By Wally Johnson
Created on 03.04.2004

Technical Note Summary:

The purpose of this technical note is to assist librarians with the installation of the Alexandria client software. This document was created for use with Alexandria 5.4.4.

What is a client?

In terms of computer systems a client is a computer which requests the services of another computer. The computer that provides those services is often called a server. In Alexandria, the server is called the Alexandria Data Station. This machine houses the data and is able to perform all functions. In Alexandria, clients include Alexandria Research Work Station, Alexandria Librarian Station and Web clients. Clients are able to access and manipulate the data over the network, provided that the Alexandria Data Station computer is on and running Alexandria.

NOTE: CERTAIN CLIENTS HAVE MORE ACCESS AND ABILITY TO MANIPULATE THE DATA BUILT INTO THEM. ALL CLIENTS MAY HAVE THEIR ABILITY TO ACCESS OR MANIPULATE DATA LIMITED BY LOGIN AND SECURITY OPTIONS SET ON THE ALEXANDRIA DATA STATION.

Alexandria clients can be subdivided into groups by connection type or by function. The two subsets of clients based on connection are: Work Stations and Web clients. Work Stations include the Librarian Work Station and Research Work Station. Web clients include Web Researchers and Advanced Web, and are discussed further in the Alexandria User's Manual. Another distinction by which clients can be separated is by functions; Web Researchers and Research Work Stations have similarly limited abilities, allowing only a few functions such as searching, placing holds and reservations. On the other hand, Librarian Work Stations and Advanced Web allow users to run searches, reports, utilities, and circulate. Again, all clients can have access to the data, however, the ability to change the data is controlled by preferences that are set on the Data Station or Librarian Work Station client.

The number and type of clients is controlled by the registration information entered on the Data Station. A variety of licenses can be purchased to include five, fifteen or unlimited users. All connections, whether by work station or web, are counted and connections will be denied if the maximum number of users is exceeded. Work station clients are given preferential treatment over web clients.

Preparing to Install

In Alexandria 5.4.4, clients may be installed using a web browser. Prior to installing clients through a web browser, some data must be gathered about the Data Station and the machine the client is being installed on. This information includes:

Most of the information about the Data Station can be found by running the System Analysis report. To run the System Analysis, from the Data Station, click on Reports and then Special Reports. Change the Report Name to System Analysis and click on Print. The report will print to screen, but for convenience it may be helpful to print the report by clicking on File and Print.

The version number of Alexandria will also appear near the top of the report (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – System Analysis.

The IP address of the Data Station can be found near the bottom of the report (Figure 2).

Figure 2 – System Analysis

To prevent unauthorized installation of a Library Work Station, when installing via a web browser, a valid Alexandria user and password must be provided. This information can be found on the Data Station in the Administration preferences.

If the Data Station is running Alexandria 5.4.4 revision C or higher, the Administration preferences can be accessed by clicking on Edit and then Preferences and then selecting Administration and Global from the drop down menus at the top of the Preference window. In version 5.4.4 through 5.4.4 revision B the Administration preferences are found by click on Edit and then Preferences (Figure 3).

NOTE: IN ALEXANDRIA 5.4.4 REVISION C, THE PREFERENCES ARE DIVIDED INTO LOCAL, LOCAL DEFAULT AND GLOBAL. THIS CHANGE WAS ADDED TO HELP USERS DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PREFERENCES THAT VARY FROM ONE MACHINE TO THE NEXT AND THOSE WHICH ARE GLOBAL. FOR ALEXANDRIA USERS THAT ARE RUNNING ALEXANDRIA 5.4.4 REVISION B OR EARLIER, IGNORE THE ADDITIONAL MENU IN THE FIGURES SHOWN IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Figure 3 - Administration Preference

If there are no Alexandria users, one must be added that has a Security Level of at least Library Administrator. If a user already exists, but the password is unknown, simply double click on the username and change the password and confirmation password.

NOTE: PASSWORD/SERCURITY DOES NOT NEED TO BE ENABLED TO INSTALL CLIENTS.

If the Researcher Web Installation Password has been modified, the new password must be entered to authenticate before installation can begin. The Researcher Web Installation Password can be found by going to Edit and Preferences and choosing Alexandria Researcher and Local Default from the drop down menus at the top of the preference window. The password is left blank by default. To maintain security, if there is a password, it will show as several asterisks.

To find the port Alexandria is broadcasting on, go to Edit and then Preferences, change the first drop down menu to Web and the second (if applicable) to Global. The port number will be listed, which by default is 80.

NOTE: WEB PREFERENCES ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN ALEXANDRIA 5.4.4 REVISION C AND HIGHER, OR IF THE LICENSE INCLUDES ALEXANDRIA WEB.

In order to install through a web browser, the browser must support Java plug-in 1.3.1 or higher. Most browsers support Java, however older versions of browsers may not support the latest versions of Java properly. To install Java, visit http://www.java.com/en/download. At the creation of this document, the latest available release of Java is 1.4.2, and all versions from 1.3.1 to 1.4.2 have been tested and are supported. For inquiries about the compatibility of a later version of Java, please contact technical support.

NOTE: JAVA IS A SUN MICROSYSTEM, INC. PRODUCT, AND IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH COMPANION CORP. ALL LISENCING, INSTALLATION AND SUPPORT QUESTIONS MUST BE DIRECTED TO SUN MICROSYSTEM, INC.

Installing Clients through a Web Browser

On the computer that will become an Alexandria client, open a web browser. For Windows or Macintosh OS X client installations, in the address (URL) field of the browser, type http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX:YYYY/install. In this case XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX represents the IP address of the Data Station, and YYYY represents the port that Alexandria is broadcasting on. If Alexandria's Web Preferences are set to port 80, the colon and port number should not be entered.

For OS 9, type http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX:YYYY/install_mac, where XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is the IP address of the Data Station and YYYY is the port Alexandria using for web. Again, if Alexandria's Web Preferences are set to port 80, the colon and port number should not be entered.

NOTE: THE WORD "INSTALL" SHOULD BE ENTERED IN LOWER CASE LETTERS.

If an applet error message appears, it is likely that Java has not been installed properly.

An authorization screen may appear. Authorization must be granted before the installation page will finish loading. The Librarian or Research Work Station may then be installed by clicking on the appropriate button.

Figure 4 – Web Installer Page

The Librarian Work Station installation requires the authentication of a valid Alexandria user of Library Administrator or higher.

The Researcher Work Station installation will prompt for a password that can be left blank, unless the Researcher Web Installation Password has been modified. If the password field has been modified, the password must be entered to authenticate for installation.

Once authentication has completed, the client software will begin to transfer. Several files must be transferred. The files will be transmitted one at a time. The status bar will show the name of the file being transferred and the progress of that file.

The installation will create a folder on the desktop called Alexandria which will contain all the client software. The application will be called Alexandria Researcher or Alexandria Librarian depending on the type of client that was installed. The Alexandria folder may be moved to any location on a local hard drive. Shortcuts and aliases can be created from the applications and placed on the desktop or another convenient location.

NOTE: IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ON INSTALLING CLIENTS, PLEASE CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT AT (800) 347-4942.