Epicor Service Connect

Installation and Implementation Guide

Version 9.05.607

Disclaimer Copyright 2011 by Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Epicor Software Corporation. Epicor, Vantage, and Vista are registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Microsoft product screen shots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. Epicor Software Corporation makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents of this document and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability, satisfactory quality or fitness for any particular purpose. The contents of this document are believed to be current and accurate as of its date of publication. Changes to this document between reprintings and other important information about the software product are made or published in release notes, and you are urged to obtain the current release notes for the software product. We welcome user comments and reserve the right to revise this publication and/or make improvements or changes to the products or programs described in this publication at any time without notice. The usage of any Epicor Software shall be pursuant to an Epicor end user license agreement and the performance of any consulting services by Epicor personnel shall be pursuant to Epicors standard services terms and conditions.

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Contents

Chapter 1: Getting Started ................................................................................................. 4

Introduction to Epicor Service Connect ................................................................................................. 4 Administration Console ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Service Connect Framework ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Task Monitor ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Tools ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Hardware and Software requirements ................................................................................................... 5 Hardware Requirements ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Software Requirements ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 32Bit vs 64Bit Installation ................................................................................................................................................... 6

Chapter 2: Installation ........................................................................................................ 7

How to install Epicor Service Connect Server ....................................................................................... 7

How to install Epicor Service Connect Client ........................................................................................ 9 Epicor Service Connect DCOM Configuration ................................................................................... 11

SC Server ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 SC Client ............................................................................................................................................................................. 13 SQL Server ......................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Epicor 9.0 Web Services ......................................................................................................................... 14 Epicor Service Connect Task Monitor ................................................................................................. 14

Chapter 3: Implementation .............................................................................................. 15

Getting Started with Implementation ................................................................................................... 15 Concepts................................................................................................................................................... 15

Understanding business documents ................................................................................................................................. 15 Understanding workflows ................................................................................................................................................. 15

Tasks ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 Registering documents ...................................................................................................................................................... 16 Importing web-services ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Setting up communication channels ................................................................................................................................. 16 Creating workflows ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 Setting up message map .................................................................................................................................................... 16

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Chapter 1: Getting Started

Introduction to Epicor Service Connect

Service Connect provides a power and flexible environment to support specific collaborative processes, connecting different business entities, applications or users.

Whats in this application

Service Connect consists of four major parts: Service Connect Framework, Tools, Task Monitor and Administration Console. These components can be used to create and run custom, flexible workflows that accept different formats of data and allow processing of this data using various services available with web-service technology.

The following graphic shows an architectural overview of the system:

Important: Please do not try to install Service Connect {Standalone} on top of an existing iScala installation. Service Connect for iScala is installed as part of iScala package.

Service Connect {Standalone} package is created to install Service Connect on a server separate from iScala in order to use SC with other systems (Epicor, Vantage, E4SE, etc.).

Administration Console

The Service Connect Administration Console is Microsoft Management Console (see Microsofts overview) and is used to configure and maintain settings for Service Connect Framework services.

Service Connect Framework

Service Connect Framework is a group of system services that provides main system activities like running communication channels, executing workflows, tracking of documents and system events.

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Task Monitor

Task monitor is a web interface intended to view, track and process user tasks that are assigned during workflow execution.

Tools

A group of tools that help to configure system framework, workflows and document types.

Hardware and Software requirements

The following are the minimum and recommended hardware and software requirements for computer in Epicor Service Connect installation:

Hardware Requirements

Recommended configuration:

Xeon 3GHz class CPU or better. Core 2 Duo 2.4 or better is recommended.

1G RAM. 2GB or more is recommended.

Gigabit network connection.

DVD ROM drive.

Software Requirements

Epicor Service Connect requires specific software to run optimally.

Microsoft Windows 2008/2008 R2 Server, Windows 2008 R2 SP1.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP2 or above, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP2 or above, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft SQL 2008 SP2.

Epicor Service Connect supports any configuration of Microsoft SQL Server:

o SQL Server 2008 x64 and x86 are supported.

o SQL Server 2005 x64 and x86 are supported.

o All collation types for the SQL server are supported: any dictionary order, character set, case-sensitive and case-insensitive search.

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6 or higher (Common files and WWW Server are required, SMTP and FTP are optional).

Microsoft Message Queuing Services (MSMQ) 2.0 (optional).

IBM WebSphere MQ Server or Client 5.1 (or above) (optional) (English version only).

SonicMQ v6.1 CSharp Client for Windows (optional) (unless otherwise stated when a new service pack or hotfix is released).

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4, if the Web2Net Converter utility is used.

Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 2.0 SP3 is a prerequisite for Epicor Service Connect. It is shipped with ESC and installed if needed at the beginning of ESC installation. To be installed successfully, WSE needs Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 as a prerequisite. Even if a different version of WSE is already installed, you should install Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 2.0 SP3.

MSXML 6.0 It is necessary to download and install MSXML 6.0 SP2 form Microsoft site (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-069.mspx) before ESC installation

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1, 7, 8 or 9.

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Important:

No Service Connect installer (SC Server x86, SC Server x64, SC Client) accepts installing on a computer having iScala Server (x86/x64), iScala Client, iScala CRM (x86/x64), iScala WebPA, or Reporting Services Connector (x86/x64) installed. Service Connect standalone and iScala shall not be installed on the same server at the same time, because this would lead to unpredictable behavior of the resulting installation. iScala includes its own version of Service Connect, and therefore there is no need to install SC Standalone and iScala on the same machine.

32Bit vs 64Bit Installation

Service Connect media is available for both 32bit and 64bit installation. Please be sure to go to the appropriate folder according to your server.

All Epicor Web Services (at the time of writing) are certified only for 32bit execution. In order to host Epicor Web Services and/or Service Connect on the same 64bit Windows operating system, it is recommended that IIS 6.0 should be modified (on the 64bit system) to run in 32bit execution mode and, that the 32bit Service Connect should be installed (see below).

IIS 6.0

The 64bit installation should only be used on a 64bit Windows operating system which does not share any 32bit IIS applications. For a 32bit Windows operating system, or, on a 64bit Windows operating system that will share 32bit IIS applications, the 32bit installation media should be used.

To enable IIS 6.0 to run 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows:

1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the %systemdrive%\Inetpub\AdminScripts directory

2. Type the following command

cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32BitAppOnWin64 true

3. Press Enter

For example, if you want to install Epicor Portal, after Service Connect x64 is installed, set Enable32BitAppOnWin64 to False.

Otherwise you will not be able to use 32-bit Epicor Portal installer since environment is x64, and if x64 installer is used it will bring an error that "Operative System is not supported."

All the other applications should be installed with Enable32BitAppOnWin64 set to False.

IIS 7.0

In IIS 7.0 you can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications at the same time.

If you install 64bit Service Connect version, you should set the application pool to 64bit.

If you install 32bit Service Connect version, you should set the application pool to 32bit:

1. Go to Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, and expand the list of Application Pools.

2. Right-click on the EpicorSCPool Application Pool and select Advanced Settings or select the same from the Actions pane after selecting the Application pool

3. Set Enable 32-Bit Application to True

4. Click OK

5. Restart Application Pool

NOTE: You can use 64bit Service Connect with Epicor9 Web Services.

How to install Epicor Service Connect Server

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Chapter 2: Installation Epicor Service Connect has separate installation packages for SC server and SC client. If you want to install server and client on the same machine, start with server installation, and than you are prompted to continue with client installation. You can also install server and client on different machines.

The following features are installed with SC server:

Framework (required)

Web-Based Task Monitor (optional)

Integration Services (optional)

The following features are installed with SC client:

Administration Console (optional)

Developer Tools (optional)

Tools (required)

o Database Converter (required)

o Service Manager (optional)

o DesPoster (optional)

o Workflow Converter (optional)

Help (optional)

How to install Epicor Service Connect Server

Procedure

Installation procedure depends on the presence of earlier versions of SC on the server. If SC 8.1, SC 8.2, or SC 8.3 had been installed, uninstall it by using Add/Remove Programs command (click Start, then Settings, and then Control Panel). If a Hot-Fix was installed on SC 8.1, at this moment some binaries and registration will be left on the server. In most cases, SC 9.05.607 installer properly cleans up the system, but it is highly recommended to control the clean up during SC 9.05.607 installation as explained below.

Follow these steps to install the Epicor Service Connect:

1. Insert the disc labeled Service Connect 9.05.607 Installation CD into the server's CD drive.

2. Navigate to and open the folder named Service Connect Install

3. Double-click Setup.exe

4. [SC 8.1 with HF was installed on the server]: 8.1 uninstaller will be launched automatically. When it finishes cleaning up the system and the Next button is enabled, the clean up results should be checked:

Open Windows Task Manager and check that no Sca* processes are running.

Go to the installation folder of the SC 8.1 and check that no binary files (*.exe and *.dll) are left. Any custom

settings like processes or channels should not be cleaned.

Go to the common files folder and check that no binary files (*.exe and *.dll) are left in the Scala Business Solutions NV folder.

If any of these conditions is not met, uninstaller had failed to clean up the system. In this case, cancel installation, start ScalaSystemCleaner.exe from the SC installation CD and point it to the location where SC 8.1 with HF was installed. After ScalaSystemCleaner.exe has finished clean up, start over the installation of SC 9.05.607.

5. In the Welcome window, click Next.

6. In the License Service Setup window set the following:

Read *.lic license files from this folder. Defaults to the path where from the installation program is launched. You can accept the default location or click Change to specify custom location.

Choose this option if you do not have server with license service of the Service Connect product already installed.

Select a machine with installed License Service. Defaults to the current machine. Choose this option if you already have a server with Service Connect License Service installed.

7. In the Destination Folder window you can accept the default location or click Change to install the application to a custom location.

8. In the Web Applications window, select if to create SC web applications in a separate web site. If you select the Create new web site for Epicor Service Connect 9.05.607 web applications check box, a separate web site for

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SC is created. The scshost host header is assigned to it. The following web applications: BPMIntegrationService, Schemas, WorkflowWebServices, and TaskMonitor are added as sub-directories within this web site.

It is recommended to create new web site for SC, as otherwise the virtual directories created by other applications could conflict with SC virtual directories or the settings of the default web site could conflict with SC requirements.

When you click Next in the Web Applications window, the installer checks, if the web site with scshost HTTP host header (host header with any IP address, port 80 and name scshost) already exists. If the scshost web site exists, you are prompted to delete it. Click Yes to delete scshost web site, and continue installation. Click No to keep the scshost web site; in this case you can continue installation, only if the Create new web site for Epicor Service Connect 9.05.607 web applications check box is cleared. If this check box is selected, the Web Applications window is displayed again. To continue installation, either clear the Create new web site for Epicor Service Connect 9.05.607 web applications check box or select to delete the existing scshost web site. If you keep the scshost web site, it may cause problems when working with SC. However, you can manually re-configure or delete the existing scshost web site.

NOTE: The installation may fail, if the default web site does not have an empty host header in its bindings.

For example, if the default Web site in the IIS has just one header - 'scshost', and you run SC Installer, select installation Web Application to the Default site in the Web Application window, and then click No,

the installation fails.

If the Default web site has both an empty host header and scshost host header, the installation runs successfully.

9. In the Choose Setup Type window, select the setup type for the SC server. The following options are available:

Complete. In this case all the features of SC server are installed.

Custom. In this case, you can select, which of the SC server features to install. When selecting this option, you can also specify, where the selected features are to be installed. Installation of Framework is required, you cannot deselect this feature; you can specify, if to install Web-Based Task Monitor and Integration Services.

10. In the Database Setup window set the following:

Create a new SC System database. Choose this option if you dont have system database already installed or if you want to recreate it. Note that in this case all data in the database will be lost.

The installer creates the two default ESC users: Admin and Epicor. The passwords for these users are empty by default. It is prompted to provide the passwords in the Default user passwords window. There are no limitations on the password length and format. The user names are fixed and cannot be changed.

These credentials (user names and passwords) can be used, when the user credentials are asked by ESC Administration Console. It is recommended to change the blank password during the installation or after the first logon.

Select an existing database. Choose this option if the system database already exists on the server and you need to preserve old settings. If your database version differs from the one being installed, the installer will suggest conversion of the database. It is possible to convert database either during the installation, or perform it later. Database is migrated with the SC Database Converter. To start this application manually, call [SC INSTALL DIR]\Tools\ScaDBConvert\ScaDBConvConsole.exe. It is recommended to backup database before upgrading it.

Note: The user, who performs database conversion by using SC Database Converter, is a trusted user. This user should be able to login to the system database being converted, and, in addition to that, this user should have db_owner rights for this system database. Otherwise, the Database Converter fails with an error.

Server Name. The name of the SQL server. Defaults to the current machine.

Note: The default installation of SQL Server Express creates an instance named SQLExpress. If you install Service Connect with SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, append the instance name to the server name (for example, myserver\SQLExpress) in order to complete the installation successfully; otherwise, the installation fails.

Database Name. This is the database where Service Connect system information is stored. This data includes various system and administrative settings such as user accounts, communication channels and document tracking.

Use NT authentication. If you select this option, current login account must have access and necessary permissions in the SQL Server.

User Name. Complete this field if you didnt choose NT authentication.

Password. Complete this field if you didnt choose NT authentication.

11. In the System Services Account window enter user name and password for the domain user under whose account the system services will be run. Note that the user must have appropriate rights to system database. You can leave fields empty. In this case LocalSystem account will be used instead. In this case you can manually set logon accounts after installation.

12. Click Install.

13. If you want to install SC Client on the same machine, leave the Run Client Setup check box selected. In the case, client installation starts immediately after you clicked Finish. If you do not want to install client, clear this check box.

In any case, client installation package is copied to [INSTALLDIR]\Client folder, and you can install SC client from this folder at any time.

How to install Epicor Service Connect Client

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14. Click Finish.

15. IMPORTANT. After install, locate the hosts file at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\Hosts. Add a line below the localhost as:

127.0.0.1 localhost 127.0.0.1 scshost Alternatively, an entry can be added to the DNS. This is a preferred approach, if the installation has multiple clients.

16. If you are migrating from SC version older than ESC 8.3, relocate Customized Workflows and Email Templates Move the Customized Workflows and Email Templates from the following folders:

\System\Services\Workflow\Processes\Custom \System\Services\Workflow\EmailTemplates\Custom to \System\Services\Des\Processes\Custom \System\Services\Des\EmailTemplates\Custom

17. If you are migrating from SC version older than ESC 8.2, convert Customized Workflows For the upgrade, use a special tool Epicor.WFConverter.exe, provided with the latest SC release. You can find the detailed description of how to use this tool in the SC online help (Epicor Service Connect Documentation Kit > Using Epicor Service Connect > Workflow Migration Tool).

18. If you are migrating from SC version older than ESC 8.3, and in your system there are processes that had been exposed as Web Services before migration to SC 9.05.607, you should manually move these Web Services (ScaWebServices/*.asmx) to the new location: \WebApps\WorkflowWebServices.

19. If you are migrating from SC version older than ESC 8.3, from Task Monitor, publish InfoPath forms to the new location: Task Monitor folder is moved to \WebApps\TaskMonitor.

Installing Epicor Service Connect Server on Windows 2008/2008 R2 Server If Service Connect is installed on Windows Server 2008/2008 R2, for proper operation of ESC features, which require IIS, the Metabase Compatibility component of IIS 7.0/IIS 7.5 should be installed. Since the Metabase Compatibility component is not installed by default, go to Add/Remove Windows Components and install it by selecting IIS->Web Management Tools->IIS 6 Management Capability Feature.

Enable the file server role. o Click Add Roles in the Roles menu (Start Menu Administrative Tools Server Manager) o Select File Services.

Enable the application server role. o Click Add Roles in the Roles menu (Start Menu Administrative Tools Server Manager) o Select Application Server.

Configure DCOM. The configuration is described in detail in the Epicor Service Connect DCOM Configuration chapter.

Configure Windows Firewall.

Restart IIS.

How to install Epicor Service Connect Client

ESC client can be installed on the same machine with ESC server immediately after the server installation; it can also be

installed on a separate machine either from the installation folder created during the server installation, or from the installation CD.

Before you begin

ESC server should be installed. Without ESC server installed, you would not be able to install ESC client, as the client installation asks for the name of the machine, on which ESC server is installed.

If you install ESC client on a separate machine from the [INSTALLDIR]\Client folder created during the ESC server installation (but not from the installation CD), share the [INSTALLDIR]\Client folder.

If you install ESC in multiple domain environment (ESC server and ESC client are installed on different machines in different domains), trust relationship should be configured for these domains.

Procedure

Follow these steps to install the Epicor Service Connect Client:

1. Run Setup.exe from the [INSTALLDIR]\Client folder, created by the server installer, or from the installation CD.

2. In the Welcome window, click Next.

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3. In the Logon Service Location window you can accept the default machine name or specify it manually to connect to the logon service to another computer.

Note:

If the client installation fails with the error message "Unable to connect to Logon service on the specified

computer", then the Remote Activation permission for the ScaLogonSrv COM component should be set up on the server for the user, for which the ESC client is installed.

To setup this permission: a. Click Start and select Control Panel.

b. In the Control Panel select Administrative Tools and then Component Services.

c. In the Component Services tree view, successively expand the following nodes: Component Services -

Computers - My Computer - DCOM Config and select the ScaLogonSrv node.

d. Right-click the ScaLogonSrv node and select Properties.

e. In the ScaLogonSrv Properties dialog box open the Security tab.

f. On the Security tab, in the Launch and Activation Permissions section select Customize and then

click Edit.

g. In the Launch Permission dialog box, in the Group or user name section add or select the user, for which you want to setup the Remote Activation permission, and in the Permissions for section select the Allow check box next to the Remote Activation permission for this user.

h. Click OK in the Launch permission dialog box and in the ScaLogonSrv Properties dialog box.

4. In the Destination Folder window you can accept the default location of click Change to install the application to a custom location.

5. In the Choose Setup Type window, select the setup type for the SC client. The following options are available:

Complete. In this case all the features of SC client are installed.

Custom. In this case, you can select, which of the SC client features to install. When selecting this option, you can also specify, where the selected features are to be installed.

6. In the Customer Information window, enter your User Name and the name of your Organization. Then click Next.

7. Click Install.

8. Click Finish.

9. IMPORTANT. After install, locate the hosts file at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\Hosts. Add a line below the localhost as:

127.0.0.1 localhost

scshost Alternatively, an entry can be added to the DNS. This is a preferred approach, if the installation has multiple clients.

To install SC Client in silent mode, use the following command line format: msiexec /i "Epicor Service Connect Client.msi" /q /l*v %Temp%\client.log LOGONSRVHOST=ServerName where ServerName is the name of the server with SC Server installed, and %Temp% is system variable, that keeps the path to the temporary folder specific for the currently logged in user. During installation in silent mode, all diagnostic information and errors are saved into log file, specified in the command line. Before installing SC Client in silent mode, make sure that .NET Framework is installed on the destination computer. Otherwise the silent installation cannot be accomplished. When upgrading Service Connect to the next version, the SC Client Installer notifies about re-import of existing Web and .Net references.

Epicor Service Connect DCOM Configuration

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Epicor Service Connect DCOM Configuration If SC is deployed in the client-server configuration, for the correct work, some changes of the operation system configuration (namely, user permissions) on the server and client computers are required. The section describes the setup of permissions an end-user must have on a machine running SC.

For authentication purposes SC may use the account the end-user is logged in on the workstation. Thats why the so called Windows domain should be used. Otherwise the system services will not be able to recognize the user who tries to access them.

SC Server

SC 9.05.607 does not support Windows 2000.

The following Windows versions are supported:

Windows 2008 Server x32

Windows 2008 Server x64

Web applications require access to the following components over DCOM:

o ScaDESRouter

o ScaLogSrv

o ScaLogonSrv

Installer sets up DCOM security for these components so that all web applications are functional after the installation. If you modified security settings of web applications, you have to update DCOM security settings accordingly.

The following permissions are allowed for each component:

o Local Launch

o Local Activation

o Local Access

DCOM security limits should be configured to allow these settings.

To configure DCOM security limits for Windows Server 2008 machine:

1. Successively expand Start/ Control panel/ Administrative Tools/ Component Services.

2. In the Component Services dialog, expand Component Services/ Computers/ My Computer.

3. Right-click the My Computer node and select Properties in the context menu.

4. Open the COM Security tab.

5. To assign the local access permission, click the Limits button in the Access Permissions section. To assign the local launch and local activation permissions, click the Limits button in the Launch and Activation Permissions section. The following dialog displays:

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6. Permissions should be granted to the default account of the web applications. The default accounts depend on the version of IIS. So, depending on your IIS version, grant the local access, local launch and local activation permissions to one of the following users/groups:

To the ASPNET user, if SC is being installed on the server with IIS 5.

To the IIS_WPG group, if SC is being installed on the server with IIS 6.

To the IIS_ IUSRS group, if SC is being installed on the server with IIS 7.

7. Click OK.

8. In the Access Permissions pane, click the Edit Limits button.

9. In the Access Permissions window, select Anonymous Logon and enable Access Permissions.

10. Click OK.

11. On the COM Security tab, in the Launch and Activation Permissions pane, click the Edit Limits button.

12. In the Launch Permissions window, select Anonymous Logon and enable Access Permissions.

13. Click OK.

Additional configuration 1. Configure the Windows Firewall on the computer, where SC server is installed. For this purpose:

o Successively expand Start/ All Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools/ Security Center.

o In the Windows Security Center click the Windows Firewall link.

o Either disable the Windows Firewall on the General tab, or configure the proper list of exceptions on the Exceptions tab.

2. Set the sharing and security model to Classic (this is default for Windows 2008). For this purpose:

o Successively expand Start/ Control Panel/ Administrative Tools /Local Security Policy. The Local Security Setting dialog box is displayed.

o In the left pane click the Local Policies node, and then the Security Options node.

o In the right pane double-click Network access: Sharing and security model for local account policy. In the dialog box displayed select Classic from the drop-down list.

o Click OK.

3. On Windows Server 2008 64 bit or on any Windows Server 2008 R2, add Anonymous Logon to the COM default Access permissions and to the security limits of Access Permissions, giving Local Access rights.

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SC Client The account used for SC services and components should be included in the local Administrators group on the client machine. Otherwise you may receive error when the client tries to logon to SC (License server unavailable, etc.).

It is strongly recommended to use domain user accounts for SC services. However, if for some reason the local user account (not a local system account) is used, the following conditions should be provided:

1. The local account should exist on every client workstation.

2. The password for this account should be the same everywhere.

3. For Windows 2008 and Windows Vista the sharing and security model should be set to Classic (this is default for Windows 2008). To do that:

o Successively expand Start/ Control Panel/ Administrative Tools /Local Security Policy. The Local Security Setting dialog box is displayed.

o In the left pane click the Local Policies node, and then the Security Options node.

o In the right pane double-click Network access: Sharing and security model for local account policy. In the dialog box displayed select Classic from the drop-down list.

o Click OK.

SQL Server

If SC uses dedicated server running on Windows 2008 for the database, that server should have the same DCOM settings and permissions as the Application server for user account under which SC services are running.

Since SC services always access SQL server via trusted connection, the user account, under which they run, should have rights to access SC database.

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Epicor 9.0 Web Services

To fully utilize Epicor Service Connect, you will need to install the correct web services for your patch level of Epicor 9.0. The web services are delivered in the Web Services folder of each patch from 802 onwards. However, these are subject to updates where issues are found after patch creation. Please check EpicWeb Epicor Version 9.0 Downloads for any latest web service installations at each patch level.

Epicor Service Connect Task Monitor

The Task Monitor uses dedicated EpicorSCPool Application Pool. Starting from Service Connect 9.05.604, you must configure the Application Pool to use Net 4.0.

Verify the pool is not assigned to any other Web Epicor application, like EpicorServices. The EpicorServices should use another pool, usually DefaultAppPool, but not EpicorSCPool. Since IIS 7.0 can work with any pools (.Net 2 and .Net 4) simultaneously the EpicorServices web application can use any other IIS pool with any .Net version (2 or 4) without conflicts with Service Connect Task Monitor.

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Chapter 3: Implementation

Getting Started with Implementation

Once the Epicor Service Connect is installed, you can begin the implementation process.

Concepts

Understanding the following concepts will help the implementation process:

Documents

Workflow

Procedures

The following steps show the order you will perform to implement the Epicor Service Connect. Note that this sequence doesnt include negotiations required for achieving agreements with data and service providers regarding business documents to exchange, communications protocols to be used and business operations to be included into the workflow.

1. Registering business documents

2. Importing web-services

3. Setting up communication channels

4. Creating workflow

5. Setting up message map

Concepts

Understanding business documents

Business document is a document containing business data. Epicor Service Connect receives business documents and process

them using custom workflows. Processing of the documents may include generation of new documents and sending documents to specific external recipients. Service Connect is able to receive and send documents in any format, but it uses only XML documents internally. All input documents that have another format must be converted to one of the internal XML document type before further processing. If an output document is required to be non-XML, it can be also converted to any format. Service Connect provides default converters that can convert XML, CSV and Microsoft Excel files into internal XML documents. If you need to support other formats you may create custom components that support specific interfaces and use them for conversion.

Service Connect internal document always consist of a part containing system data message envelope and part containing business data.

Documents are sent and received using Communication Channels. Communication Channels enable document exchange between Service Connect and other systems using various types of communication protocols. When document is received by communication channel it can be converted to one of the internal documents for further processing in workflows. System part of the document may contain information about sender system or component. Sender credentials together with document type are used to create a kind of subscription Message Mapping. Message mapping allow automatically launch appropriate workflow when the document of certain type and sent by certain sender is received.

Understanding workflows

Workflow defines a sequence of automatic actions and user-performed tasks for processing business documents. General

actions like document transformation or assigning tasks to user are provided by Service Connect services. More business specific actions can be incorporated into workflow with importing web-services that provide required functionality. (See Importing web-services and Epicor Service Connect Documentation Kit > Using Epicor Service Connect > System Administration > Connectivity > Configuring Epicor Service Connect to Use External Web Services for more details)

Workflows are organized in packages. Packages provide a convenient way to group workflows. You can create packages in Administration Console and Workflow. Administration console also supports backup and restore operations for workflow packages and individual workflows.

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Tasks

Registering documents

The document is considered as registered if the system can access XML schema of the document. The schema that describes system part of the document is part of the Service Connect product so you only need to specify the schema for business data.

The business document may be registered using three ways:

1. Importing web-service. When importing web-services the documents participating in document exchange between Service Connect and web-service are registered automatically. (see Importing web-services)

2. Using schema export utility. Schema export utility can automatically create a schema using sample files as a base.

3. Copying XML schemas manually. If you already have XML schemas describing XML documents you plan to use, you can copy them manually to the \SCS\UserSchemas folder.

Importing web-services

Importing web-services is done in the administration console (see Epicor Service Connect Documentation Kit > Using Epicor

Service Connect > System Administration > Connectivity > Configuring Epicor Service Connect to Use External Web Services for more details). Imported web-services become available for using in workflows and automatically register business documents used in message exchange between web-service and Service Connect.

Setting up communication channels

Communication channels are used for sending and receiving documents. You need to configure channels before you may use them. While configuring channels you can specify

Communication protocol and protocol specific settings like folder path for File channel.

Message encoding and format

Acknowledgment

Channel schedule

Default message attributes

Conversions

See Epicor Service Connect Documentation Kit > Using Epicor Service Connect for more details.

Creating workflows

On this stage you are ready to create workflows. Workflows are created and edited in the Workflow Designer tool (see

Epicor Service Connect Documentation Kit > Using Epicor Service Connect > Workflows > Managing Workflow Processes in Workflow Designer for more details).

Setting up message map

Message map is a kind of subscription workflow to certain business documents sent by certain senders. When message map is

configured appropriate workflow will be automatically launched as soon as specific business document sent by specific sender arrives in the channel and passes necessary conversions (see Epicor Service Connect Documentation Kit for more details)

For all support questions or technical issues please contact: Epicor Support: https://epicweb.epicor.com/Support/MyEPICweb/Pages/SubmitSupportCall.aspx

Phone: (800) 975-5564