Using Visual Paradigm Update Server

Written Date: September 20, 2010
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Visual Paradigm Update Server is a tool that downloads product updates and product installers from the Internet periodically. It mainly serves two purposes:

• Helps download latest product installers from the Internet periodically
• Helps download latest product updates from the Internet periodically

Team members can then connect to the update server to download product installers, or to update the installed Visual Paradigm products with the most up-to-date copy through the local network instead of the Internet.

This article is divided into several parts. Please read the parts one by one in order know how update server can help your team in keeping the installation up-to-date.

Server side - Download update server

Update server is available to Visual Paradigm customers. Customers can login to their customer account and download the server program from the Download page.

1. Login to Visual Paradigm Customer Service Center at:
   https://cs.visual-paradigm.com
2. Visit the Download page.
3. Select the operating system of update server installer to download and click on the installer link.
   
   If you cannot find the update server option, download Teamwork Server/Floating License Server instead. They both include the update server.

Server side - Setup

1. Extract the downloaded update server to somewhere in your machine.
   
2. Execute VPUpdateServer\scripts\startup.bat
3. Open the web browser and visit http://127.0.0.1:8080/ (For floating license server, run with port 1998. For teamwork server, run with port 1999)
4. Enter a new password and specify the name of your organization. Click Confirm.
   
5. Now, you need to configure the update server. Select the type of installer you allow client to download - VP Suite and/or BP-VA. VP Suite installer contains all the Visual Paradigm client products like VP-UML, SDE, BP-VA, DB-VA and Agilian. BP-VA has its own installer. For BP-VA, client can install by both the VP Suite installer and BP-VA installer.
   
6. Select the version of downloadable installers. Very offen you only need to choose the latest version instead of old ones.
   
7. In the Installers section, specify the source of installer files per operating system. Select Redirect to Visual Paradigm download site.
   
   Here are the available options:
   • Don't provide this installer - User will not see the download button when visiting the main page of update program. In other words, download is disabled for the installer of this operating system.
   • Redirect to Visual Paradigm download site - When client click the download button, it will try to download the installer from Visual Paradigm's download site through the internet.
   • Update to local - Installer files will be downloaded from the Internet to the update server from time to time. When client click the download button, it will try to download the installer from update server.
8. Configure how often updates will be checked and downloaded in the Synchronize Schedule section. The dropdown menu Recurrence controls how often updates will be checked. By selecting an option other than Never, set the start date and time, which is the first time to start checking and downloading product updates. Select Every day here.
   
9. Click Save.

Client side - Installation

1. Open the web browser and visit http://%UPDATE_SERVER_IP%:8080/ (e.g. http://192.168.0.100:8080)
2. Click on the Download VP Suite Installer button and proceed with downloading.
   
3. Execute the installer and walk through the installation.

Client side - Configure update source

VP Suite can help you check for update from time to time. But in order to make such checking occur, you must let VP Suite know the source of update - From Internet or from update server? In order to do this, the following steps are required.

1. After the installation, visit the Product Update page of update server.
   
2. Copy the VP Suite update URL on the right hand side of the page.
   
3. Run %VP_SUITE_INSTALLER_DIR%\bin\VP Suite Update.exe.
   
4. In the VP Suite Update dialog box, select Internal update server and input the copied path to the URL field. Click Check update.
   
5. You should see the following screen, telling you that you are already running the latest version. Click Finish. Now, VP Suite "knows" your update source (the path input above). It will help you perform checkig periodically when you run a product (e.g. VP-UML).
   

Client side - Automatic update checking

1. Visual Paradigm releases hotfix in weekly basis. Therefore, after a week, the update server should have detected changes and helped download the updates automatically...
   
2. Start the product after a week, you should see a message appear at the Message pane a while after the product has been started, telling you that there is available update.
   
3. Click on the message.
   
4. Let's say we want to update the installation now, keep Update now selected and click OK.
   
5. The update window will appear. Let it download the updated files for you.
   
6. During update, you must shutdown the running products to avoid the updated files crashing with the executing files. Exit the running product and click Yes to continue.
   
7. When finished, click Finish to exit from update. When you start the product again, it will be running in latest version.