Installation

In the first installation step it is necessary to read and confirm the license terms: The button Options opens new window. In order to change the setup path, select a location on disk, where BI Point must be installed. The default path is always the same as on the screen below:   If the available disk space is not sufficient, it will not be possible to continue the installation. A relevant message will then be displayed. Before starting the installation, close all running programs. Selecting the button Install starts the installation.

Update

The program update does not significantly differ from the installation process. Uninstalling the program beforehand will leave instance folders intact, which will be used for subsequent updates. The figure below presents the start screen of Comarch BI Point configuration tool. After launching the Comarch BI Point installer, if the default path from previous versions is preserved (C:\Program Files (x86)\Comarch\BI Point), select the "Next" button. If a different path is used than the default, click on "Select Folder" and provide the path to the main directory of the existing instance, e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Comarch BI Point\BI Point. The figure below presents the META database of BI Point configuration tool.     Note: In case of updating a BI Point database, it is required that the user updating the database has the sysadmin or db_owner privileges on the server on which the database is stored. After selecting the update option, a window presenting the progress of BI Point update process will open. After the update is finished, the following progress screen will be displayed.

Configuration

Start screen

Below is a start screen of Comarch BI Point configuration tool. In the configuration tool start screen, it is necessary to: 1. Select a product to install from among the available products:
  • BI Point Standalone
  • XL BI Point Start
  • Optima BI Point
  • XL BI Point
  • ERP Standard BI Point
  • CEE BI Point
  • CEE BI Point Smart
2. Select a setup mode:
  • Using the ‘New’ mode it is possible to create a new BI Point instance along with a new BI Point database.
  • Using the ‘Modification’ mode it is possible to create a new application instance with the use of already existing BI Point database. In this mode, it is also possible to install the missing configuration components for the previously created instances.
  • Using the ‘Update’ mode it is possible to update BI Point application upgrading at the same time an already existing version of META database.
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Note: In the case of the update mode, it is necessary to select an already existing BI Point database. This mode can be used for the application version and BI Point database version not older than 7.5.
3. Specify an ‘Installation Name’. That name will be used to tag the services, a database and a folder with BI Point instance. 4. Select a language version of the configuration tool. Available languages are: Polish, English, German, French, Spanish, Japan, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.  

Source database/OLAP database/DMS database screen

A subsequent step in the case of XL BI Point Start, XL BI Point, ERP Standard BI Point, Optima BI Point, CEE BI Point and CEE BI Point Smart products is the configuration of the source database: The following must be completed:
  1. Database type
  2. Name of the server where a given database is stored
  3. Port to the server
  4. An authentication method (SQL Server or Windows). In the case of Windows authentication, the user credentials are completed automatically with details of a currently logged-in user, whereas in the case of SQL Server authentication, it is necessary to provide a user name and password.
  5. Source database of Comarch ERP XL or Comarch Optima system, that is selected from a drop-down list. The list contains all databases stored on the selected server, which a user can access.
In the case of XL BI Point Start, XL BI Point products, a DMS database can additionally be configured: An OLAP database can additionally be configured for XL BI Point, Altum BI Point, CEE BI Point and BI Point Standalone products: The following must be completed:
  1. Name of the server where OLAP database is stored.
  2. Name of OLAP database selected from a drop-down list.
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Note: In the case of instances using connections to OLAP databases, when there is a message in the application logs about a missing provider, it is necessary to install MSOLAP x86 and x64 providers and then register dll files in the command line: regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Analysis Services\AS OLEDB\140\msolap.dll" regsvr32 "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Analysis Services\AS OLEDB\140\msolap.dll" Finally, the machine must be restarted and the “read only” option must be deselected on the dll file.
 

Summary screen

The window presents detailed information on Comarch BI Point configuration. BI Point (Website)
  • URL Address – address under which it will be possible to run Comarch BI Point application after it has been installed.
  • Logon Method – specifies a logon mode to the application. It is by default set to login/password.
  • Default User – determines the first application user (admin/admin)
BI Server
  • Name of BI Server service.
  • Credentials – specify that it will be possible to log on to the BI Server service via a local system account.
BI Point Database
  • BI Point Database Name – name of META database.
  • Server where a database will be generated.
  • Port to the server.
PostgreSQL installation
  • Server where a PostgreSQL instance will be created.
  • Port to the server.
  • Service name – service to PostgreSQL.
  • Credentials specify a PostgreSQL database user. A password is, by default, specified also as postgres.
Source Database The data is copied from the Source Database step. Analytical Engine
  • Service name – analytical engine service.
  • Credentials – specify that it will be possible to log on to the analytical engine service via a local system account.
Analytical Engine Database
  • Name – name of the Analytical Engine database.
  • Server where an engine database will be generated.
  • Port to the above server.
Geographical Database
  • Name – name of a geographical database.
  • Server – place where a geographical database will be generated.
  • Port to the above server.
Key Manager
  • Server where the Key Manager has been installed.
  • Port – port of the Key Manage, the default port is 5150.
  • Key Number – number of the key with the license to a selected product.
Other
  • Instance Name – retrieved from the first configuration step.
  • Installation Path – the location where BI Point files will be stored.
All the data necessary to install the application is completed by default and is sufficient to install the product. If any of the default ports is used, then the first unused port that is found will be assigned. If necessary, the application can also be configured individually. For this purpose, it is necessary to go to Custom Configuration, where it is possible to configure each section separately.  

Custom configuration

Database screen

Here it is possible to customize the settings of database generation process. Bi Point Database
BI Point Database Name – name of BI Point database.
Database Server Instance
It is possible to create or use an existing PostgreSQL instance.
For a new instance it is possible to:
  • change the port – the default port is 5432
  • change a default database name – a default name is postgres
  • change the password for postgres user – a default password is postgres
The following must be completed in order to use an existing instance:
  • Server Name – server where a new database will be generated
  • Port to the PostgreSQL server
  • Database Default Name – default database generated during PostgreSQL installation
  • User Credentials – Authentication Method field
Connection to a database can be verified with the button ‘Test Connection’.

Service screen

In the window, it is possible to configure the necessary services for Comarch BI Point to work properly. Configuration of BI Point component services
  • Website Name
  • Port to the website – the Web service uses a URL port (80), by default. That port can be set according to individual preferences.
  • URL Address – address under which it will be possible to run Comarch BI Point application after it has been installed. The address will change automatically after the website is renamed.
  • Analytical Engine Service Name – this name can be changed by modifying an instance name on the start screen.
  • Analytical Engine Service Port – a default port for the Analytical Engine is 9000. That port can be set according to individual preferences.
Configuration of Analytical Engine database
  • Server Name – server where an analytical engine database will be generated.
  • Port to the server.
  • Default Database Name – a default name is postgres.
  • Authentication Method – credentials of PostgreSQL user.
  • Database Name – database name of the analytical engine.
If option ‘Use existing instance’ is selected in the ‘Database’ step or if any changes are made to the option ‘Create new PostgreSQL instance’, then it is possible to select the option ‘Use BI Point database settings’. Using that option, it is possible to get the PostgreSQL server details from the ‘Database’ step. If that option is not used, then it is necessary to configure the database individually. Authentication for BI Point services
Services can be created on a “LocalSystem’ account or on a domain account. If the first option is selected, then it is necessary to make sure that the SQL Management NT\SYSTEM user or NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM user holds the sysadmin permissions (if authentication mode is set to ‘Modification’, then this condition is required to continue configuration).  If a domain account is selected, then it is necessary to provide a user name along with a domain (domain\user) as well as the user’s password. A domain account must have the permissions of Windows administrator and Analysis Services Administrator.
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For XL BI Point, ERP Standard BI Point, CEE BI Point and BI Point Standalone products, it is recommended to create services on a domain account.
 

Premium Analytics Engine tab

In this tab, you can create a database and a premium analytics engine service if you own the appropriate license. For a description of this functionality, see the article "BI Point Premium".  

Geographical Database screen

Here it is possible to generate or use an existing geographical database that will be used when creating a map control on a dashboard. Geographical Database
  • Server Name – server where a new database will be generated.
  • Port to the server.
  • Default Database Name – a default name is postgres.
  • Authentication Method – credentials of a PostgreSQL user.
  • Database Name – own name must be provided in case of generating a new geographical database or the name of existing database must be selected from the list.

Key Server screen

In the Key Server window, it is possible to change the key server details, if the key is stored on a different server. Key Manager
  • Server where the Key Manager has been installed.
  • Port – port of the Key Manager, the default port is 5150.
  • Key Number – number of the key with license to a selected product.
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Note: In case of selecting Optima BI as a product after configuring first the BI Point application, it will be necessary to update the details of the key number and the key server of the subsequent field – AnalysisBILicenseKey, AnalysisBILicenseServer in the settings table on the newly generated BI Point database. This instruction applies only if the license of the BI Analyses is stored on a different key than the license of BI Point application.

Mail Server screen

In the Mail Server screen, it is possible to configure a mail server that will be used to send subscriptions. Mail Server
  • SMTP Server Address – address of the outgoing mail server.
  • Port – port to the SMTP server.
  • Authentication – user credentials to SMTP server account.
  • Sender E-mail Address – e-mail address that will be used to send subscriptions.
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Connection to a database can be verified with the button ‘Test Connection’.

Other screen

Here it is possible to select a logon method and to import standard reports. Standard reports Option ‘Import standard reports’ is used to import standard reports (depending on the product selected in the first step of the configuration tool) into the BI Point repository. Logon method After selecting the option ‘Login/Password’, credentials of the first user must be provided. A ‘Domain Account’, that will be associated with a given login, is completed automatically with credentials of a currently logged-in user. If the option ‘Domain Accounts’ is selected, a user will be logging on via domain accounts. In this case, the login and password will also be completed automatically with credentials of a currently logged-in user.

Installation screen

Before proceeding to the installation step, it is recommended to verify on the summary screen the detailed list in terms of changes made to the custom configuration. If the entered data is correct, you can proceed to the installation step.