1. Perception 5.7 Install Guide
  2. Creating a basic installation
  3. 3. Install the prerequisites on your ETL server

3. Install the prerequisites on your ETL server

Applies to the following products: 
Questionmark Perception
Applies to the following Perception versions: 
Perception 5.7

The following applications need to be installed on your ETL server.

These programs must be installed and configured before you install the ETL service. Click on the individual program to see instructions and notes on its installation and configuration. Alternatively, you can use the Web Platform Installer to download and automatically install most of the prerequisites at once, instead of downloading and installing each application individually.

Programs marked (manual) must be downloaded and installed manually and cannot be downloaded via the Web Platform Installer.

Details for configuring SQL Server can be found on the following page, step 4 (Install a database system to handle the ETL_Temp database).

Required applications

.NET Framework 4.0

You can download .NET 4.0 from:

Once downloaded, double-click on the installer and follow the instructions to install .NET 4.

Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5 (manual)

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.
  7. Locate the Features Summary, and click Add Features.
  8. Enable the following features:
    • .NET Framework 3.0 (inside the .NET Framework 3.0 Features category)
    • HTTP Activation (inside the WCF Activation category)
  9. Click Next, followed by Install.
  10. Once the features have been installed, click Close and exit Server Manager.

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 on Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012 requires IIS 8 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.

Install the prerequisites [view URL]