Introduction

This section describes how to install PhixFlow.

Pre-conditions

Before installation starts it is assumed that all system pre-requisites have been completed as documented in PhixFlow System Planning, specifically that

you have installed a database server,
you have configured a database instance / schema and user / login credentials
you have installed a (Linux or Windows) server to act as the web-application (webapp) host

and, optionally, that

you have installed a Linux or Windows server to act as the reverse proxy / HTTPS proxy

Installation

For a complete installation, follow these instructions as given.

Install Tomcat

Download and install the Apache Tomcat web-application (webapp) server.

Download / Unpack PhixFlow

If you have not been given the PhixFlow package to install, you can download any published version from our support FTP site. Please contact PhixFlow Support for details.

Logon to the webapp host and unpack the PhixFlow release package.

Configure the Database

Use the installer to populate the database.

Install the PhixFlow Web Application

Copy the PhixFlow webapp from the unpacked release package into Tomcat and configure it. See Install PhixFlow Webapp for details.

Start PhixFlow

You should now be able to start Tomcat and start the PhixFlow client and login as the startup user (password: 'Startup')

This confirms that you have successfully completed the basic installation.

System Configuration

Configure the directories under System Directories. See System Configuration for details.

The Temporary File Location is especially important as it is used when Exporting / Importing files.

Create Users

You should immediately create new users, including at least one administrator, then disable or delete the startup user.

Import Component Templates (if required)

Import the component templates file if this is your first PhixFlow instance.

See Import Template Components and Styles for more information on when and how to install the templates.

Configure HTTPS using Reverse Proxy

PhixFlow should always be configured to allow HTTPS connections to the webapp and to disable HTTP access.

We recommend that this is implemented using a reverse proxy to terminate the HTTPS session and to forward web requests using HTTP to the Tomcat server. This solution requires that the proxy and tomcat servers run on a private network, and that the tomcat server is not directly accessible by normal users.

To install a reverse proxy on Linux, see Install the 'pound' reverse proxy.

To configure IIS as a reverse proxy on Windows, see here.

Configure for Resilience (optional)

PhixFlow can be configured to have a hot stand-by webapp shadowing the active webapp, such that the standby webapp will automatically take over in the event that the active server fails.

See Configuring for Resilience for details.

Configure for Active Directory Users (optional)

PhixFlow can be configured to allow users to be validated against one or more Active Directory servers in addition to users that are defined locally withing the PhixFlow database.

See the PhixFlow Active Directory Guide for details.