Upgrading a Server

Since Aligned Elements V2.6 Service Pack 1 (2.6.176.20970), .NET 4.8 Runtime is required. If this has not yet been installed, refer to this page.

1. Stop the running Aligned Elements website

Open IIS and select the Aligned Elements website. Stop the website on the right panel under Manage Website.

2. Move items for later use

Since a number of items in the Installation Directory are going to be overwritten/deleted during the installation, we need to move them to a safe place in order to use them later on.

Open a File Explorer, navigate to the installation directory and move (cut and paste) the following items from the installation directory to a different, temporary location for later access (e.g. a folder on the desktop):

  • The aligned.lic file and any other *.lic file (named licenses)

  • The web.config file

  • The Temp folder

  • The Files folder

  • If it exist: AIPrompts folder

  • If it exist: Recources folder

  • If it exist: Config folder

3. Temporarily deactivate the File Server Resource Manager

If the File Server Resource Manager has been installed and is active, it will prevent the upgrade of the server. Therefore, before continuing, switch all File Screens from Active to Passive to allow the upgrade to take place.

4. Download Aligned Elements Web Server Package

The Aligned Elements Web Server Package can be downloaded at https://www.aligned.ch/download-previous-versions-of-aligned-elements.

Extract the Aligned Elements Web Server Package zip file (e.g. Elements_2_Elements_SPA_Realease_2.4.35.12658_artifacts.zip) to a location on the windows server e.g. the desktop.

The unzipped content looks like something this (here we have unzipped the file to a temporary folder on the server's desktop called "Update AE V2.6"):

5. Set Package Parameters

Open the file ElementsSPAPackage.SetParameters.xml in Notepad.

Note that you might have to open Notepad with Run as Administrator (even if you are logged in as a Windows Administrator) to be able to save the file. Do this by finding Notepad in the start menu, right-click on the Notepad application name/icon and select Run as Administrator in the context menu. Click File => Open and change the file types from *.txt to *.* (all file types) to see the xml files.

Adapt the value for the IIS Web Application Name attribute to match the current site name of the Aligned Elements Web Application.

If you do not know what the site name is for Aligned Elements in the server in question, check this in the IIS Manager. The site name is the name associated with the earth/planet icon in IIS Manager.

So if the site name is “Elements”, the entry should look like:

6. Install the new version of Aligned Elements Server application

Open a Command Prompt (or Power Shell) with Admin rights and navigate to the location of the unzipped Aligned Elements Web Server Package folder.

Start out by running a test deployment by writing the following in the Command window and click Enter.

ElementsSPAPackage.deploy.cmd /T

You should now start to see entries describing several installation steps that are running (this can take up to a minute). No errors should appear in the output.

If the test above is successful, perform the real deployment with following command.

ElementsSPAPackage.deploy.cmd /Y

7. Move items back to installation directory

Move the following items from the temporary location back to the installation directory, excluding the web.config file.

  • The aligned.lic file and any other *.lic file (named licenses)

  • The Temp folder

  • The Files folder

  • If it exist: AIPrompts folder

  • If it exist: Recources folder

  • If it exist: Config folder

DO NOT move the web.config file from the temporary location back into the Installation Directory.

8. Set write permissions to installation directory

Set the permissions in the installation directory as described in this section.

9. Copy ElementsSPA.xml to bin

Copy ElementsSPA.xml from the App_Data folder to bin folder as described in this section.

10. Merge web.config

A new web.config file based on the SetParameters.xml has been written. You now need to merge customer specific settings from the “old” web.config (previously copied to a temporary location) to the new web.config.

Note that simply copying the old web.config back to the installation directory is not sufficient. The files have to be merged since the new web.config might contain new sections.

You can use a diff/merge tool like WinMerge for this (it is free and light-weight).

If you use Notepad, then Note that you might have to open Notepad with „Run as Administrator“ (even if you are logged in as a Windows Administrator) to be able to save the file. Do this by finding Notepad in the start menu, right-click on the Notepad application name/icon and select „Run as Administrator“ in the context menu. Click File => Open and change the file types from *.txt to *.* (all file types) to see the xml files.

Manually copy following settings from the old web.config to the new web.config:

  • <appSettings> (in particular “RequireSSL” and “ServerString”)

  • <elementIssueProxies>

  • <elementServerTemplates>

  • <elementSmtpSetting> -> changes new to <elementMailSetting>

  • <elementServerHint>

  • <elementAutomationScripts>

  • <elementExternalFonts>

  • <elementOpenAISettings>

11. Remove stdole.dll from the bin directory

Delete the stdole.dll file in the bin directory as described in this section.

12. Reactivate the File Server Resource Manager

Reactivate the File Server Resource Manager by switching all File Screens from Passive to Active. If the File Screens got deleted, recreate as described here.

13. Version specific configuration

Some version specific configuration needs to be done:

  • If you updated from v2.3 to v2.4 SP 5, the section serverTemplates should be extended with storageConnectionString="" in the web.config file.

  • If you updated from v2.4 SP 3 to v2.4 SP 4, the sections issueProxies, smtpSettings should be extended with isPswEncrypted="false" in the web.config file. Note: It is recommended to not write any passwords in plain text in the web.config, please use the tool https://demo.aligned.ch:444/encrypt to encrypt your password. Then mark the entry with isPswEncrypted="true".

  • If you updated from v2.6 SP 2 to something higher, make sure the File Server Resource Manager is installed and configured.

  • If you updated from v2.6 SP 2 to something higher, modify permissions are needed for Temp and Files folder.

14. Start the Aligned Elements website

Open IIS and select the Aligned Elements website. Start the previously stopped website on the right panel under Manage Website.

15. Test the website

Test the website by loading it in a browser.

16. Update templates

Update each of your projects by loading with the option ‘Force template reload’.

Common issues after upgrading

Missing version of stdole.dll

The server is not starting after upgrading to v2.5 SP 4 Part 1

The server is not starting after upgrading to v2.5 SP 4 Part II

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