Introduction

IBM FileNet Image Services securely store and manage a wide variety of content, including documents, reports, media content , COLD (Computer Output Laser Disk) document format, and more, in large volumes and quantity, allowing high availability. IBM FileNet IDM solutions deliver a comprehensive set of capabilities, including integration with existing information systems such as FileNet Image Services, full-featured document search, and the ability to view, manage, and share the documents from Image Services across the entire enterprise.

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Setting up FileNet Image Services

FileNet Image Services supports IBM® DB2®, Oracle and MS SQL Server as backend RDBMS servers. This section describes the steps required for setting up Image Services 4.1 with Oracle and MS SQL Server as backend databases. It's assumed that the required RDBMS software is already installed. It initially covers the preparation necessary to install Image Services 4.1 and then continues onto the installation and configuration of Image Services 4.1.

Note: The scope of this article is restricted to the Windows® platform. For further information, read the guidelines for installing FileNet Image Services, included in "Guidelines for Installing and Updating Site-Controlled Oracle and MS SQL Software for Windows Server" (IBM, 2008). (See Resources.)

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Before you install

Create users and groups

1. Create the following users:
   • fnsw
   • dbauser (for Oracle only)
2. Create the following groups:
   • fnop
   • fnadmin
   • fnusr
   • dbagroup (only if the Oracle is installed on the same machine as Image Services)
3. Make users "fnsw", "Administrator", and "dbauser" members of "fnusr" group
4. Make users "fnsw" and "Administrator" members of "fnadmin" group

Create required databases and table spaces

Based on the database being used, create the appropriate table spaces:

MS SQL server

1. Create a transactional database: (Example) ISDB.
2. Create the table spaces described in Table 1:

Oracle

1. Create a transactional database: (Example) ISDB.
2. Create the table spaces described in Table 2:

The index tablespace is optional, so the system tablespace can be used for indexing purpose, instead of the index tablespace.

DB2

1. Create DB2 database, buffer pool, and tablespace with more than 4K.
2. Create database IndexDB.
3. Create buffer pool BP 5000 page, size 16K.
4. Create regular tablespace TS page, size 16K, managed by system using (FNIS buffer pool BP).

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Installing Image Services 4.1

1. Double-click on the is_4.1.0_win.exe file in the installation package.
2. On the welcome page of Image Services installation, click on Next to continue.
3. Accept the software license notice, and click on Next.
4. Select either of the following options, and click on Next:
   • System Check only (Hardware, OS, users, and groups status): Select this radio button just to check the status of the system.
   • System Check and Install Image Services: Select this radio button to install Image Services 4.1.
   
   
   Figure 1. System check and install
   
   
   
5. Once the system check is passed, the installation moves on to the database selection window. Select the relevant databases from the drop-down list, and click on Next:
   
   Figure 2. Select database
   
   
   
6. Select Next in the "Configure the fnsw user account" window:
   
   Figure 3. Configure fnsw user account
   
   
   
7. Enter the password for fnsw, and click on Next:
   
   Figure 4. Enter the password
   
   
   
8. Enter the System Serial Number (SSN) and Network Clear House (NCH) domain name:
   
   Figure 5. Image Services configuration information
   
   
   

   Note: In the NCH Domain name filed, enter the value in Domain:Organization format. For example, if the server's name is server1 and the organization is IBM, you would enter server1:IBM. Make sure to also select Combined Server.

9. Select the installation path, and click Next:
   
   Figure 6. Choose installation path
   
   
   

   Note: Both the paths mentioned for Image Services executables and Image Services local files should be of NTFS format and have a minimum of 500MB space each.

10. The install shield checks for hard disk and OS status. Make sure none show a Fail status. Click on Next.:
    
    Figure 7. Hardware checks
    
    
    
11. The install shield further checks for groups and users info. Click on Next:
    
    Figure 8. Groups and users checks
    
    
    

    If you need to do so, refer to the "Create users and groups" section to see what users and groups need to be created.

12. A summary of the installation is displayed. Click on Next:
    
    Figure 9. Summary
    
    
    
13. Upon successful installation, the message, illustrated in Figure 10, is displayed. Click on Next.
    
    Figure 10. Successful installation
    
    
    
14. Select Yes, restart my computer, and click on Finish to complete the Image Services installation:
    
    Figure 11. Restart the computer
    
    
    

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Configuring FileNet Image Services software

This section explains the construction of an Image Services system configuration database customized to an Image Services installation. This editor helps you specify database-related information such as temp db, index db location, and default size.

1. Log on as fnsw.
2. To open the configuration editor, select Start > Programs > FileNet Image Services > System Configuration > Configuration Editor. The New Configuration Database dialog box will open.
3. Enter the domain name, as entered during the installation, and select Combined Server System for database template:
   
   Figure 12. New configuration
   
   
   
4. Click on OK.
5. Select the default directory for the data sets, and select Next.
6. Select the relation database type (MS SQL 2000, Oracle, or DB2) for the new configuration, and click on Next.
7. Once you select the database, you're prompted to enter the password for the following users. Enter them, then select Next.
   • f_sw
   • f_maint
   • f_sqi
   • f_open
8. Choose the defaults for further options until you arrive at the prompt "Do you want to automatically configure the storage library?". Select Yes, and click on Next twice.
9. When your configuration is complete, a "Configuration Complete" message appears. Click on Next to complete the configuration.
10. The FileNet Image Services System Configuration Editor window displays. Before you exit the Configuration Editor, complete any remaining configuration sections that apply to your system.
11. From the FileNet Image Services System Configuration Editor window, click on the File menu, and click on the Exit option.
12. Click on the Yes button to save the configuration and exit the System Configuration Editor.

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Initializing the server software

1. Log on as fnsw, if you aren't already.
2. Initialize the index database and all the MKF databases (includes permanent, transient, and security databases). Enter the following commands to initialize the databases:

   fn_setup_rdb -f fn_util init

   
   

   The initialization will take approximately 5 - 30 minutes, during which time there is very little status feedback to the display. The larger the data sets, the longer the process takes. When the prompt returns to the Command Prompt window, the initialization is complete.

3. When initialization is complete, view the following log files to make sure there were no errors in the database initialization process:
   • fnsw_loc\logs\elog
   • fnsw_loc\logs\fn_util\init.log
   • database logs - oracle.log (or mssql.log)

Starting Image Services

Once the initialization process is complete, Image Services needs to be started.

1. Logon as fnsw, if you aren't already logged on.
2. Open the Windows Services window.
3. If the properties are not correct, right-click on IS ControlService. The Image Services ControlService Properties dialog opens.
4. Verify that the Image Services ControlService is started. If the settings for the Image Services ControlService are correct, skip to Step 6.
5. In the Image Services ControlService Properties window, do the following, as necessary:
   • Set the startup type to automatic.
   • Click on the Start button to start the Image Services ControlService.
   • Click OK to exit the Image Services ControlService Properties window.
6. Close the services window.
7. Open the FileNet Task Manager.
8. From the Taskbar, point to Programs > FileNet Image Services > Server Applications, and click on the Task Manager icon. Since the Image Services ControlService is running, the TM_daemon.exe process will be listed in the Process column.
9. Select the Monitor drop-down menu, and select the Event Logs... option. The Event Logs window appears.
10. Select the Display drop-down>menu, and select the Dynamic option. This enables the event window to be refreshed whenever messages are logged. Leave the Event Logs window open.
11. At the FileNet Task Manager window, click on Start to bring up the FileNet software. Messages will display in the Current Status window as FileNet software is being started.
12. After the FileNet software has been initiated, click on the Close button to close the Current Status window.
13. View the Event Logs window to make sure there are no error messages.
14. After viewing the Event Logs, close any other open windows.

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Integrating Image Services with FileNet IDM

Configure Image Services using IDM Configure

The purpose of the IDM Configure application is to allow you to determine which libraries an IDM desktop and IDM Web Services can access, and to configure certain parameters that affect IDM Desktop and IDM Web Services application behavior.

FileNet IDM has three types of clients: IDM Desktop, IDM Web Services, and IDM Open Client. Configuring IDM products involves defining user preferences, which includes setting up access to libraries, defining options for directories and files, documents, searches, libraries, and integrated applications. Some of the preferences are common to IDM Desktop, IDM Web Services, and IDM Open Client. Using IDM Configure, you can set or modify additional preferences per the requirement for each library.

Once the preferences are set, you can export them to a file, then import these preferences to another user computer. This facilitates setting up many users' machines with common settings.

1. To launch the IDM Configure application, select Start > Programs > FileNet IDM > Configure.
2. Once IDM Configure opens, click on the Add button to add a library, and then select Image Services to add an Image Services library.
   
   Figure 13. Configure IDM
   
   
   
3. In the Library name field, enter the name you want to use as the library's label.
4. In the Domain field, enter the domain name of the system.
5. In the Organization field, enter the organization name, as provided at the time of installation of Image Services.
6. Click on OK to confirm.

Note: In the Image Services configuration, Image Services domain and organization names are case sensitive.

In some cases, a line must be added to the hosts file of the machine for each Image Services server that includes the IP address of the Image Services server and its NCH designation. An example of this line is:

 IS server IP    domain-organization-nch-server

IDM Configure allows the users to configure any number of IS libraries.

COLD documents

A COLD document is a special type of document that has text superimposed on a background image. The text has a specific formatting, such as font, font size, and spacing, so that it can sit on the background image and give an impression of a single image. COLD documents also save space when it comes to ECM, and, by default, these COLD documents can be worked on as normal images. In addition, there is also a possibility to search these documents based on the content (in the superimposed text), and when displayed as a text, the text document can be selected and copied.

Configuring Print/Fax

The FileNet system supports various devices, like print servers, scan servers, storage libraries, fax servers, tapes, disks, and more. All hardware devices need to be configured on the Image Services:

• Print server - All the printers are connected to a print server that receives documents for printing from the Image Services. The print server also provides software to monitor the printing status, errors, and network connection information.
• Fax server - The fax server is a server that is equipped with fax card and fax software. It receives documents from Image Services and converts them to outbound documents to a misconfiguration machine or another fax server, as well as converts the received fax documents to inbound documents and converts them into FileNet images.

To configure Print/Fax, select IDM Configure > Additional Preferences > Print/ Fax:

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Most common errors encountered during integration

While integrating FileNet Image Services with FileNet IDM, there is a possibility of encountering errors either due to misconfiguration of FileNet IDM or service unavailability. Table 3 describes the most common errors encountered connecting the FileNet Image Services and the respective troubleshooting techniques:

Again, Table 3 lists the most common errors that can be encountered. If you encounter other errors, please refer to the guide lines for installing FileNet Image Services in "Guidelines for Installing and Updating Site-Controlled Oracle and MS SQL Software for Windows Server." (See Resources.) For known issues for FileNet IDM on Windows Vista, see "Technical Bulletin - IDM 4.0.2 on Windows Vista" (IBM, 2008). (See Resources.)

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Conclusion

This article walked you through the basic installation, initialization, and configuration of FileNet Image Services. It guided you through the step-by-step procedure to effectively integrate FileNet Image Service with FileNet IDM. This article also helped solve basic errors that are encountered during the integration of FileNet Image Services with FileNet IDM.

Resources

Learn

• "Guidelines for Installing and Updating Site-Controlled Oracle and MS SQL Software for Windows Server" (IBM, 2008): Follow these guidelines for installing and updating Oracle and MS SQL software on a Windows Server.
  
  
• "Technical Bulletin - IDM 4.0.2 on Windows Vista" (IBM, 2008): Understand installation, upgrade scenarios, and known issues for IDM on Windows Vista, and find alternative methods to overcome the known issues.
  
  
• FileNet documents: Read "FileNet Web Services Administrator's Help" (WSAdminHelp.zip) and "IDM Web Services Online Help" (WSUserHelp402.zip) for further reference.
  
  
• developerWorks Information Management zone: Learn more about Information Management. Find technical documentation, how-to articles, education, downloads, product information, and more.
  
  
• Stay current with developerWorks technical events and webcasts.
  
  
• Technology bookstore: Browse for books on these and other technical topics.
  
  

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Discuss

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About the authors

Nandish Kori is a software engineer working with India Software Lab for the Enterprise Content Management team. He has a total of three years of working experience in software development and testing. His primary focus is on FileNet IDM QA performance testing and automation. He is a certified FileNet Web Services and Desktop Administrator, and P8 Administrator.

Dheeraj Krishan is an associative software engineer working with India Software Lab for the Enterprise Content Management team. His primary focus is on FileNet IDM QA end-to-end testing and automation. He is a certified FileNet Web Services and Desktop Administrator.

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Table of contents

• Introduction
• Setting up FileNet Image Services
• Before you install
• Installing Image Services 4.1
• Configuring FileNet Image Services software
• Initializing the server software
• Integrating Image Services with FileNet IDM
• Most common errors encountered during integration
• Conclusion
• Resources
• About the authors
• Comments

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