Step 1: Installing the WhatsUp Gold Central Site

The WhatsUp Gold Central Site serves as the monitoring system for important network activity data gathered by the Remote Sites. After the Remote and Central Sites are set up and reports are configured on the Central Site, the network status information from each Remote Site is communicated to the Central Site.

Following is the information that is configured during the Central Site installation:

To install the WhatsUp Gold Central Site:

The installation program is similar whether you are installing for the first time or upgrading from a previous WhatsUp installation. Steps that apply only to a first-time installation, or only to an upgrade, will be identified as such.

To install or upgrade the Distributed and MSP Edition:

  1. Log in directly to Microsoft Windows using the Administrator account (or, if you do not have an account called Administrator, use an account that has full administrative privileges to the computer). Do not use Terminal Services or Remote Desktop to install WhatsUp Gold.

    Note: When installing on Windows Vista, additional steps are necessary for the Task Tray application to work properly. For more information, see Task Tray Application fails on Windows Vista.

  2. Start the installation program:
    • If you purchased a WhatsUp Gold CD-ROM, insert the Central Site CD-ROM into the appropriate drive. If it does not run automatically, click Start, select Run, then enter the CD path followed by AutoRun.exe For example: D:\AutoRun.exe
    • If you downloaded WhatsUp Gold from the WhatsUp Gold Web site, run the downloaded Central Site installation application.
  3. Read the Welcome screen.

    The Welcome screen recommends that you disable any running antivirus software, estimates how long it takes to install the application, and displays a button that, when clicked, displays the release notes.

    Click Next to continue. The License Agreement dialog opens.

  4. Read the license agreement. Select the appropriate option, then click Next.
  5. For first-time installation only: Select the install directories for SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. The application and data files will be installed in default directories. If you want to change the locations, click the browse buttons to find and select a different directory.

    Note: If you want to customize your database setup, you need to first complete the installation using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express. After installation completes, you can manually configure your database as described in Using an alternative database setup.

    Important: Make sure that you have a large capacity drive selected for data storage. Data files can grow up to 4 GB.

    The application and data files will be installed in default directories. If you want to change the locations, click the browse buttons to find and select a different directory.

    Click Next.

    Note: The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition installation may take several minutes.

  6. For new installation only: Select the installation directory for the WhatsUp Gold application files.

    The default path is C:\Program Files\Ipswitch\WhatsUp. We recommend that you use the default path. Some users prefer to put application files on a partition separate from the operating system, which is usually installed on the C: drive, to isolate the application from an operating system crash.

  7. For upgrade installation only: Choose whether to backup your current WhatsUp Gold database. We strongly suggest that you do this.
  8. For upgrade installation only: Choose how to handle existing Web and Report files.

    If you have previously installed a version of WhatsUp, you may already have Web and Report files stored in your installation directory. You can choose to either delete them or back them up during the install.

  9. If a sound card is installed and it has SAPI-compatible drivers, the install program asks whether you want to install Text to Speech capabilities. If you select No, you can always return and install Text to Speech at a later date.
  10. For new install only: Choose whether to enable the Web server during install and enter a port for this installation, then click Next. The default is Port 80.

    Important: A Web server is required to view WhatsUp reports. If you do not enable a Web server during the installation, you need to enable the WhatsUp Web server or IIS Web server in order to view WhatsUp reports.

    Note: This dialog will not be displayed during an upgrade if you have already enabled the WhatsUp Web server in a previous version of WhatsUp.

  11. Enter the TCP port that the Remote Sites will use to connect to the Central Site (default port is 9394).
  12. Enter a User Name and Password that the Remote Sites will use to access this Central Site, then click Next. The Ready to Install the Program dialog opens.

    Note: Make note of this information. You will need the TCP port and User Name and Password information for each Remote Site installation.

  13. Click Install to install the WhatsUp Gold application files. The installation program gives you the option to click Back and change options or click Cancel prior to completing the installation.

    Important: When you use an alternative database setup, you will need to run the database upgrade scripts when installing a new release of WhatsUp Gold. The installation program will warn you if it detects a non-default database. For information on running the upgrade scripts, see Upgrading the database schema.

  14. Select whether you want to view the release notes and/or start the program, then click Finish.

After the application starts, you are introduced to the Discover Devices wizard, which lets you set options on how to discover your local network. If you want to postpone these steps, click Cancel. You can manually start the local Discover Devices wizard in the WhatsUp console application at a later time. Start the console application, then click File > Discover Devices.