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Installing and Running under Windows

Installing

Installing the SOAP Dispatch module as a normal Windows program simply involves two steps:

Locate the DispatchClient\Windows directory on the release media
Copy the contents of the DispatchClient\Windows directory to a known location, for example:

C:\Program Files\SERVICEPower\DispatchClient\
The files copied to the known location should be:

File/Directory

Description

Log

Directory used to store log files for the Dispatch Client Application

Test

Directory containing test dispatch server, ServicePower use only.

dispatch_client.exe

Dispatch Client application

if_service.exe

Application used to register DispatchClient application as a service.

if_service.ini

Service Configuration File

spapi.dll

ServicePower API Library

If_service_exe.exe

Executable used by the service registered by if_service.exe above.

Configuring the Application as a service

The dispatch client can be configured to run as a service in two different ways. Firstly the dispatch client can be configured for a single feed where all dispatch information is generated and sent to a single end point. Secondly the dispatch client can be configured for multiple feeds where dispatch information is generated per FRU or a group of FRU's. The following two sections explain how to configure the dispatch client for single and multiple feeds.

Configuring the Environment for a single feed

The first step in configuring the Service Dispatch Client is to install it as a service. Using the files copied to the known location run the following command in a command prompt window which has administrative privileges. Administrative privileges are now required on Windows version 7 and above when installing services from the command line. In order to open a command prompt as administrator click on the windows 'Start' icon, enter 'cmd' in the 'search programs and files' dialog box but do not press enter or select the search icon. Now in the list of programs right click on 'cmd.exe' and select 'Run as administrator'.

In the command prompt enter the command:
if_service [-n <Service Name>] -i
Where <service name> is replaced with the name required for the service; an example would be:
if_service -n DispatchClient -i
Once the command has run successfully the message 'DispatchClient installed' should be displayed.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
In the next step it is important to note that the registry is being modified. Before editing the registry, it's a good idea to create a restore point using System Restore. The restore point contains information about the registry, and you can use the restore point to undo changes to your system. For more information, search Help and Support for "System Restore."
Now that the service has been created it needs to be configured in order to run correctly. The registry can be edited manually or using the following registry file template. The following two settings need to be created.

Variable

Description

SPIFHOME

The path of the directory in which the service control program are located.

DATADIR

The path of the directory in which the configuration file is located.

Enter the following text into a file with a file extension of type '.reg'; for example 'if_service.reg'. Now edit the values for <service name>, SPIFHOME and DATADIR with appropriate values.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\<service name>\Environment]
"SPIFHOME"=""
"DATADIR"=""

Now save the file and double click on the file to enter the values into the registry.

Configuring the Environment for multiple feeds

The following steps should be followed if your environment requires the use of more than one feed (one feed per FRU for example).
As in the previous section create the service using the if_service command however in this case create a service for each required feed.
if_service [-n <Service One>] -i
if_service [-n <Service Two>] -i
and so on until the required number of feeds.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
In the next step it is important to note that the registry is being modified. Before editing the registry, it's a good idea to create a restore point using System Restore. The restore point contains information about the registry, and you can use the restore point to undo changes to your system. For more information, search Help and Support for "System Restore."
Now that the service has been created it needs to be configured in order to run correctly. The registry can be edited manually or using the following registry file template. The following two settings need to be created.

Variable

Description

SPIFHOME

The path of the directory in which the service control program are located. If manually creating a registry file, using the template, all backslash characters must be entered twice. For example "SPIFHOME"="c:
program files\\DispatchClient
data"

DATADIR

The path of the directory in which the configuration file is located. If manually creating a registry file, using the template, all backslash characters must be entered twice. For example "DATADIR"="c:
program files
DispatchClient"

FRU

Name of FRU as defined in SP058_RESPONSIBILITY_UNITS RESP_UNIT_REF column. If multiple FRU's are defined in this field then each FRU should be separated by a semi colon. If there are spaces in the FRU field then the field should be surrounded by quotes. If manually creating a registry file, using the template, all quotes must be preceded by a backslash character. For example "FRU"="\"FRU EAST;FRU WEST\""

Enter the following text into a file with a file extension of type '.reg'; for example 'if_service.reg'. Now using notepad edit the values for <service name>, SPIFHOME and DATADIR with appropriate values.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\<service name>\Environment]
"SPIFHOME"=""
"DATADIR"=""
"FRU"=""

Registry File Template

Now save the file and double click on the file to enter the values into the registry.
Now that several ServiceDispatch Client services have been created each with a different value for 'FRU' the if_service.ini file must be changed to add the '-r' option with a value of '-r $FRU$'. Now when the service starts it will look in the registry to pass the value it has for FRU into the if_service.ini file and start the service receiving dispatch messages from the named FRU's. Note that the registry key and value in the if_service.ini must match; for example if another name was used such as "FRU_NAME" then this must be the same in the registry and the if_service.ini file.

Deleting the Dispatch Client

To remove the service run the following command. Note that as with the installation of the service the command must be run from within a command prompt with administrative privileges.
if_service [-n <Service Name>] -u
An example command would be:
if_service -n DispatchClient -u

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