Installing Exago on Windows

Exago runs on the web server application Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). The following sections walk through the installation process for Windows based systems.

This accompanying video is from the Technical Training Series. To see the other videos in this series, start with the Introduction to Technical Training Series.

Prerequisites

• See Considerations When Sizing an Exago System to ensure that you have sufficient hardware to run Exago.
• See Technical Specifications to ensure you have the minimum software requirements to run Exago.
• See Configuring IIS for Exago BI to ensure that IIS is installed and configured correctly.

Installation

If you are upgrading an existing Exago installation, please ensure that the file eWebReportsManifest.txt is present in the install directory. Otherwise, the installer will overwrite any custom config or styling you’ve applied.

Download the Exago installer from our Downloads page.

Run the installer as an administrator. The installation menu will appear with three downloadable applications. Click the top icon to install the Exago Web Application, as pictured below.

If Windows Defender prevents this installation, it may be bypassed by clicking “More Info” and then selecting “Run Anyway.”

Follow the steps in the wizard to install Exago. You may optionally choose to install the Scheduler Service and the REST Web Service API with this wizard.

Even though the installer has finished, Exago will most likely not function at this point. Continue with configuration.

Create the Directory Structure

After the installation is complete, configure Exago using the following steps.

1. Set permissions for the Config folder:
   1. Right click on the folder named “Config” and click Properties.
      

      

   2. In the Security tab click “Edit” then “Add.” Enter the IIS application pool user (default IIS_IUSRS).
      

      

   3. In the “Permissions for Config” window select the user that was just created and select “Full Control” permissions.
      

      

2. Repeat this process for the ApplicationThemes, MapCache and Drivers folders (the latter is only required if a CData Driver is being utilized.)
   

   Important:

   As of v2024.2.1, CData drivers are no longer available for use in Exago BI products. See CData Drivers.

3. For pre-v2020.1, create a folder for storing reports. This folder needs to be accessible from the web server, but is not required to be on the web server. It can reside on any server accessible by Exago via direct UNC or virtual path created in IIS.
   

   

   Do not create this folder within the Exago application structure. Doing so will cause ASP.NET sessions to crash when report folders are created or deleted within the Exago application.

   • Give the Report Folder full control privileges for the IIS application pool user. Below are three examples of report paths to the folder Reports:
     • C:\Reports – Folder is on a file system.
     • \Server NameReports – Physical folder is on a separate server.
     • /Reports – Assumes an IIS virtual directory called ‘Reports‘ has been created to point to the folder.
4. Create a folder for storing temporary data. By default this is a sub-folder of Exago called ‘Temp‘. However it is recommended to not use the install path’s temp folder in production environments. Give the Temp folder full control privileges for the IIS application pool user.
5. Point a browser to the Admin Console. By default this is http://<YourServer>/Exago/Admin.aspx.
   • For v2020.1+, setup the Storage Management system for storing reports, templates and themes.
     • Upgrade Install — If upgrading from a previous version of Exago, review these topics:
       • Storage Management: Introduction
       • Storage Management: Getting Started
       • SStorage Management: Transitioning from Legacy Storage Methods
     • New Install — If this is a new installation, review these topics:
       • Storage Management: Introduction
       • Storage Management: Getting Started
       • Storage Management
   • For pre-v2020.1, in the General > Main Settings section, specify the location of the Report Folder in the ‘Report Path‘ setting. Verify the connection is successful by clicking theicon.
   • For all versions, in the General > Main Settings section, specify the location of the Temp Folder in the ‘Temp Path‘ setting.

What’s Next

Point a browser to the Admin Console to verify that the installation was successful. By default this is http://<YourServer>/Exago/admin.asp

At this point you will need to set up data sources and data objects to use Exago. See Data Sources and Data Objects.

Important:

As of v2024.2.1, CData drivers are no longer available for use in Exago BI products. See CData Drivers.

To set up any downloadable Application Themes, Google Maps and/or GeoCharts, see Installing Optional Features.

If you need more information, contact Exago Support.

Resources

• Configuring IIS for Exago BI — Necessary configuration details for IIS.
• Installing the Scheduler Service — Scheduler config info.
• REST — Getting Started — Web service config info.
• Installing Optional Features — How to set up Google Maps and GeoCharts
• Admin Support Lab — Upgrading (video)