Installing the Server

Softalk Share Server may be installed on any Windows computer running Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server or Windows Vista operating system.

To begin the server installation, run the SoftalkShareServer.exe application.

Press Next to proceed. Read the terms and conditions of the end user licence agreement and press the Accept button.

The next page lets you choose whether or not to run Softalk Share Server as an executable or a service. If you choose to run Softalk Share Server as a Windows service, you will be asked to choose a user, under whose context the service will run.

You may choose Local System Account, but only if you plan to authenticate using Softalk Share Server authentication. The Local System Account does not have sufficient rights to authenticate against the Active Directory. In fact the Local System Account only has sufficient permissions to access the resources on the local computer. So, for example, if you were to configure Softalk Share Server to use a SQL Server database, as the back end storage, that was located on a different computer to the Softalk Share Server computer, you would not be able to use the Local System Account as the user context for the Softalk Share Server Windows service. In this case, and in the case of Active Directory authentication, you must run the service under the context of a user that has access to these resources.

By default, when you select Install Softalk Share Server as a Windows service, Setup will choose the current user as the Log On user for the service. You simply need to enter the Windows password for this user.

The next page lets you choose the folder to which Softalk Share Server program files will be installed and the location where the data files will reside. If you choose to run Softalk Share Server with a JET database, then the database file will also reside in the specified data folder.

Enter your organization name, your own name and email address into the next page of the setup wizard and press Next.

The following page lets you choose which database platform to use for the Softalk Share Server. You may choose either a Jet database, a SQL Server Express database or a SQL Server database.

A Jet database is suitable for small teams, up to 10 users, each sharing Outlook where there are fewer than ten thousand items in any one folder. For a more scalable solution, which can accommodate up to 250 users with much larger folder sizes, you should use a SQL Server or SQL Server Express database.

The SQL Server Express Database option is the standard database for use with Softalk Share Server.

If you select this option then the next page in the Setup wizard will ask you whether you wish to install SQL Server Express on this computer or use an existing SQL Server database from another server.

SQL Server is recommended for large organizations with in excess of 250 users or for organizations with particularly high throughputs of data using Outlook. Licenses for SQL Server are not supplied with Softalk Share Server, however licenses for SQL Server Express are free for use with Softalk Share Server.

Once you have selected the database to use, press Next.

The Summary page of the Setup Wizard summarizes the options you have chosen during Setup. Press Finish to complete the installation of the Softalk Share Server.

During the setup process, if you have previously installed Softalk Collaboration Suite or any of its component products on this computer, you will see a message box asking if you wish to migrate your Softalk Collaboration Suite data.

If you choose Yes, Setup will import all the users, public folders and any relevant access levels into the Softalk Share Server database.

If you chose to migrate your PST data into Softalk Share Server, Setup will show you the migration status as it migrates the data.

Once the installation has completed, a Successfully Installed dialog box is displayed.

Once the installation of the server software is complete, the next step is to add users and then install the client software for those users. When you press OK on the Successfully Installed dialog box, the Administrator program will be launched, giving you the opportunity to add users.