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Help / WEBDEV Tutorial / Tutorial - Deploying a website
  • Lesson 1 - Website deployment requirements
  • Overview
  • Installing and configuring "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections"
  • Installing "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections"
  • Configuration via WEBDEV Account Manager
  • Creating a deployment account

Tutorial - Deploying a website

Lesson 1 - Website deployment requirements
We will cover the following topics:
  • Installing WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections.
  • Using WEBDEV Account Manager.
Durée de la leçon 30 min
Overview
When the WEBDEV website is developed, it must be deployed to a server in order to make it accessible to the users.
Let's look at the various steps involved in deploying a dynamic WEBDEV website on a Windows server.
If you are using a Linux server, see the documentation about WEBDEV Application Server for Linux.

To deploy a WEBDEV website on the server, the following elements must have been installed and configured:
  • A web server,
  • A WEBDEV Application Server.
To simplify the deployment operations and allow you to directly test the deployment of your website, we will:
  • Install "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections" on a Windows computer. This application server must be installed on a computer other than the development computer.
    Warning
    WEBDEV must not be installed on the same computer.
  • Deploy the website remotely (via HTTP). The deployment process is detailed in lesson 2 of this tutorial.
If you already have the parameters to access the server to which your website will be deployed, there is no need to install "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections". You can start the installation directly on the server via HTTP (skip to lesson 2).
Installing and configuring "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections"
The setup program of "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections" is available:
  • in the WEBDEV installation package (if you have chosen to download the WEBDEV Application Server setup). In this case, run "Menu.exe" and select "Install WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections".
  • on windev.com, on the WEBDEV download page, "Download WEBDEV 2024", then "WEBDEV 2024 Application Server (Deployment)".

Installing "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections"

The installation steps are as follows:
  1. Select "Install limited version (10 connections)". Go to the next step.
  2. Accept the license agreement. Proceed to the next step of the wizard.
  3. Select the installation path of the Application Server ("C:\WEBDEV" by default).
  4. The next step allows you to specify the root directory for deploying websites and web services. Keep the default path and go to the next step.
  5. If it is the first time you install WEBDEV Application Server, specify the parameters of the Windows account that will be used as WEBDEV administrator. This account will also be called "Hosting account".
    You can create a new Windows account or use an existing Windows account.

    Select an option and go to the next step.
  6. If a previous version of WEBDEV Application Server has already been installed on the computer, the wizard allows you to:
    • manage the websites and web services from earlier versions. Keep the "Keep sites in their current versions" option and go to the next step.
    • import WEBDEV accounts. Keep the option "Don't import existing accounts" and go to the next step. Enter the login credentials of the Windows account that will be used as WEBDEV administrator. This account will also be called "Hosting account".
      You can create a new Windows account or use an existing Windows account.
      Select an option and go to the next step.
  7. The next step allows you to manage the hosting of SaaS websites. The SaaS activation automatically installs a website and a web service to manage your SaaS websites. For more details, see SaaS. Validate this step.
  8. In the next step, you can specify that a secure connection is required to access all remote administration sites.
  9. In the next step, you can define the advanced settings of WEBDEV Application Server.
    Keep the default options.
  10. Validate the different setup steps.
  11. If an IIS WEB server is installed on the computer, the wizard prompts you to configure it for WEBDEV.
  12. If the computer contains several virtual servers, select the web servers on which the WEBDEV Application Server must be installed. You can keep the default website. Validate.
  13. The wizard presents different options: select the desired options and keep "Start the WEBDEV administrator". Validate.
    The "View the user guide" option automatically displays the WEBDEV Application Server help at the end of the installation process. This help may help you solve configuration problems linked to access rights on the server.
  14. "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections" is automatically configured. WEBDEV websites can be deployed immediately.
  15. The WEBDEV administrator and WEBDEV Account Manager are automatically started.

Configuration via WEBDEV Account Manager

When "WEBDEV Application Server - 10 connections" is installed, a Windows account is created or defined as administrator of the WEBDEV Application Server. This user has all the rights (administration, deployment, statistics).
To configure the different characteristics of this user or define a specific user to deploy your websites, you can use WEBDEV Account Manager.
Reminder: WEBDEV Account Manager is a tool designed to automatically configure the following elements:
  • WEBDEV Application Server,
  • Web server (IIS),
  • FTP server (IIS). The FTP server must be configured only for an installation via FTP.
If necessary, open WEBDEV Account Manager from the Windows Start menu
First, we will see the different parameters available in WEBDEV Account Manager.
To view the different parameters:
  1. Click "Directories" in the "Hosting parameters" group to configure the directories used by your server.
    Remark: The different options of this group allow you to define the parameters that will be used by default for your hosting server.
  2. Indicate where the sites will be installed. Choose the root directory where the subdirectories of the WEBDEV accounts will be created.
    Use a local directory. If you use a network directory, you need to specify a UNC path. Guest users must be able to access this path without the need for authentication.

    You can choose the names of the subdirectories that will contain the websites, web services and data.
  3. Click "Windows groups" and define the groups to which the Windows users created for the deployment will be assigned.
    For the deployment, you can create a group or use the standard "Power Users" group.
    To run websites, it is recommended to use the "IIS_IUSRS" group (on Windows versions where it is available).
    Click "Apply" to confirm.
  4. Click "Limits" to specify the resource limitations to be applied to WEBDEV accounts:
    • Maximum number of connections shared between the websites (0 corresponds to an unlimited number),
    • Limitation of the number of websites that can be associated with an account, etc.
  5. Click "HFSQL Client/Server database" to configure a new HFSQL database each time a user is created.
  6. Once the hosting is configured, click "Apply" then the "Refresh" button (if this button is proposed).

Creating a deployment account

WEBDEV Account Manager can also be used to create a deployment account.
This account can be used to deploy WEBDEV websites from WEBDEV.
To create a deployment account:
  1. Click the "New user" button. The user creation wizard starts. Simply follow the different steps.
    Remark: If necessary, WEBDEV Account Manager will prompt you to define an administration group. In this example, answer "Yes" to the question "Continue without this group?".
  2. You can:
    • Create a Windows account. This account will be used for deploying and configuring your websites.
    • Use an existing Windows account.
    In this example we will create a Windows account. Enter the username and password (you can also generate the password. In that case, don't forget to write it down).
    Go to the next step of the wizard.
  3. The wizard presents the WEBDEV options associated with the account:
    Keep the default options and go to the next step.
  4. The wizard suggests a Windows account to run the applications. Keep the default options and go to the next step of the wizard.
  5. Enter the user details. Go to the next step.
  6. The directories of the user account are automatically filled according to the specified data.
  7. Continue with the wizard until you reach the "Virtual website" step.
    • If you choose to create a new virtual website, simply enter the DNS name that will point to this site (the DNS must also be configured).
    • If you choose to use an existing virtual website, its configuration will be replaced.
  8. Go to the next step.
  9. In this step you can specify whether FTP access and deployment should be allowed for the user. In our case, this option is not necessary because we will perform an HTTP deployment. Go to the next step.
  10. The wizard is finished. Check all choices. You can uncheck the operations you don't want the wizard to perform for you.
  11. Finish the wizard. Your server is now ready to host WEBDEV websites. We will use the user we created to test the deployment of a website via HTTP.
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  • Version 2024
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Last update: 12/08/2023

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