the application files and save the content files and databases for archiving.

Note Blackboard recommends as a best practice that instead of running an uninstall, you re-image the application and database servers and then perform a fresh operating system installation.

Before Running the Uninstaller on UNIX

It is important to close all Blackboard Learn-related sessions that are connected to the Oracle database. Follow these steps to disconnect related sessions:

1. Execute the root user login profile: su - root

2. Stop all Blackboard Learn services.

3. Terminate database connections by shutting down and restarting Oracle Database Server.

-or- Issue the following SQL command to find connected sessions: SQL>select process from v$session where schemaname IN (‘BBADMIN’,’BB_BB60’,’BB_BB60_STATS’);

Uninstalling on a Load-Balanced System

Uninstalling a load-balanced system requires removing the application files from each application server and the Collaboration server. After running the Uninstall option on one application server, that application server, the file system, and the database will be removed. Use the Uninstall Appserver option to remove the application files on the Collaboration server and the other application servers.

How to Uninstall Blackboard Learn

WARNING! If the uninstall procedure fails, contact Blackboard Technical Support by logging in to Behind the Blackboard at https://behind.blackboard.com.

Follow these instructions to fully uninstall Blackboard Learn.

1. Stop all Blackboard Learn services.

2. Launch the Installer. Windows users can double-click the Installer. UNIX users should run the following command to launch the Installer, where /usr/local/bbinstaller/java is the location of the installer file:

/usr/local/bbinstaller/java –jar updater_file

3. After reading the welcome message, click Next or press ENTER to continue.


Uninstalling Blackboard Learn About Uninstalling Blackboard Learn


4. To specify the directory where Blackboard is located, click Next to accept the default, or enter a new value and then click Next. If Blackboard Learn is not found in the directory provided, the Updater will attempt to install at the given location.

5. Select the Uninstall Blackboard Learn option and click Next.

6. A message displays explaining what will be uninstalled. Click Next to uninstall.

Release 9.1 Installation Guide

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