WINDOWS Installation Guide
Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Table of Contents
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT: ..................................................................................................................... 2
1 PREREQUISITES .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 SQUIDNET ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT ............................................................................................ 1
1.3 FIREWALL ....................................................................................................................................... 1
1.4 SQUIDNET ACCOUNT WITHOUT A PASSWORD ................................................................................... 2
1.5 SECURITY AND NETWORK CONFIGURATION ..................................................................................... 3
1.6 ENHANCED CREDENTIALS ................................................................................................................. 4
1.7 ENABLE FILE SHARING ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.7.1 Vista and WIN7 User Account Control ................................................................................... 5
1.7.2 Install using WINDOWS installer ........................................................................................... 5
1.7.3 Upgrading to a newer version of SquidNet............................................................................. 7
1.8 UNINSTALL ..................................................................................................................................... 8
2 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1 ADDING APPLICATION TO SYSTEM PATH VARIABLE. ....................................................................... 9
2.2 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ....................................................................................................10
2.2.1 WINDOWS Error 1385 ..........................................................................................................10
About this document:
This manual will provide an overview on how to install SquidNet on to Microsoft’s WINDOWS Operating System. It’s assumed that the reader is familiar with basic operating system, administrative and networking terms.
For any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact us; contact information can be found in the Help menu in the SquidNet User Interface and on our website at http://www.squidnetsoftware.com.
1 Prerequisites
1.1 Requirements
For Microsoft WINDOWS, SquidNet supports all 32/64 bit versions beginning with WINDOWS 2000. This includes WINXP,VISTA and WINDOWS 7. Please make sure that your system is up to date with the latest service packs and security updates before starting this procedure.
1.2 SquidNet Administrator Account
For SquidNet to properly interact with the applications that will be processing your job requests, SquidNet must be installed and executed under a WINDOWS Administrator Account. Non-administrator accounts will not work because they do not have the necessary privileges needed to access local and remote computer resources (memory allocation, registry, networking, etc…). NOTE: This account must be created prior to beginning the installation process. Although any valid SquidNet account name is acceptable, it’s preferred that the account name “SquidNet” be used with the password of your choosing. Since this presents a security hole in your system please make sure that the chosen password is not easily discovered. Important: Because SquidNet uses the admin account to launch job rendering commands, it's recommended that the SquidNet account have the proper access permissions enabled on all network share folders (WINDOWS, NAS, Linux, etc...) . If the proper access permissions are not set up correctly, you may see WINDOWS #1326 errors in the job slice log files. If you're setting access permissions for network folders on NAS drives, make sure that you create accounts with the same user name and passwords as the WINDOWS accounts that SquidNet runs under.
1.3 Firewall
The SquidServer.exe service uses the following network ports:
TCP 17394
UDP 17395
UDP 17396
The installer will automatically open these ports in your WINDOWS firewall. However, certain security applications may prevent the installer from doing so. If this is the case, you may need to open these ports manually as follows:
From “Control Panel” select “Windows Firewall”
Select “Add Port” and create a TCP exception for port 17394 as follows:
SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 2
Select “Add Port” and create a UDP exception for port 17395 as follows:
Do the same for UDP port 17396
Close WINDOWS Firewall and reboot your computer.
1.4 SquidNet Account without a password
Although it’s not recommended, some users have private networks that do not require an account password. If this is the case for you, you’ll need to allow blank passwords to be used for administration accounts by setting the 'Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only' policy in the Group Object Editor to “Disable”. This procedure applies to WINXP, Vista and WINDOWS 7. In Control Panel, set Administrative Tools -> Local Security Policy -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options -> Set 'Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only' to “Disable”. By default, the SquidNet installer will not allow you to complete the installation without a valid password. SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 3
Figure 1.4 Disable policy settings to allow for blank administrator passwords.
1.5 Security and Network Configuration
Figure 1.3 Setting Security Model To use the SMC network installer you must change the networking model for your SquidNet account. Under Control-Panel/Local-Security-Policy/Security Settings/Security Options/ change “Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts” from “Guest“ to “Classic” setting. It should be set as follows:
Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts: Classic - Local users authenticate as themselves
This security setting determines how network logons via local accounts (SquidNet) are authenticated. If this setting is set to Classic, network logons that use local account credentials authenticate by using those credentials. If this setting is set to Guest only, network logons that use local accounts are automatically mapped to the Guest account. Default: Guest: Only on Windows XP Professional. Classic: On the VISTA, Windows Server 2003 family and Windows XP Professional computers joined to a domain. Important: With the Classic model, the SquidNet account must be password protected; otherwise, the account can be used by anyone to access shared system resources. SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 4
This setting only affects computers running Windows XP Professional which are not tied to a domain controller. This policy will have no impact on computers running Windows 2000. On Windows XP Professional, leaving “Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts” set to “Guest Only - local users authenticate as Guest” produces Error #5 if using the Network Installer.
1.6 Enhanced Credentials
Depending on your local security model, you may need to enhance the security privileges of the SquidNet account by adding the SquidNet account to the "Replace a process token level" field in the Local Security Policy window (Control-Panel/Local-Security-Policy/Security Settings/User Rights Assignment). See image below. Figure 1.7 Enhancing security model for SquidNet Account This resolves issues with Windows #1314 (A required privilege is not held by the client) and #740 (The requested operation requires elevation) errors (as is often seen in job slice log files).
1.7 Enable File Sharing
If not already turned on, (network) File Sharing must be enabled:
How to configure file sharing in WINDOWS XP:
o http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040
File and Printer Sharing in WINDOWS Vista and WINDOWS 7:
o http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx
Figure 1.6.1 Vista File Sharing enabled. SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 5
1.7.1 Vista and WIN7 User Account Control
Although all SquidNet operations will function with UAC enabled, remote SquidNet updates will not function because WINDOWS UAC requires user consent for all software installations. Therefore, to ensure that remote upgrade operations will work, it's recommended that WINDOWS UAC be disabled.
1.7.2 Install using WINDOWS installer
To install SquidNet using the WINDOWS installer, execute the following instructions:
Make sure you have the latest version of the SquidNet installer available. Always check website for the latest updates.
Run installer then select “Next” on first window.
Please read and accept the license agreement then select “Next”.
Set your installation directory. The default path is preferred.
SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 6
Important: Make sure that network File Sharing is enabled. If it isn’t the following step will not work; you’ll get a “server not found” error message.
For SquidNet to work correctly, you must install the software under an Administrator account with full network access privileges. The username format must be in “DOMAIN\account” for domain accounts or “HOSTNAME\account” format for non-domain accounts. For domain accounts, please make sure that your domain controller is reachable on the network. If it’s not reachable, you will not be able to install the software. Please consult your domain administrator for specific account information.
If all information up to this point is correct, select “Install” and wait for the installation to complete.
SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 7
When completed, select “Close”.
By default, the installer will automatically start the SquidServer service. However, in some rare situations this may not be the case (due to service pack incompatibilities). To verify that the installation succeeded, start the SquidNet user interface console. If the user interface console starts up, you’re all set. If not, either start the service with the Services manager or reboot your computer.
Use Task Manager to make sure that the SquidServer.exe service is running.
1.7.3 Upgrading to a newer version of SquidNet.
Once you have all your nodes installed you can update all the nodes on your farm with a few steps:
Download new SquidNet installer.
Update your local node.
Start the SquidNet User Interface.
Open up a network view window.
SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 8
Make sure that all your nodes are running then select all nodes that you'd like to update, right-click and select "Update..."
When prompted, select the UNC path to the new SquidNet installer.
That's it!!
1.8 Uninstall
Use the standard WINDOWS uninstaller to uninstall SquidNet SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 9
2 Appendix A
2.1 Adding application to system PATH variable.
For some application templates, SquidNet requires that the application’s command line utility (for example: render.exe) be found within your system PATH environment variable. Add your application’s path as follows:
1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click Environment variables.
4. Edit system PATH variable
5. Append you application’s path to value field.
6. Reboot computer.
My Computer Properties. SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide This document is published by SquidNet Software, Inc. 2009, SquidNet Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 10
Select “Environment Variables” Select system Path variable Append application path to end of value. Separate path with “;” character.
2.2 Frequently Asked Questions
2.2.1 WINDOWS Error 1385
When submitting a new job, the job errors out. Looking at the job slice log file, I see this error: SquidNet Network Distribution Processor – WINDOWS Installation Guide
