Remote Access For Support

Insula Software strongly recommends implementing a remote support solution. Remote support is the most efficient method of obtaining assistance and can result in less downtime in the event of problems occurring.

Please have your hardware/network support team implement the most appropriate solution for your environment. Examples of remote access solutions include:

Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop
Citrix
VPN Support
VNC
Symantec PC Anywhere

To supply your remote access details, contact Insula Software (see Contact Insula Software).

Group Policy Installations

Group policy gives administrative control over users and computers in the network. By using group policy, administrators can define the state of a user's work environment that is continually enforced using Microsoft Windows Server. Consequently, group policy can be used to deploy the The Finance Shop Product Suite.

Note:
1. The Microsoft SQL Server database engine needs to be installed manually.
2. The ODBC DSN setting needs to be setup and working correctly.
3. Insula Software recommends that this is to be setup by domain administrators only.
4. The following procedures are based on Microsoft Windows Server 2003. For information on group policy installations using other Microsoft Windows Server versions, please consult your Microsoft documentation.

To Install A TFS Package

On the Primary Domain Controller, open Active Directory Users and Computers.
Depending on your Organisation Unit (OU) setup, click on the OU that contains only local computers.
Right-click on local computers OU and select Properties. The Properties dialog will be displayed.
Select the Group Policies tab.
Click Open to open the policy. The Group Policy Object Editor dialog will be displayed.
Expand: Computer Configuration > Software Setting > Software Installation
In the right-hand panel, right-click and select New then Package. The Open dialog will be displayed.
Select the location of the TFS MSI file (for example, TFS 10.x.x.msi).
Click Open. The Deploy Software dialog will be displayed.
Select Assigned.
Click OK.
Close any open windows.

To Upgrade A TFS Package

On the Primary Domain Controller, open Active Directory Users and Computers.
Depending on your Organisation Unit (OU) setup, click on the OU that contains only local computers.
Right-click on local computers OU and select Properties. The Properties dialog will be displayed.
Select the Group Policies tab.
Click Open to open the policy. The Group Policy Object Editor dialog will be displayed.
Expand: Computer Configuration > Software Setting > Software Installation
In the right-hand panel, right-click on the The Finance Shop package most recently created and select Properties. TheProperties dialog will be displayed.
Select the Upgrades tab.
Click Add. The Add Upgrade Package dialog will be displayed.
Select the package(s) to upgrade.
Click OK.
Click OK.
Close all open windows.

Notes On Group Policy Propagation

Group policy installations require time to propagate to workstation PCs. Allow approximately 30 minutes. After the computers have received the new group policy, it will be applied the next time the computer is switched off or rebooted.

Example: If this process is completed at 4:00 pm on a Monday, the computers that are on at this time will not be upgraded until they are rebooted. Thus, the new client will be installed when the computer is switched on Tuesday morning (if the computer is switched off at night). Any computer that is rebooted after 4:30 pm will be upgraded.

Note: Computers that are not rebooted will not receive the update.

Test Environment

IT applications and the underlying infrastructure are becoming more and more complex with frequent changes, new technologies, virtualisation, concurrent projects and new products. The need for a managed test environment is imperative.

If your organisation has a pre-production test environment it is highly recommended that this upgrade be performed in a test environment prior to being performed on a live production server.