This is the Installation Guide that is distributed with Grindstone Sync Server. It was last updated on April 29, 2019.
The ZIP archive from which this Installation Guide file originated contains the following files:
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor Register Width | 32 bits (x86) | 64 bits (AMD64) |
| Processor Base Frequency | 1.6 GHz | 2.6 GHz |
| Threads or Virtual Processors | 1 | 4 |
| Random Access Memory | 1 GB | 4 GB |
| Service Host Disk Space | 10 MB | |
| Database Disk Space | 50 MB | 250 MB |
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Windows Version | NT 6.2 (Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012) | NT 10.0 (Windows 10 / Windows Server 2016) |
| Microsoft Windows Edition | Professional | Standard Server |
| Microsoft .NET Framework | 4.6.2 | Latest |
| Microsoft SQL Server Version | 2008 | 2017 |
| Microsoft SQL Server Edition | Express | Standard |
| Version | |
|---|---|
| Processor Register Width | 64 bits (AMD64) |
| Microsoft Windows Version | NT 10.0 (Windows 10 / Windows Server 2016) |
| Microsoft .NET Framework | 4.7.2 |
| Microsoft SQL Server Version | 2017 |
+ in the IP Address setting with the specific local IP Address1, press return, and take note of the name of the service account the assistant created (you will need it when configuring SQL Server)1 and press return; otherwise, type 2 and press return2, press return, enter the name, and press return; othirwise type 1 and press return (note: a custom name is only necessary if you will be running multiple Grindstone Sync Servers on the same machine)1 and press return2, press return, type the number corresponding to the appropriate certificate, and press return7 and press returnGrindstoneSync, enter it in the Database setting (note: this should only be necessary if the SQL Server is hosting multiple Grindstone Sync Server databases)db_owner database role for itOpen the Services management console and attempt to start the Grindstone Sync Server service. If the service fails to start, there should be entries in the Windows Event Log that detail why it could not start. If reading such Windows Event Log entries does not lead you to determine that you made a mistake while configuring Grindstone Sync Server or it is not clear what actions you should take to resolve the matter, please contact Epiforge Support so that we may help you diagnose the problem.
Once you have a valid, active license, your Grindstone Sync Server will allow you to connect to it with Grindstone 4 (see: Grindstone 4 Manual: Connecting to Grindstone Sync). Much like a baby velociraptor, Grindstone Sync Server implicitly trusts the first person with whom it comes into contact. This first person to connect via Grindstone will cause your Grindstone Sync Server to lay the foundation for your team's data, creating a person record in the team data for that person. Their login and password will be set to whatever they supplied when connecting from Grindstone. Finally, they will be promoted to an administrator for the team, since there must always be at least one.
Epiforge recommends that the person reading and implementing these instructions (you) be that first person. Afterward, you may create as many additional people in Grindstone with administrator privileges as is appropriate (see: Grindstone 4 Manual: Managing People).
Open the Run Installation Assistant short-cut in order to easily complete the following tasks:
Grindstone Sync Server's settings can be altered by modifying the ConnectionStrings.config and Quantum.Server.config files, or by simply running GSS.exe from the host machine's desktop and adjusting controls available on the Settings tab. The latter is much easier, and is therefore the recommended approach.
Note: Changes made on the Settings tab will not take effect until you click the Save Configuration button on the bottom of the tab. Doing so will cause the changes to take effect immediately, even if that installation of Grindstone Sync Server is currently running as a service. This means that it is not necessary to shutdown or restart the service when making settings changes.
There are five logging levels:
The default for this setting is Normal.
This setting determines the database provider that will be used for the backing store. There is only one option, Microsoft SQL Server / SQL Azure, and it is the default.
This setting is the hostname or IP address of the database server that will host the backing store.
The default is ., which refers to the Microsoft SQL Server instance running on the local machine.
If the Microsoft SQL Server instance you will be using is located on another machine, enter its hostname or IP address as the value of this setting.
Epiforge encourages you to use hostnames over IP addresses for this setting when possible.
This setting is the name of the database hosted by the database server, which will contain the data of the backing store.
The default is GrindstoneSync, but may be called whatever you prefer.
If you have multiple Grindstone Sync Server installations using the same Microsoft SQL Server instance as their backing stores, each installation must each have its own database.
If the database does not exist when Grindstone Sync Server first connects, it will attempt to create it if it has permission to do so.
Since it is generally not desired that an application's access to Microsoft SQL Server includes a server role with permission to create a database, you may choose to create a database with the appropriate name and grant Grindstone Sync Server's service account access to this database prior to starting Grindstone Sync Server as a service.
In any case, Grindstone Sync Server should be connecting with the db_owner database role for its own database so that it can manage its schema.
This setting determines how Grindstone Sync Server will authenticate with Microsoft SQL Server. The options are:
The default is Trusted Connection. Login and Password is not advised, as it will result in a Microsoft SQL Server login and password being stored in plain text within Grindstone Sync Server's configuration files.
This setting is only applicable if your database is, in fact, a SQL Azure database hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud. If it is a SQL Azure database, enable this setting. If it is not, disable this setting. The default is disabled.
When the setting is enabled, two additional settings are available which govern how Grindstone Sync Server will react when Azure's background maintenance makes your SQL Azure database temporarily unavailable:
This setting determines the operating mode of Grindstone Sync Server:
The default is Server. Use of the Cloud mode by non-Epiforge entities is not supported.
This setting determines whether Grindstone Sync Server will wait for the database to acknowledge that it has committed the time a client last synchronized before allowing the client and changes from other clients to proceed. This default is enabled. Disabling this setting is not supported.
This setting determines whether Grindstone Sync Server will wait for the database to acknowledge that it has committed each client's pending change set before allowing further changes to proceed. The default is enabled. Disabling this setting is not supported.
This setting determines how long Grindstone Sync Server will keep your team's data loaded into memory before unloading it after your team has been idle to conserve memory.
However, keeping your team's data loaded for longer will make it less likely that the data will have to be reloaded from the database when your team resumes working, which will make Grindstone Sync more responsive.
The default value is 00:15:00 (fifteen minutes).
If you wish the setting to be greater than or equal to twenty-four hours, you must prefix the number of days with a period—for example, a day and a half would be: 1.12:00.00.
This setting determines the maximum amount of times a client attempting to pair with your Grindstone Sync Server may offer invalid credentials before it will be permitted no further attempts within the window defined by the setting below.
The default is 5.
This setting determines the size of the window described by the setting above. The default is 01:00:00 (one hour).
This setting specifies how Grindstone Sync Server determines whether it will provide details concerning errors that arise as a result of a request to the client that made it:
The default is LocalOnly.
This setting determines whether Grindstone Sync Server will automatically report unexpected errors it encounters to Epiforge. The default is disabled. Epiforge encourages you to enable this setting to help us make improvements to Grindstone Sync Server. Error reports are not intended to include any identifying or proprietary information, but it is possible since Microsoft and .NET base class libraries may include it on rare occassions and Epiforge makes no attempt to scrub it.
This setting determines the IP address upon which Grindstone Sync Server will listen for client requests.
The default is + (which means all local IP addresses).
If you want Grindstone Sync Server to use only one network interface, specify its IP address using this setting.
Note: Licenses incorporate this setting. Changing it will cause your current licenses to be invalidated. Epiforge Support can re-issue licenses to you in the event that you need to change this setting.
This setting determines the port upon which Grindstone Sync Server will listen for client requests.
The default is 6457.
You may choose any valid port you like that is not already in use on your machine, but keep in mind that the port to which all Epiforge apps and forms will default is 6457.
Note: Licenses incorporate this setting. Changing it will cause your current licenses to be invalidated. Epiforge Support can re-issue licenses to you in the event that you need to change this setting.
This setting tells Grindstone Sync Server whether it should expect that you've associated an SSL server certificate to the port upon which it is listening. The default is disabled. Enable this setting if you have associated an SSL server certificate to the port upon which Grindstone Sync Server is listening.
This setting is only used by Grindstone Sync Server installations operating in the Cloud mode. It will have no effect for your Grindstone Sync Server installation.
Grindstone Sync Server operates using licenses available for purchase via the Epiforge website. Licenses incorporate the following details:
Grindstone Sync Server automatically applies any changes you make on the License tab immediately, so you do not need to shutdown or restart its Windows Service when managing your licenses.