2. Install the prerequisites on your Assessment Delivery Web Server (QPLA) server

Windows Server 2008 R2

On Windows Server 2008 R2, the .NET 2.0 Framework is installed by default. No further action is required.

Windows Server 2012

On Windows Server 2012, .NET 2.0 is installed by default, but it needs to be enabled along with .NET 3.5 through Server Manager.

To enable .NET 2.0:

1. Open Server Manager.
2. Under the Manage menu, select Add Roles and Features.
   
3. Select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next.
   
4. Select the appropriate server (local is selected by default) and click Next.
   
5. On the Server Roles page, click Next to skip to the Features page.
6. Select the .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) (under .NET Framework 3.5 Features) and then click Next.
7. Click Next again. The Role Services page opens.
8. Click Next again to skip this page.
9. Click Install.
10. Once installation has finished, click Close.

Windows Server 2008 R2

The .NET 3.5 Framework is already installed on Windows Server 2008 R2, but it needs to be enabled. To enable the .NET Framework 3.5 on Windows Server 2008 R2:

1. Click Start | Administrative Tools | Server Manager.
2. Select Features.
3. Click Add Feature.
4. Select the .NET Framework 3.5.1 Features feature.
   • Also make sure to check the HTTP Activation feature (under .NET Framework 3.5.1 Features > WCF Features).
5. Click Add Required Feature.
6. Click Next followed by Install.
7. Once it has finished installing, click Close.

Once setup, you will need to enable the WCF portion of the .NET Framework 3.5. To do this:

1. Launch the command line.
2. Navigate to: 
   

   C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.0\Windows Communication Foundation\

3. Enter the following and press Enter: 
   

   ServiceModelReg.exe -iru

Windows Server 2012

On Windows Server 2012, .NET 3.5 is installed by default, but it needs to be enabled through Server Manager. To enable .NET 3.5 (and .NET 2.0 along with it), follow the same instructions in the Windows Server 2012 subsection of the .NET 2.0 section above.

PHP 7.3 and the corresponding Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017 is required for Perception 5.7.

You can download the Non-Thread Safe version of PHP 7.3.15 (php-7.3.15-nts-Win32-VC15-x64.zip) from PHP 7.3.15.

You can download PHP Manager for IIS from PHP Manager for IIS.

Once you have installed PHP and PHP Manager, you will need to make sure that PHP is configured appropriately for Perception. This will be discussed later in step 3 (Configure PHP).

The version of IIS you'll need to install depends on what version of Windows Server you're using.

IIS 7/7.5 on Window Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 requires IIS 7 or 7.5 in order for Perception to function. You will need to ensure that you have administrative user rights on the server on which you plan to install IIS. 

To install IIS:

1. Click Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | Server Manager.
2. In the Server Manager window, scroll down to Roles Summary, and then click Add Roles. The Add Roles Wizard will start with a Before You Begin page. The wizard asks for verification of the following:
   • The administrator account has a strong password.
   • The network settings, such as IP addresses, are configured.
   • The latest security updates from Windows Update are installed.
3. Select Web Server (IIS) on the Select Server Roles page. An introductory page will open with links for further information.
4. Select the IIS services to be installed on the Select Role Services page. Add the following modules, and click Next:
   • Static Content
   • Default Document
   • ASP
   • ASP.NET
   • .NET Extensibility
   • CGI
   • ISAPI Extensions
   • ISAPI Filters
   • Windows Authentication
   • IP and Domain Restrictions
   • HTTP Redirection
   • IIS Management Console
   • IIS Management Scripts and Tools
   • IIS 6 Management Components (or the whole IIS 6 Management Compatibility subtree)
5. Click Add Required Role Services.
6. Wait for IIS to complete installing, and click Finish.

Once IIS is enabled, make sure the ASP.NET State Service is running. To do this:

1. Click Start | Administration Tools | Services.
2. Locate and right click on the ASP State Service entry.
3. Click Properties.
4. Make sure the Startup type is set to Automatic.
5. Click Start to start the service now.
6. Click OK and exit out of the Services window.

Running 32-bit applications in 64-bit IIS

If you are planning to run 32-bit applications (i.e., Perception) in a 64-bit version of IIS, you will need to ensure that the correct settings are enabled. The settings are enabled by running specific commands and parameters from the command line. You will need to launch the command line prompt as an administrative user (you can do this by logging in as an administrative user or by right-clicking on the command prompt icon and clicking Run as administrator).

To enable 32-bit applications to run in 64-bit IIS, enter the following command at the prompt:

cscript %SYSTEMDRIVE%\inetpub\adminscripts\adsutil.vbs SET W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32bitAppOnWin64 1

To enable the 32-bit version of the .NET 2.0 Framework for use with Perception, you will need to run the following command:

%SYSTEMROOT%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regiis.exe -i

...or, if that is unavailable, try:

%SYSTEMROOT%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regiis.exe -i

IIS 8 or higher on Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012 requires IIS 8 or higher in order for Perception to function. Before you install IIS, make sure you have run Windows Update and have installed all of the updates.

To install IIS:

1. Open Server Manager.
2. Under the Manage menu, select Add Roles and Features.
   
3. Select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next.
   
4. Select the appropriate server (local is selected by default) and click Next.
   
5. On the Server Roles page, select Web Server (IIS) and then click Add Features.
   
6. Click Next.
7. On the Features page, select the following features and then click Next:
   • .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) (under .NET Framework 3.5 Features)
   • HTTP Activation (under .NET Framework 3.5 Features)
   • ASP.NET 4.5 (under .NET Framework 4.5 Features)
   • HTTP Activation (under .NET Framework 4.5 Features > WCF Services)
   • Named Pipe Activation (under .NET Framework 4.5 Features > WCF Services)
   • TCP Activation (under .NET Framework 4.5 Features > WCF Services)
   • TCP Port Sharing (under .NET Framework 4.5 Features > WCF Services)
   • Windows Process Activation Service (the whole tree including all three of its subfeatures)

   

8. Click Next again. The Role Services page opens.
9. On the Role Services page, select the following IIS role services and then click Next:
   • Default Document (under Web Server > Common HTTP Features)
   • Directory Browsing (under Web Server > Common HTTP Features)
   • HTTP Errors (under Web Server > Common HTTP Features)
   • Static Content (under Web Server > Common HTTP Features)
   • HTTP Logging (under Health and Diagnostics)
   • Logging Tools (under Health and Diagnostics)
   • Static Content Compression (under Performance)
   • Request Filtering (under Security)
   • Windows Authentication (under Security)
   • .NET Extensibility 3.5 (under Application Development)
   • .NET Extensibility 4.5 (under Application Development)
   • Application Initialization (under Application Development)
   • ASP (under Application Development)
   • ASP.NET 3.5 (under Application Development)
   • ASP.NET 4.5 (under Application Development)
   • CGI (under Application Development)
   • ISAPI Extensions (under Application Development)
   • ISAPI Filters (under Application Development)
   • Management Tools and all of its 8 subfeatures 
10. Click Install. 
11. Once installation has finished, click Close.