How to install Dashboard Server SCOM Edition

Installing Dashboard Server takes just 5 minutes. It can be installed on any server and does not require any new databases or SCOM Management Packs.

You'll probably install Dashboard Server in a test environment first, so this guide is designed to get you up and running as quickly as possible.

When you're ready to deploy into production you may have a few questions - such as upgrades and designing for high availability - which we cover in our Deployment FAQ.

This articles covers how to install SCOM Edition for the first time.

If you have an earlier version of SCOM Edition already installed, then the installer will upgrade your installation:

• For upgrades to the next major version, such as v4 to v5, or v3 to v4, the installer will default to installing side-by-side to your previous instance, see
  • How to migrate from Dashboard Server SCOM Edition v3 to v4
  • How to migrate from Dashboard Server SCOM Edition v4 to v5
• For upgrades to a minor version, such as v4.6.0 to v4.8.1, or v5.0 to v5.0.1, see How to upgrade Dashboard Server SCOM Edition

Video Guide

The video below (4 mins) runs through the steps detailed in this article:

What you need

• A downloaded installer

• Your Dashboard Server SCOM Edition license activation key. You will have received this by email following your purchase or free trial.
• A server to install on (see below)

• A compatible browser (make sure the server's default browser is not set to Internet Explorer)

Dashboard Server works best with the latest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Safari on desktop & mobile.

On Dashboard Server v5 Internet Explorer is not supported. Older browsers may show a blank page.

On Dashboard Server v4 Internet Explorer 9 and earlier versions are not supported.

• The name of your SCOM management server
• A user who has SCOM admin permissions, and also ideally SQL database admin permissions for the SCOM Data Warehouse
  • Types of users in Dashboard Server
  • How to make a user a SQL sysadmin

A restart of the server may be required.

Where to install

Dashboard Server SCOM Edition can be installed on any Windows Server machine in your environment. The setup application will automatically install IIS and any other prerequisites. The only dependency is that the server will need access to your SCOM Management Server and your SCOM Data Warehouse server. (If you want, you can even install it on one of these two servers.)

As Internet Explorer is not supported, check that another browser is set as the server's default browser (search Windows > default apps).

Here is what we recommend:

• Ideally, provision a new server dedicated to hosting Dashboard Server
• Alternatively, install it on an existing SCOM Web Console Server
• Or install it on a SCOM Management Server

For more information, see System Requirements, Server Spec and Sizing

Run the installer

1. Run the installer .exe on the machine that you want to be your Dashboard Server server.

2. Click Next

   

3. Accept the License Agreement and click Install.

   

   Prerequisites will be installed if not installed already.

   A restart of the server may be required.

   If your server has restarted the install should resume when the server restarts, but you may need to click Deploy Dashboard Server from the Start menu.

4. Click Next to move on to check the deployment location.

   If you have an earlier version of Dashboard Server installed, the installer will default to installing side-by-side to your previous instance. For full details of the recommendations and options see How to migrate from Dashboard Server SCOM Edition v3 to v4 or How to migrate from Dashboard Server SCOM Edition v4 to v5

   

5. Check the installation details and click next.

   

   Deployment location settings

   Dashboard Server can be installed in two different layouts:

   • As an application as a subfolder of the Default Web Site. This is the default installer layout.

   • At the website root, this layout is used to deploy Dashboard Server to a dedicated web site.

   Application

   

   The default installer layout is Application and the physical path is configured as a subfolder of the Default Web Site. The Dashboard Server installer will create the application and app pool automatically based on the information that is provided, assuming that the Default Web Site exists.

   

   While the physical path in this configuration does not necessarily need to be a subfolder of the web site’s physical path, it must not be set to the same path as the web site. For instance, if the Default Web Site’s physical path is C:\inetpub\wwwroot as shown in the screenshot below, then the Physical disk path set in the Dashboard Server installer would typically be C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv5, but it must not be C:\inetpub\wwwroot. Doing this would cause Dashboard Server to exhibit unexpected behavior.

   

   This layout should also be selected if Dashboard Server is to be installed as an Application underneath a web site other than the Default Web Site. As is the case with installing to the Default Web Site, the target web site must already exist in IIS. Update the Website field on the Paths tab of the installer to match the target web site name and set the Physical disk path field to an appropriate path, ensuring that this path is different to the target web site’s physical path.

   Website root

   

   The Website root layout is used to deploy Dashboard Server to a dedicated web site. In this instance, the Physical disk path will match the web site’s physical path. The Dashboard Server installer will create the web site and application pool automatically using the information provided, so there is no need to manually create the web site prior to installing Dashboard Server.

   

   

   Setting the Pool Identity

   With the layout selected, the log on account for the Dashboard Server app pool can be configured. By default this is set to Network Service, but it can be changed to a domain account if needed:

   

   See How to check and modify the application pool identity

   Configuring the SCOM Management Server Address

   Optionally, the SCOM server address can be entered into the installer at this point, but this information is also requested later on in the installation wizard.

   

6. Enter the fully qualified domain name of your SCOM Management server and click Deploy.

   

   

7. If SSL is not already configured for the chosen website, then the Configure SSL Binding page will appear. You will need to choose whether you want to configure an SSL certificate.

   Existing Certificate	Use this option to choose an existing SSL certificate.
   Create Self-Signed Certificate	The installer will create a new self-signed certificate, set to expire after 12 months.
   None	This will not configure any SSL bindings. You can configure an appropriate binding manually within IIS later if you wish.

   For more information about these options see How to configure TLS/SSL (HTTPS)

   

8. Click Finish once the deployment is complete.

   

Logon to Dashboard Server for the first time

Clicking Launch at the end of the installation will open Dashboard Server SCOM Edition in a browser.

If it doesn't open automatically browse to the URL for Dashboard Server, which by default on the server is http://localhost/SquaredUpv5 (or for v4 it is http://localhost/SquaredUpv4).

If the browser appears blank when browsing to Dashboard Server, ensure the server's default browser is not set to Internet Explorer, which is no longer supported. To check your default browser, search Windows > default apps.

Supported browsers

Dashboard Server works best with the latest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Safari on desktop & mobile.

On Dashboard Server v5 Internet Explorer is not supported. Older browsers may show a blank page.

On Dashboard Server v4 Internet Explorer 9 and earlier versions are not supported.

Before you can get started, Dashboard Server SCOM Edition has to complete some final configuration of your environment, such as activating your license and configuring the connection to the SCOM Data Warehouse.

Dashboard Server setup wizard

1. Log in to Dashboard Server as a SCOM administrator user, who is also a SQL sysadmin (How to make a user a SQL sysadmin) for the SCOM Data Warehouse database.

   

   If you are unable to log in to Dashboard Server, then you should open the scom.json file to check that the SCOM server name is correct: Go to File, Run, type notepad, right-click and select Run as administrator and open C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv[Verson Number]\User\Configuration\scom.json

   For example:

   C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv5\User\Configuration\scom.json

2. Paste in your activation key, and click Activate.

   You will have received your activation key by email following your purchase or free trial.

   If you have not received a license key please contact SquaredUp Support.

   

   If your server is not connected to the internet (or the online activation didn't work because of proxy settings) click offline activation (see How to activate your license offline (manual activation))

   If you see a message that the maximum number of activations has been exceeded see "License already activated" or "Maximum activations reached".

3. Click Setup to configure the connection to the Data Warehouse.

   

   Dashboard Server connects to the Data Warehouse to show performance metrics and other data. This page will automatically add the permissions necessary for Dashboard Server to read the data from the Data Warehouse.

   If you see an error saying the login failed, see this article "Login failed for user" when configuring the Data Warehouse.

   If the Data Warehouse connection can't be configured automatically, you can configure the Data Warehouse Permissions Manually (see Manually creating the Data Warehouse permissions).

   

4. Click Setup to configure Open Access.

   

5. Click Next to continue, once Open Access has been configured.

   

6. Click Import to import the recommended management packs. Enterprise Application Monitoring requires several additional SCOM management packs. The Core Library enables Enterprise Applications to be saved into and monitored by SCOM, others provide a number of useful SCOM Agent Tasks to allow discovery to run in Visual Application Discovery & Analysis (VADA).

   

7. Click Download to import a set of recommended Dashboard Packs. The list of Dashboard Packs available is based on the SCOM management packs you have installed.
   You can click on the relevant dashboard packs link to deselect any dashboard packs you don't wish to install. Further Dashboard Packs can be installed once the setup is complete.

   
   

8. Setup is now complete and the Getting Started page will be displayed.

If you have queries about how you might deploy Dashboard Server into your production environment see Deployment FAQ.

Next steps

We've put together a short guide on some of the best features you'll want to check out in our Getting Started Guide (see Welcome to Dashboard Server SCOM Edition).