Install Methods for e-Business

The database server must have the appropriate version of Aptify installed prior to installing e-Business. See e-Business Server Requirements for a table that identifies which Aptify release is required for a particular e-Business release. The installer checks the database's version, and you will be unable to proceed with the installation unless Aptify meets this requirement.

Note that for e-Business 5.5.2, the recommended installation path is on Aptify 5.5.2, and this document assumes you are installing e-Business 5.5.2 on Aptify 5.5.2 or later. If installing e-Business 5.5.2 on Aptify 5.5.1, contact Aptify Technical Support for additional instructions.

e-Business ships with two installation packages: a full setup program for new installations and an upgrade package for existing e-Business installations. The install method you choose will be based on whether you have an e-Business site already, and if so, whether you want to upgrade or re-implement your existing site. This topic provides the information you need to make a proper decision.

Starting in e-Business 5.5.1, a repository object is included in the EWA package that indicates that e-Business is installed and enables users to make an easier determination about their version of Aptify. This text file includes the version number in the name. The current text files for e-Business are as follows:

• eBusiness553Installed.txt
• eBusiness552Installed.txt
• eBusiness551Installed.txt

New Installations

If you are installing e-Business for the first time to support a new implementation, you will need to use the full setup method. The e-Business setup for your release contains the full e-Business database structure, so you do not need to have an earlier version of e-Business installed. The setup will guide you through where you want e-Business installed, setup options, optional sample site installation, and configuration of Microsoft IIS.

Do not enable the attribute for automatic downloads from the Object Repository on the web server. Downloads from the Object Repository will cause the site to recompile.

When installing e-Business 5.5.1 and up, if you already have e-Business schema on the Aptify database, you will use the Upgrader to apply the latest e-Business schema to that server. However, you can still use the full setup program to install new instances of one or both of the sample sites (without applying server updates).

Upgrade Installation

e-Business is essentially a website. Aptify provides a set of user controls that integrates the Aptify database with your website. If you have an existing e-Business install, it's likely that you've made changes to the original product installation to support the "look and feel" and functionality required to support your business. As with any website, changes made to the user controls and their source code make it impossible to retrofit the older code during the upgrade process, so upgrading will typically involve manual porting the changes to your site.

The practical implication of upgrading between major releases and service packs is also a factor. e-Business 5.0 was the first release that encapsulated and distributed the Aptify logic in .NET user controls, versus previous versions of e-Business that were classic .NET websites with the logic embedded directly in web pages.

The common upgrade scenarios are described below, broken down by release.

•  e-Business 5.0 Service Packs and higher to e-Business 5.5.3:
  • In e-Business 5.5.3, Aptify modified existing user controls to address product issues and add new functionality. The upgrade approach for these controls is to install the new controls in a different location, and diff the old and the new directories to isolate the changes and port the differences in the direction that makes the most sense.

  • Also, Aptify updated many of the e-Business assemblies (DLL files) in version 5.5.3. To apply the latest assemblies, you need to update the objects in the Aptify Object Repository and in the e-Business bin directory. The 5.5.3 Database Update installer will update objects in the Aptify Object Repository for you.

    Do not enable the attribute for automatic downloads from the Object Repository on the web server. Downloads from the Object Repository will cause the site to recompile.

  • The upgrade package includes a 5.5.3 Database Update installer that applies the schema updates made in 5.0 Service Pack 3, 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2, and 5.5.3 so you do not have to do this manually. This includes adding new entities, updating existing entities, unpacking new data and database objects, and updating relevant objects in the Aptify Object Repository.

    The e-Business 5.5.3 Database Update installer installs database updates for e-Business 5.0 Service Pack 3, 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2, and 5.5.3. So, you can run this tool once against databases that have e-Business 5.0 SP2 or e-Business 5.0 SP3 installed. See Updating an Existing e-Business Site for more information on how to upgrade an existing e-Business site to e-Business 5.5.3.

• e-Business 5.0 to 5.5.3:
  • As outlined above, e-Business 5.0 uses .NET user controls to encapsulate Aptify business functionality. The major change for 5.0 Service Pack 1 was to abstract all of the hard-coded navigation from the user controls and put them in the Aptify_UC_Navigation.config file. This change impacted virtually every user control which makes isolating customer implementation changes from Service Pack 1 changes more difficult than normal. Version 5.5.1 included additional updates to the majority of the user controls and e-Business assemblies, as well as new and updated entity definitions for the Aptify database.

  • The first step is to isolate the customer implemented changes made to 5.0 by performing a diff between stock 5.0 and implemented 5.0. Then the e-Business 5.5.3 changes should be manually installed using the upgrade package (See Updating an Existing e-Business Site for details). Once a new 5.5 baseline is established, the customer implementation changes identified during the diff should be re-applied to new baseline, using the Aptify_UC_Navigation.config file for navigation paths, image locations, and other supported attributes. See the Working with the e-Business Site chapter of the attached Aptify e-Business 5.5 Developer Guide for more information on how to use the Aptify_UC_Navigation.config file and other best practices.
    
    

• e-Business 4.x to 5.5.3:
  • Due to the architectural changes between e-Business 4.x and 5.x summarized above, a 4.x e-Business site must be re-implemented on the latest version of e-Business 5.5.3. The most effective way to do this is to identify all changes made between the base 4.x e-Business and the implemented website. Using a diff tool is recommended to compare directories and list all changes.
  • Once all of the original changes are identified, these changes can be re-implemented on a new e-Business 5.5.3 install. The code contained in the e-Business 5.5.3 user controls is based on, and in some cases, nearly identical to the code in e-Business 4.x pages, so re-applying those changes should be manageable.

  • Prior to implementation, it is important to evaluate new best practices that may be available in the newest e-Business to reduce risk of difficult upgrades in the future. See the Working with an e-Business Site chapter of the attached Aptify e-Business 5.5 Developer Guide for more information. 

    It may be possible under some circumstances to continue to run the e-Business 4.x site with an Aptify 5.5.3 database. This may be a desirable option if you do not wish to launch an upgraded Aptify 5.5.3 and e-Business 5.5.3 site simultaneously, opting instead to go live with Aptify 5.5.3 first and implement the e-Business upgrade down the road. The ability to do this is dependent upon the types of configurations that were done to the Aptify product and to e-Business. Please contact Aptify Consulting for more guidance.

    See Updating an Existing e-Business Site for more information on how to upgrade an existing e-Business site to e-Business 5.5.3.