Back to S100: System Installation and Maintenance

Lesson 3: Deploying Instances

In this lesson, you will learn how to deploy an Acumatica ERP application instance, sign in to Acumatica ERP for the first time, and activate an Acumatica ERP license. Once you complete this lesson, you will have two instances installed on your computer. You sign in to one of these instances and perform further configuration.

Instance Deployment: General Information

You can deploy an application instance with one tenant or multiple tenants by using the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard. This topic provides an overview of an Acumatica ERP instance deployment, as well as tenant creation, and the possible combinations of instances, databases, and tenants.

Learning Objectives

In this lesson, you will do the following:

Become familiar with the possible deployment configuration of instances, tenants, and databases
Review the process of deploying an instance
Deploy an out-of-the-box instance
Deploy an instance with a tenant with the demo data
Change password before the first sign-in to the instance
Activate the default set of features in the instance
Activate the product license for the instance
Review product license details

Applicable Scenarios

You may need to learn how to deploy an Acumatica ERP application instance in scenarios that include the following:

You are an implementation consultant who needs to deploy an Acumatica ERP application instance.
You are a system administrator who needs to deploy an Acumatica ERP application instance for the employees of your company.

Application Instances and Tenants

In Acumatica ERP, when you create an application instance, at least one tenant is defined. A tenant represents a separate company. It is not possible to configure an instance without a tenant. Acumatica ERP is an application with a multitenant architecture, making it possible for a single instance of the application to serve multiple tenants. You can deploy various combinations of instances, databases, and tenants depending on your company's business needs. These combinations are described below. The following diagram shows an architecture with one application instance, one database, and one tenant. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 31

The following diagram shows an architecture with multiple application instances. Each instance has multiple tenants, and each tenant has its own database.

The following diagram shows an architecture with one application instance that has one database and multiple tenants with web access to the same database. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 32

The following diagram shows an application instance with one database, where multiple tenants use the same database with completely isolated data. Although the application looks identical to all tenants, each tenant has exclusive access to only its own data. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 33

You can deploy an instance with a tenant that does not contain any predefined data and represents an out-of- the-box company. You can also deploy a tenant that contains demo data that you can use for training purposes. For details, see Instance Deployment: To Deploy an Out-of-the-Box Instance and Instance Deployment: To Deploy an Instance with Demo Data.

Instance Deployment: Creation of an Instance

You can create a new Acumatica ERP instance by using the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard, which you have installed on your computer. The procedure for creating an instance is described below. You can start creating an instance by running the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard, which you can find on your computer in any of the following ways:

By clicking Start > Acumatica > Acumatica ERP Configuration
By clicking Search > Acumatica ERP Configuration
By opening the folder in which you have installed Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard. By default, the address of the folder is C:\Program Files\Acumatica ERP. In the C:\Program Files \Acumatica ERP\Data folder, you can find and run the AcumaticaConfig.exe file. The Welcome page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard will open. You can start the deployment of a new instance in one of the following ways:
By clicking Deploy a New Acumatica ERP Instance.
By clicking Perform Application Maintenance. On the Application Maintenance page, which opens, you then click Create to proceed. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 34
```
               You can use this way if at least one Acumatica ERP instance has already been deployed.
```
The following sections provide an overview of the settings that you need to specify on the pages of the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard to deploy a new instance.

Database Server Connection Page

On this page, you should select the database server you want to use for a new instance and the server authentication method. You can do this by using the following UI elements:

Server Type: Select the server type you want to use: Microso SQL Server or MySQL Server.

Server Name: Type the name or address of the server machine.

               For a MySQL server, the default port number is 3306. You can specify the custom port number
               aer a comma.

Windows Authentication: Select this option button if you want to use Windows authentication for connecting to the database server.

               This method works only for a local Microso SQL Server or when both application and
               database servers are members of the same Windows domain.

SQL Server Authentication: Select this option button if you want to use SQL Server authentication for connecting to the database server. You should also specify the username and password for an account with suﬀicient rights to create or modify databases.
Encrypt Database Server Connection: Select this check box to require encryption from the server. This encryption secures the connection and protects transmitted data. Note the following about selecting the authentication method:
You must ensure that the selected authentication method is supported by the database server.
Windows authentication does not work for MySQL Server.

Database Configuration Page

On this page, you can either create a new database or connect to an existing one by selecting it from the list of available databases on the server. You should select one of the following option buttons:

Create a New Database: Select this option button if you want to create a new database. You should also specify the name of the new database in the New Database's Name box. By default, the database name is AcumaticaDB, but you can change it.

Connect to an Existing Database: Select this option button if you want to connect to an existing database. You should select the database in the Available Databases on the Server list.

               You can also search for a specific database by using the Database Filter box.


    Depending on the database you have selected, you can also select the relevant check box to update or
    repair the database, if required. If you want to shrink data aer the database maintenance, select the Shrink
    Data Aer Update or Shrink Data Aer Repair check box, respectively.

Tenant Setup Page

On this page, you can specify the following settings for the tenant: Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 35

Tenant Name: The name of the tenant. The default tenant name is Company. If you want to change it, you should double-click the name in the column, type a new tenant name, and press Enter.

               This name is used only when multiple tenants are present; otherwise, the Sign-In page will not
               display a tenant selection box. Due to integration with OData, the name cannot contain the
               following special symbols: ,,;,:, +, =, ?, ^, <, >, /, \, {, }, [, ], |, #, $, %, &, and @.

Insert Data: The demo data that is used for this tenant. By default, a new tenant does not contain demo data. If you want to fill the database with demo data, you should select SalesDemo in the column.
```
               The U100 and T100 demo data entries contain demo data that was prepared for the
               completion of Acumatica training courses.
```
For each tenant, you can also specify the following settings:
Parent Tenant ID: The identifier of the tenant that will be used as the parent tenant for this tenant. By default, the System tenant is specified. For more details about parent tenants, see Tenant Maintenance: General Information.
Visible: The tenant’s visibility to users. By default, a new tenant is visible (that is, the check box is selected). For more details about tenant visibility, see Tenant Maintenance: General Information.
Advanced Settings: A check box that indicates the ability to access advanced settings, such as defining parent tenants and inserting demo data, and displaying the System tenant if the check box is selected. By default, the check box is cleared.
Secure Tenant on the Sign-In Page: A check box that indicates the ability to display the tenant selection box with all tenants of the instance on the Sign-In page. If the check box is selected, the tenant selection box on the Sign-In page of the instance will not appear until a user enters their username and password. Aer authorization, the system will display a list of companies allowed for the entered user account. For more details, see Tenant Maintenance: General Information. On this page, you can also create additional tenants or delete unneeded ones.

Database Connection Page

On this page, you can select the authentication method for connection to the database. You should select one of the following option buttons:

Windows Authentication: Select this option button if you want to use the default anonymous user account employed by Internet Information Services (IIS).
```
               Windows authentication is not compatible with a MySQL Server.
```
SQL Server Authentication: Select this option button if you want to use a diﬀerent account for connecting to the database. If you select this option, you should also specify the one of the following settings:
Create Login Credentials: Select this option if you want to create a new SQL username.

Use Existing Login Credentials: Select this option if you want to use an existing username and password.

                   The specified username must have the following minimum rights within the database
                   server:

For a Microso SQL server, read, write, execute, and ddl_admin
For a MySQL server, create, alter, drop, select, delete, insert, update, create temporary tables, and execute Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 36

Instance Configuration Page

On this page, you can specify the following instance configuration settings:

Instance Name: The Acumatica ERP instance name. By default, the instance name is AcumaticaERP. You can change it.
Create Acumatica ERP Site: An option button that you select if you want to create an Acumatica ERP application instance.

Create Self-Service Portal: An option button that you select if you want to create an Acumatica Self-Service Portal site.

               The Acumatica Self-Service Portal is designed to be a site where your customers can view
               relevant information about their interactions with your company as a vendor and perform
               common activities online. It is a special type of application instance connected to your
               Acumatica ERP instance but with limited access to functionality. For more details, see Instance
               Deployment: Deploying the Acumatica Self-Service Portal.

Local Path to the Instance: The path on the local computer to the application instance. By default, it is C: \Program Files\Acumatica ERP\InstanceName, but you can change it.

Website Configuration Page

On this page, you can configure the website and application pool. In the Website Settings section, you specify the following settings:

Available Websites: Select the website that you want to use. By default, the Default Web Site is selected.
Create Virtual Directory: Select the check box if you want to create a virtual directory with a name specified in the Virtual Directory Name box. To use the URL of the IIS default site (that is, http:// www.domain.com), clear the Create Virtual Directory check box.
Compile the Site: Select this check box if you want to allow the system to load the website faster for the first time.

Install RabbitMQ: Select this check box if you want to install RabbitMQ (if it is not already installed) to support push notification functionality.

               If you clear the Install RabbitMQ check box, the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard
               configures the Acumatica ERP instance to use Microso Message Queuing (MSMQ) for push
               notifications.

Install NodeJS: Select this check box if you want to install the needed version of Node.js for the compilation of the customization code.

               If you want to use the version of Node.js that has already been installed in your system, you
               can clear the Install NodeJS check box and add the following key to the appSettings
               section of the Web.config file of your instance: <add key="NodeJs:NodeJsPath"
               value="C:\Program Files\NodeJs"/>, where value specifies the path to the
               location where Node.js has been installed.

You may want to use a dedicated application pool to better isolate instances and fine-tune resources that are allocated for the instance by IIS. To specify the dedicated application pool, select one of the following options in the Application Pool Settings section:

Create New Application Pool: Select this option button if you want to create a new application pool. You should also type the application pool name in the Application Pool Name box. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 37
Use Existing Application Pool: Select this option button if you want to use an existing application pool. You should select the name of this application pool in the list of available application pools. The list of application pools includes all the application pools you can use to install Acumatica ERP from the list of pools configured in the IIS web server. You can select an application pool that uses either the classic or integrated model of request processing through the web server.
```
               Acumatica ERP employs the application pools that use one of the supported .NET Framework
               versions. For the list of supported .NET Framework versions, see System Requirements for the
               Acumatica ERP Installation.


    For a production instance, we recommend that you create a new application pool for production
    deployment.
```

Confirmation of Configuration Page

On the last page, you can review and confirm the overall instance configuration. If you want to save the configuration settings in an XML file on your computer for use with a command-line tool, you should click Save Configuration. For details, see Using the Acumatica ERP Command-Line Tool. If you click Finish, the deployment of the Acumatica ERP instance will begin.

Configuration Wizard Logs

By default, the system saves short logs for changes that have been made in an instance by using the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard or the command-line tool. These changes are saved in the Logs folder, which is located in the folder where you have installed Acumatica ERP.

         You have specified the path to this folder on the Destination Folder page of the Acumatica ERP Setup
         wizard.

If you want to save full logs in the Logs folder, you should select the Full Logging Mode check box on the Confirmation of Configuration page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard before starting to deploy the instance. You can also use the command-line tool to activate full logging mode. For details, see Acumatica ERP Command-Line Tool: General Information. This mode might be helpful for investigating the cause of any errors that occur in the instance. For more details about using logs, see Using Logs.

Instance Deployment: Accessing an Instance for the First Time

When you finish deploying an Acumatica ERP application instance, you need to access it initially to proceed with further configuration.

Opening a Newly Created Instance

Typically, the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard completes the deployment of a new instance and returns you to the Welcome page of the wizard so that you can continue working with it. You can use the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard to open the newly created instance as follows:

On the Welcome page, click Perform Application Maintenance.
On the Application Maintenance page, which opens, in the list of the installed sites, click the instance you want to open, and then click the Launch button. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 38
```
    The instance opens in a new tab of your default browser.
```
If you do not want to use the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard, you can open the newly created instance in one of the following ways:

On the Start menu, find the instance, and then click its name.
In the address line of your web browser, enter the address: http://localhost:80/ Instance_name/, where Instance_name is the name you have specified for your instance. You can omit the port number (that is, :80) in the URL if your server uses the default port 80 to connect to the HTTP protocol. In that case, you enter the following address: http://localhost/Instance_name/. To access the Acumatica ERP instance remotely, as any other user would, you would use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server instead of localhost in the URL.
```
        The instance name is the name that you have specified in the Virtual Directory Name box on the
        Website Configuration page during instance creation.
```

Accessing a New Instance

Every Acumatica ERP instance comes with an active default user account (admin) that you use to sign in to the system. The password for this user account for the first sign-in is setup. You start working with Acumatica ERP by changing the password for this user on the Sign-In page of the application instance.

          By default, a password must be at least eight characters and contain characters from three of the
          following four categories:

English uppercase characters (A through Z)
English lowercase characters (a through z)
Numerals (0 through 9)
Special characters (such as !, $, #, and %) For details, see Preparing an Instance: System-Wide Security Policy.
Before you proceed, you should click the link of the Acumatica User Agreement above the Sign In button, read the agreement, and then select the check box to indicate that you have read the terms of the agreement and agree to them. Aer that, you can click the Sign In button on the Sign-In page. The home page of the Acumatica ERP instance opens.

Instance Deployment: To Deploy an Out-of-the-Box Instance

In this activity, you will learn how to deploy an Acumatica ERP out-of-the-box application instance (that is, the instance without demo data) and sign in to it for the first time.

Story

Suppose that you are the system administrator of your company, and you need to deploy the Acumatica ERP out- of-the-box instance.

Process Overview

In this activity, you will do the following: Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 39

Deploy the Acumatica ERP out-of-the-box instance
Sign in to the Acumatica ERP out-of-the-box instance for the first time

System Preparation

Before you begin deploying an Acumatica ERP out-of-the-box application instance, make sure you have installed the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard by performing the following prerequisite activity: Acumatica ERP Installation On-Premises: To Install the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard.

Step 1: Deploying an Out-of-the-Box Instance To deploy an Acumatica ERP out-of-the-box instance, do the following:

On the Start menu, click Acumatica ERP Configuration to open the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard.
On the Welcome page, click Deploy a New Acumatica ERP Instance, as shown in the following screenshot.
```
   Figure: The Welcome page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard
```

On the Database Server Connection page, which opens, specify the following settings, and then click Next (see the screenshot below): a. Server Type: Microso SQL Server b. Server Name: (local)

                 If you are using the Microso SQL Server Express edition, enter LOCALHOST
                 \SQLEXPRESS.

   c. Windows Authentication: Selected
   d. Optionally. Encrypt Database Server Connection: Selected

Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 40

  Figure: The Database Server Connection page

4. On the Database Configuration page, which opens, enter the following settings to create a new database, and then click Next (see the following screenshot): a. Create a New Database: Selected b. New Database's Name: AcumaticaS100 .

  Figure: The Database Configuration page

The Tenant Setup page opens. By default, the wizard creates a new tenant with no data preloaded and with the default name Company in the Tenant Name column. The name specified in this column is displayed on the Sign-in page of the application instance and in the instance’s user interface. 5. On the Tenant Setup page, change the tenant name to MyCompany, and then click Next to go to the next page. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 41

Leave the default values in other boxes, as shown in the following screenshot.

Figure: The Tenant Setup page 6. On the Database Connection page, which opens, leave the default Windows Authentication option selected, as shown in the following screenshot, and click Next.

Figure: The Database Connection page

The default anonymous user account used by Internet Information Services, which is ApplicationPoolIdentity, will be used to connect to the database. 7. On the Instance Configuration page, which opens, enter the following settings, and then click Next: a. Instance Name: AcumaticaS100. By default, this is the name that you have specified for the database. You can change it. b. Create Acumatica ERP Site: Selected. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 42

c. Local Path to the Instance: The path on the local computer to the application instance being created. By default, this is the folder with the instance name, which is located in the folder where the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard has been installed. The path should have the following format: %Program Files%\Acumatica ERP\AcumaticaS100, as shown in the following screenshot.

  Figure: The Instance Configuration page

8. On the Website Configuration page, which opens, specify the following settings, and then click Next (see the screenshot below): a. Available Websites: Default Web Site b. Create Virtual Directory: Selected c. Virtual Directory Name: Name of the virtual directory, which matches the instance name d. Compile the Site: Selected e. Install RabbitMQ: Selected f. Install NodeJS: Selected g. Enable Modern UI: Cleared h. Use Existing Application Pool: Selected j. Available Application Pools: DefaultAppPool Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 43

          Figure: The Website Configuration page

       The Confirmation of Configuration page opens, as shown in the following screenshot.


       Figure: The settings of the instance to be created

9. Click Finish, and wait while the installation process completes. 10.Click OK in the dialog box aer the installation is complete; the system returns you to the Welcome page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard.

The new Acumatica ERP instance is created, and now you can access it for the first time.

Step 2: Accessing the Instance for the First Time To access the AcumaticaS100 application instance for the first time, do the following: Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 44

While you are viewing the Welcome page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard, click Perform Application Maintenance.
On the Application Maintenance page, which opens, in the list of installed sites, click the AcumaticaS100 instance, and then click the Launch button, as shown in the following screenshot.
Figure: The list of the Acumatica ERP installed sites
The instance opens in a new tab of your default browser.
Use the following credentials for the first sign-in:

Username: admin
Password: setup

Click Sign In. The system prompts you to enter a new password and confirm it.
Type the new password in the New Password and Confirm Password boxes. By default, passwords must be at least 8 characters and contain characters from three of the following four categories:

English uppercase characters: A through Z
English lowercase characters: a through z
Numerals: 0 through 9
Special characters: !, $, #, and %

Click the link of the Acumatica User Agreement above the Sign In button, read the agreement, and then select the check box to indicate that you have read the terms of the agreement and agree to them, as shown in the following screenshot. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 45
```
   Figure: Creation of a new password to an application instance
```
Click Sign In. The home page of the Acumatica ERP instance opens.

Instance Deployment: Feature Activation and Licensing

Aer you have deployed an instance, you can start the implementation. You need to activate the instance by enabling the default set of features. Then you apply the license and enable any purchased features that are not in the default set. In this topic, you will read about the first sign-in to a new instance, license obtainment, feature enabling, and the limitations of trial and license modes.

First Sign-In to Acumatica ERP When you sign in to a new Acumatica ERP instance for the first time and attempt to navigate to any form, the system brings up the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form (the only form you can access), which you use to enable the default set of features. Aer you do this, you can access the Activate License (SM201510) form, where you can activate your license key if you want to remove the trial mode restrictions. If you want to proceed with the trial mode, you can enable any other features that are available.

Obtaining of a License

In Acumatica ERP, you can request the purchased license by creating a support case through the Partner Portal. You should specify the following settings in the case:

Installation ID: The installation ID is available in the About dialog box of the Acumatica ERP application instance. To open this dialog box, on any Acumatica ERP form, select Tools > About.
Contract ID: You can find this ID on your Acumatica ERP sales invoice. Aer your license request is processed, you will receive a license key. Acumatica uses a licensing server to validate licenses. If the server where you installed the Acumatica ERP instance has no access to the internet, because of the Acumatica security policy, you may request a license file instead of the key. You apply the key to your instance by clicking Enter License Key on the form toolbar of the Activate License (SM201510) form, enter the license key in the Activate New License dialog box, and click OK. The system contacts the licensing server and validates the license online. Each license can be used to activate a predetermined number of instances. If you reach the limit for your license, you generally will not be able to use this license. Alternatively, Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 46
depending on your license settings, the system may bring up a prompt asking if you want to deactivate the license from the oldest instance.
```
        To validate your license, the licensing server requires that port 443 be open on the computer that is
        running the Acumatica ERP instance where you enter the key. You may have to open port 443 if the
        computer has a firewall enabled.
```
To apply the license file, you should click Upload License File on the form toolbar of the Activate License form, and then select and upload the license file by using the Upload New License File dialog box. If you use a license file, the system validates the license without contacting the licensing server.

Product Features

Acumatica ERP provides scalable core system functionality and oﬀers a range of add-on features. On the Enable/ Disable Features (CS100000) form, you can view and modify the list of enabled features according to your license limitations. You must enable a feature to cause all feature-related forms and individual elements to appear in Acumatica ERP. Some features may add only additional elements to the available forms, and others may enable a workspace or a set of workspaces with multiple forms. For example, the Projects menu item appears on the main menu only if the Project Accounting feature is enabled. If you enable the Tax Entry From GL Module feature, it only adds additional elements to the Journal Transactions (GL301000) form, which is available with the default set of features. The Enable/Disable Features form also displays (at the top of the form) the state of the currently selected feature set —that is, the set of functionality available in your instance of Acumatica ERP. The following states are possible:

Pending Activation: The system displays this status when you access the form for the first time to enable the standard set of features. Also, the system displays the status aer you click Modify on the form toolbar to change the selection of features. This status indicates that the current settings on the form do not reflect the actual set of functionality available in Acumatica ERP.
Validated: The system displays this status when you have enabled the features selected on the form by clicking Enable on the form toolbar. With this status, the enabled features on the form reflect the actual functionality available in your instance of Acumatica ERP. Before you start implementing Acumatica ERP, you may find it helpful to become familiar with the functionality to be implemented and the add-on features your organization has included in the license. For details, see Preparing an Instance: Acumatica ERP Features.
```
        You can also use the Enable/Disable Features form to disable individual features in Acumatica ERP.
        We recommend that you not disable any feature aer it has been enabled and used in the live system;
        this may cause unexpected results, including data loss.
```

Trial and License Modes

By default, Acumatica ERP is installed in trial mode. Although all features are available in this mode, the mode has the following restrictions:

You can create no more than 10 tenants per instance.
All tenants that you create are assigned the Test Tenant status. For details, see Tenants: General Information.
A watermark is added to all printed forms and reports.

Only two conventional users can concurrently use the system.

               Conventional users are users who can sign in by using their usernames and passwords on the
               Acumatica ERP Sign-In page, through the mobile application, or via the single sign-on page if
               SSO with Google or Microso Account has been set up.

Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 47

       Each time a third conventional user signs in to Acumatica ERP, one of the current users is forcibly signed
       out. The following message is displayed at the bottom of each form: Your product is in trial mode. Only two
       concurrent users are allowed. The message is followed by the Activate link, which you can click to activate a
       license.

Only two API users can concurrently use the system. A third API user cannot sign in to Acumatica ERP and receives an error during the sign-in attempt.
```
                API users are users with client applications that can sign in using the contract-based REST
                API method, the screen-based SOAP API, or the OAuth 2.0 authorization mechanism for
                applications.
```
In trial mode, you can enable and use any feature. For a production site, you should activate the full-product license, thus running the system in license mode. Aer the license activation, the system hides the features that are not included in your license on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, and you will not be able to enable these features. When you obtain the license for using Acumatica ERP and apply this license to an instance, the trial mode restrictions are removed. The license defines the license tier (that is, the level of resources that you can use by using the license) and the set of features you can enable for the instance. For details on license tiers, see Typical Hardware and Virtual Machine Configurations for PCS and PCP Licenses for the Acumatica ERP Installation.
```
        During licensing and activation, the application instance is restarted. When you apply a license to a
        non-testing environment, make sure that all users of your website are warned about the restart of the
        site so that they can save all work in progress.
```

Instance Deployment: To Enable Features and Activate the License

In the following activity, you will learn how to enable features in Acumatica ERP, activate the license, and review the license information.

Story

Suppose that the SweetLife Fruits & Jams company has purchased an Acumatica ERP subscription in Acumatica Business Cloud. The instance has been installed by SaaS engineers. As a system administrator, you have received the instance URL and the credentials to the admin user. Now you need to prepare the instance for implementation. You will be the first one to sign in to the instance, and you will activate and license it with the product key you have obtained from the sales representative. The company has purchased the S1 license tier with three concurrent users and five tenants. In addition to the default set of features, your company has purchased the basic functionality associated with the Inventory and Order Management group of features.

Process Overview

To begin using the system aer the installation, you will use the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form to enable the standard set of features, which gives you the ability to access the Activate License (SM201510) form. When you enable the features, you will still be in trial mode. To remove the restrictions of the trial mode, you will activate the license and enable the features that you bought in addition to the standard set. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 48

System Preparation

Before you begin enabling features on an Acumatica ERP application instance, make sure that you have performed the following prerequisite activity: Instance Deployment: To Deploy an Out-of-the-Box Instance.

Step 1: Enabling Features for the First Time To enable features in Acumatica ERP for the first time, do the following:

Launch the AcumaticaS100 application instance and sign in with the admin username and the password that you have specified for this instance.
Open the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form. Notice that a number of features are selected by default and the activation status is Pending Activation, as shown in the following screenshot.
```
   Figure: Activation status of initial features
```
On the toolbar, click Enable to activate the selected features. The activation status of the currently selected feature set is now Validated, as the screenshot below shows. On the main menu, notice that new menu items (Time and Expenses, Finance, Banking, Payables, and Receivables) have appeared (also shown in the screenshot) that correspond to the features you have enabled. You can now click any of these menu items to go to the corresponding workspace and go to the forms within it.
```
   Figure: The Validated status and the new menu items
```

Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 49

Step 2: Activating the License To activate the license, do the following:

           Before you proceed with license activation on a real website, make sure that all Acumatica ERP users
           have saved their work and signed out of the system. During license activation, the Acumatica ERP
           instance will be restarted, and any unsaved work will be lost.

Open the Activate License (SM201510) form and do the following: a. On the form toolbar, click Enter License Key. b. In the Activate New License dialog box, enter the 918B-A728-0569-7FC6-D058 license key, as shown in the following screenshot.

       Figure: The license key

    c. Click OK at the bottom of the dialog box.
    The system contacts the licensing server and validates the license online.

               The license key used in this activity is for training purposes only. The license will be
               deactivated in 24 hours and the instance will return to the trial mode. The license can be
               applied to an instance only once.

In the Agree to Proceed dialog box, which opens, click the link to read the soware license agreement. If you agree to the terms, click Agree to proceed with activation. The dialog box closes.
In the Summary area of the form, review the status of the license (Valid), its validity period, and the number of users and tenants, as shown in the following screenshot. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 50
```
   Figure: The license information
```

In the table, review the features that this license supports.

              You can use the filter for the Activated column to filter the activated features.

On the form toolbar, click Apply License to activate your license, and the system will restart the instance.

Step 3: Enabling Additional Features To enable additional features in Acumatica ERP, do the following:

Open the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form. Notice that the list of features is narrowed to the features allowed by the applied license.
On the form toolbar, click Modify.
In the list of features, select the Inventory and Order Management check box.
On the toolbar, click Enable to activate the selected features. The status of the currently selected feature set is now Validated. On the main menu, notice that new workspace menu items (Sales Orders, Purchases, and Inventory) have appeared that correspond to the feature you have enabled. You can now open the forms in these workspaces.

Step 4: Reviewing the License Information To review the license information—which includes the license status and limitations, warnings about any exceeded limits, and statistics about commercial transactions and constraints—do the following:

Open the License Monitoring Console (SM604000) form.
On the License tab, which is shown in the screenshot below, review the information about your license as follows: Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 51

In the License Status read-only box, verify that the license status is Valid, which means that the instance is licensed and has been activated.
In the License Details section, review the instance limitations.
In the Recommended Maximums section, notice that Concurrent Users is set to 3. This means that three users can work in the system at the same time.
```
     Figure: The License Monitoring Console form
```

Instance Deployment: To Deploy an Instance with Demo Data

In this activity, you will learn how to deploy an Acumatica ERP application instance with demo data.

Story

Suppose that you are the system administrator of your company, and you need to deploy the Acumatica ERP application instance with the T100 dataset.

Process Overview

In this activity, you will deploy the Acumatica ERP application instance with the T100 dataset.

System Preparation

Before you begin deploying an Acumatica ERP application instance, make sure that you have performed the following prerequisite activity: Acumatica ERP Installation On-Premises: To Install the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard.

Step: Deploying an Instance with the Demo Data To create an Acumatica ERP instance with the T100 dataset inserted, do the following:

On the Start menu, click Acumatica ERP Configuration to open the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard.
On the Welcome page, which opens, click Perform Application Maintenance.
Below the list of existing application instances, click Create.
On the Database Server Connection page, specify the following settings, and then click Next to go to the next page:

Server Type: Microso SQL Server
Server Name: (local) Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 52
Windows Authentication: Selected

On the Database Configuration page, specify the following settings, and then click Next to go to the next page:

Create a New Database: Selected
New Database's Name: AcumaticaT100

On the Tenant Setup page, double-click in the Insert Data column for the automatically created row with the Company tenant name, and select T100, as shown in the following screenshot.
Figure: Selection of a dataset for a new tenant
Click Next to go to the next page.
On the Database Connection page, select Windows Authentication; click Next.
On the Instance Configuration page, specify the following settings, and then click Next to go to the next page:

Instance Name: AcumaticaT100
Create Acumatica ERP Site: Selected
Local Path to the Instance: The path to the application instance on the local computer 10.On the Website Configuration page, specify the following settings, and then click Next to go to the next page:
Website Settings: Default Web Site
Create Virtual Directory: Selected
Virtual Directory Name: AcumaticaT100
Use Existing Application Pool: Selected
Available Application Pools: DefaultAppPool Leave the other settings without changes. 11.On the Confirmation of Configuration page, review the settings, and click Finish. Wait while the new application instance is created. 12.Aer the installation is completed, click OK in the dialog box to return to the Acumatica ERP Configuration wizard. 13.Click Perform Application Maintenance. Lesson 3: Deploying Instances | 53
On the Application Maintenance page, which opens, the list of existing application instances now contains two sites: AcumaticaT100 and AcumaticaS100, as shown in the following screenshot.
Figure: The list of the application instances

14.Click the row with AcumaticaT100 instance, and then click Launch. The instance opens in a new tab of your default browser. 15.Use the admin username and the setup password to sign in to the instance for the first time, and change the default password. The home page of the Acumatica ERP instance opens. 16.To verify that the demo data has been inserted, open the Employees (EP203000) form, and make sure that there are six employees (Michael Andrews, Maxwell Baker, Layla Beauvoir, Joseph Becher, Martin Bernia, and Todd Bloom). These employees do not come in the out-of-the-box tenant; they have appeared in the instance because you directed the wizard to insert the demo data. Lesson 4: Maintaining Tenants | 54