StifleR Server Installation
Prerequisites
Microsoft .NET 4.8
Installation account must have Administrator rights
Create and populate the StifleR Administrative Security Groups
Open the required firewall ports
License.cab or license key (optional at this point)
Review StifleR Server Considerations page for server specs, etc.
Optional Components
Internet Information Services (IIS):
The StifleR Server API runs its own web service, so IIS is NOT required unless:
You will also be installing the StifleR Dashboard on the same server.
You will be hosting the StiflerRulez site on the same server.
Installation
Manual Installation
From an Elevated Command prompt launch StifleR.Installer64.msi.
At the "Welcome" screen, feel welcomed, and then click Next.
At the "End-User License Agreement" screen, once you have reviewed the EULA, check the box: I accept the terms in the License Agreement, and then click Next.
At the "Select License Type" screen, choose the license type, and then click Next.
NOTE: The installer does not check whether the license information is valid. If you select an incorrect license file or enter an invalid key, the installer will continue but the StifleR service may stop soon after starting.
At the "Service Logon Credentials" screen, choose the Logon Type, and then click Next.
Note: If using a local or domain account, the account must have "Logon as a Service" rights.
At the "Port Selection" screen, enter a Port Number, or accept the default port 1414, and then click the Test Port button. If the port is open, a green check mark will appear. If the port is not open, validate that the port is available. Once complete, click Next.
At the "Select Certificate" screen, you can choose whether you want to use Http or Https for StifleR Client to Server communications. If you choose Https, also enter the certificate thumbprint for the self-signed certificate which is installed when StifleR is installed or from another installed certificate. If this is a fresh installation of StifleR, choose Http and switch to Https (recommended) at a later time. Once complete, click Next.
At the "Destination Folder" screen, enter the path in which the StifleR server program files should be installed and then click Next.
At the "Select Firewall Configuration" screen, choose whether you would like the installer to create firewall exceptions for the SignalR port and the Web Service API ports. Click Next to continue.
Note: If a port number other than the default (port 1414) was defined earlier in this wizard, that port will be opened and not the default.
At the "Select Administrators Group" screen, continue with the default groups, or enter custom groups and then click Next.
Note: The administrators groups are not created automatically. They must be created in advance. Please refer to the StifleR Administrative Security Groups section.
At the "Ready to install..." screen, click Install to begin the installation.
At the "Completed" screen, the installation wizard is complete. Click Finish and enjoy a nice cup of tea, you’ve earned it.
Configuring the StifleR Rules XML Site
The StifleR client will check through its queue of active downloads (both BITS and DO) and will prioritize them according to a locally held XML configuration file referred to as the StifleR Rules XML file. The Stifler Rules XML contains a list of content download jobs types and priorities which can centrally managed by an administrator from any web server. When deploying the StifleR Client, one of the installation options is to include the URL hosting the rules file. Clients will download the rules definition XML at a configurable interval. In order to use the StifleR Rules XML file, a website must be created and the StifleRulez.xml file should be copied to the root directory of the website.
The latest version of the StifleRulez.xml file can always be found here: https://github.com/2pintsoftware/StifleRRules/blob/master/StifleRulez.xml
For detailed information regarding the StifleRulez.xml file, see the following page: StifleRulez.xml Configuration Guide
IIS Installation Requirement
The minimum IIS role and features required can be installed by using the following PowerShell command:
File location
Place the StifleRulez.xml in the following folder on the StifleR server:
Create a Virtual folder in IIS
From an elevated PowerShell prompt, execute the following command:
The above command will create a website which you will reference during the StifleR client installation.
Ex: http://yourserverfqdn/StiflerRules/stiflerulez.xml
Note: If you do not configure your own internal rules definition URL, the clients will use a default version of the XML which is included within each client build.
Post Installation Checks
Checking the StifleR Service State
Open services.msc to validate that the 2Pint Software Stifler Server service is installed and running, or run the following PowerShell command and validate that the service is present and running:
Checking the StifleR Installation Directory
If using a licensing file for licensing, check for the License.nfo files. If this is missing the service may not be licensed properly.
Open up the configuration file, StifleR.Service.exe.config, and check that the expected values
are present.
Checking the Event Logs
To validate that the StifleR Server Event Logging structure has been created, execute the following PowerShell command:
Validate the following output:
Checking WMI Configuration
Execute the following PowerShell command to verify that the WMI Class Root\StifleR and methods were created successfully:
Validate the following output:
Execute the following PowerShell command to get the StifleR License information:
Validate the following output:
Checking API Permissions
To test access to the StifleR Server API, open a web browser, and enter the StifleR Server URL such as:
http(s)://servername:9000/api/test
The page should display the results of your permissions such as the example below:
Checking StiflerRules Web Site Availability
To test access to the StifleR Rules Web Site, open a web browser, and enter the StiflerRules URL such as:
http://yourserverfqdn/StiflerRules/stiflerulez.xml
The page should display the contents of the XML file such as the example below:
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