Installing the Altium Vault

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Modified by Jason Howie on May 31, 2017
Contents

Parent article: Altium Vault

The Altium Vault is a full-blown engineering content management solution that delivers high integrity, smart design and product data management, by providing storage, formal revision management, supply chain intelligence, and lifecycle state management. It also facilitates a wide range of additional technologies and capabilities, by providing a centralized platform from which other vault-related services can be served, including: Team Configuration Management, Project Management, Network Installation, and Centralized Design Collaboration. Installation of the Altium Vault is both intuitive and expedient, courtesy of the Altium Vault Setup wizard.

This article takes a look at the procedure for installing the Altium Vault for the first time on a computer, and getting it licensed.

The Altium Vault can ONLY be installed and run on a PC running Windows 7 or above, as its Operating System. It cannot be installed on a PC running Windows XP. For additional system requirements, see Altium Vault System Requirements.
The Altium Vault is, essentially, the successor to the Altium Vault Server. If you already have an existing installation of the Altium Vault Server, you simply need to perform an update to the new Altium Vault. It is not advised to attempt to run both side-by-side. For more information, see the section Updating the Vault Installation, in the document Altium Vault - Details for IT Departments.
Prior to updating from a previous version of Altium Vault Server (1.1, 1.2) to the Altium Vault 2.0, it is a good idea to make a backup of your data - taking a golden copy off to one side as it were. This allows you to quickly restore your data (back into an Altium Vault Server 1.2 installation) should any unforseen technical difficulties arise. See Backup/Restore of Vault Data for the procedure to do this. Note however that changes to the database structure between a prior Altium Vault Server and Altium Vault 2.0 means that you cannot simply drop the data folder from the former into the installation for the latter.

Pre-Install Preparation

To access the Altium Vault Setup wizard, you need to first download and run an executable – Altium Vault <VersionNumber>.exe. This executable is downloaded from the Downloads page of the Altium website, and can be saved anywhere on your hard disk.

Due to the observed unpredictable behavior of antivirus software, it is recommended to disable such software during the installation of the Altium Vault (2.0 or later).

Running the Setup Wizard

Double-click the Altium Vault <Version Number>.exe file. The Altium Vault Setup wizard will appear.

Initial welcome page for the Altium Vault Setup wizard.

The installation wizard provides a set of progressive (and intuitive) pages that collectively gather the information to effectively install the vault.

Click Next to continue. The following sections provide a summary of the various pages you will encounter.

License Agreement

This page of the wizard presents you with the Altium End-User License Agreement (EULA).

Read and accept Altium's End-User License Agreement.

With the EULA read, continue with the install by checking the I accept the agreement box and clicking the Next button.

Select Destination Location

This next page of the wizard allows you to specify the destination in which to install the Altium Vault. The default installation path is \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault. The Altium Vault requires at least 441.9MB of free disk space for installation.

To specify an alternate location, simply type the location directly into the field, or click the Browse button at the right of the field and browse for the required destination folder (or create it on-the-fly).

Determine install location for the Altium Vault.

The Altium Vault doesn't just provide you with a vault. It also provides the base platform from which additional services are 'plugged' and served. These services include the Vault Service (the Altium Vault itself), Identification Service, Search Service, Network Installation Service, Comments Service, Data Acquisition Service, Part Catalog Service, Projects Service, and Team Configuration Service.

Once the install location is specified, click Next to continue.

Altium Vault Configuration

Use this next page of the wizard to specify the port number to be used by the Altium Vault for communications (HTTP). By default, port 9780 is used.

If you have a previous flavor of vault running on the same PC, ensure that the communication ports are unique. An Altium Vault uses the port 9780, an Altium Personal Vault uses the port 9680, while a legacy Satellite Vault uses port 9880.

Set the port number for server communications.

Once the port number is specified, click Next to continue.

Select Altium Vault Database

Use this page of the wizard to specify the type of database used for the vault. Two database types are available:

  • Firebird
  • Oracle
Firebird is the default database option. The Firebird 2.5 engine is used, on port 3050, creating a new database for the vault, with native support and no additional options. The Oracle database type facilitates streamlined installation of the Altium Vault within organizations already utilizing this type of database as the back-end for their existing systems. Hosting the vault on their existing infrastructure, reduces installation and management complexity.

Select the type of database for the vault's back-end.

Once the type of database is specified, click Next to continue.

Altium Vault Database Configuration

With the default Firebird database, there are no additional options to define. If the Oracle database type is chosen, this page will be presented. Use it to specify the following information:

  • Server Address - the location of the database, in the format Host:Port.
  • Username - username portion of your database login credentials.
  • Password - password portion of your database login credentials.
  • Database Name - the database file (including path).

Specify access to your company's Oracle database, which will be used by the Altium Vault.

All database parameters, including the user's password (in encrypted form), are saved to the LocalVault.ini file (located in the \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault folder for a default Altium Vault installation).

Select Altium Vault Data Directory

Use this page of the wizard to specify the destination folders in which to store the database and revision files respectively. The default installation paths are:

  • Data Folder – \ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData
  • Revision Files Folder – \ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData\Revisions

To specify an alternate location, simply type the location directly into a field, or click the Browse button at the right of a field and browse for the required destination folder (or create it on-the-fly).

Determine install locations for vault data.

Once the data folder locations are specified, click Next to continue.

Ready to Install

The Installer now has all the information it requires to proceed with the installation. If you need to change anything, click the Back button. If you want to cancel out of the install, click Cancel. To go ahead and proceed with the installation, click Install. The page will change from "Ready to Install" to "Installing" and the installation will proceed. Once complete, simply click Finish to exit the wizard.

The Altium Vault runs on top of the Microsoft Internet Information Services package (IIS). If this is not installed on the PC, you will be prompted to install it after the installation process begins.

Kick off the installation by clicking Install. Click Finish once installation is complete.

Verifying the Altium Vault is Running

Verification that the Altium Vault is running can be performed from the Windows Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager panel – accessed from Window's Administrative Tools window. Simply check to confirm the following Application Pools are in the Started state:

  • Altium Vault
  • Altium Vault - Applications Registry Service
  • Altium Vault - Comments Service
  • Altium Vault - Configurations Management
  • Altium Vault - Data Acquisition Service
  • Altium Vault - Data Storage Service
  • Altium Vault - Discovery Service
  • Altium Vault - Event Dispatching Service
  • Altium Vault - Identity Service
  • Altium Vault - Network Installation Management
  • Altium Vault - Network Installation Service
  • Altium Vault - Notifications Service
  • Altium Vault - Part Catalog Management
  • Altium Vault - Part Catalog Service
  • Altium Vault - Projects Management
  • Altium Vault - Projects Service
  • Altium Vault - Search Service
  • Altium Vault - Security Service
  • Altium Vault - Simple Lock Service
  • Altium Vault - Team Configuration Service
  • Altium Vault - User Management
  • Altium Vault - Vault Explorer
  • Altium Vault - Vault Service
  • Altium Vault - VCS Management

Checking that the Altium-related IIS application pools are started after installation.

Looking at the installed application pools, the Altium Vault pool is the base platform, into which the other services are plugged. The Altium Vault itself is plugged in as a service to this platform, and appears as the Altium Vault - Vault Service pool.

Licensing

Main article: Altium Vault Licensing

Licensing is handled locally through license files (*.alf), obtained through the AltiumLive Dashboard. Activate the applicable licenses to acquire the license files needed. A minimum of two files are required:

  • Altium Vault Server License - determines the features and technologies that are available for use by the organization. The license obtained will depend on the feature set bundle and can be one of the following:
    • Altium Vault Enterprise License <LicenseActivationCode>.alf
    • Altium Vault Workgroup License <LicenseActivationCode>.alf
    • Altium Vault Component License <LicenseActivationCode>.alf
  • Altium Vault Client Access License (CAL) - determines which of the features and services made available to the organization through the server license, can be accessed and used by the people within that organization. This license also determines how many users can simultaneously be connected to the vault. Although any number of users may be registered to access and use the vault, only that licensed number will be allowed to connect to it simultaneously. Each license provides a purchased number of seats, n, giving simultaneous connection to up to n different users. The license obtained will be named in accordance with the feature set available to the user, and corresponds to the same feature-set bundling as the server licensing:
    • Altium Vault Enterprise CAL_n License <LicenseActivationCode>.alf
    • Altium Vault Workgroup CAL_n License <LicenseActivationCode>.alf
    • Altium Vault Component CAL_n License <LicenseActivationCode>.alf

Once the license files are downloaded, drop them into the root installation folder for the Altium Vault (the default for which is \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault).

A mixture of different Client Access Licenses can be purchased, allowing you to tailor connection of your users to the vault, depending on which features and services different users require. Additional licensing can also be purchased as needed, to allow a higher number of simultaneous connections to the Altium Vault. Simply purchase the relevant Client Access License with the number of additional seats required.
The software checks every hour for the presence of valid license files. Without a valid license, access to the Altium Vault will not be possible.
If you try to connect to/access an Altium Vault from within Altium Designer, or an external Web Browser, and the limit on the number of simultaneous connections – determined by the licensing – has already been reached, sign-in will fail. In this case, you will be presented with a dialog alerting you to this fact, stating how many users are currently (and concurrently) logged in, and listing those users by Username. Through the vault's browser interface, an administrative user can kill the session for a user, to forcibly free up a connection.

Installation from the Command Line

The Altium Vault can also be installed from the command line, using the following entries:

  • InstallFolder - the location in which to install the Altium Vault. Specify the path within double quotes, for example "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\", for the default install.
  • Port - the communications port, for example 9780 for the default install.
  • DBType - the type of database to be used. Enter one of the following values: Firebird, or Oracle.
  • DBServer - the location of the database, in the format Host:Port. For example localhost:3050, for the default Firebird database install.
  • DBUserName - username portion of your database login credentials, for example MyName.
  • DBPassword - password portion of your database login credentials, for example MyPassword.
  • DatabaseName - name of the database (the database filename). Specify the path within double quotes, for example "C:\ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData\DXPServer.dat", for the default install.
  • DataFolder - destination database folder. Specify the path within double quotes, for example "C:\ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData", for the default install.
  • RevisionFolder - destination revision files folder. Specify the path within double quotes, for example "C:\ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData\Revisions", for the default install.

When entering the information on the command line, observe the following:

  • Start with the name of the installer executable, for example Altium Vault <VersionNumber>.exe.
  • Enter each parameter, followed by the equals symbol (=), and then its value.
  • Separate subsequent parameteric entries with a space followed by the forward slash character ( /).
  • To run without any dialogs popping up, be sure to add the entry VERYSILENT at the end.

An example command line entry might therefore be:

Altium Vault <VersionNumber>.exe /InstallFolder="C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\" /Port=9780 /DBType=Firebird /DBServer=localhost:3050 /DBUserName=MyName /DBPassword=MyPassword /DatabaseName="C:\ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData\DXPServer.dat" /DataFolder="C:\ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData" /RevisionFolder="C:\ProgramData\Altium\VaultServerData\Revisions" /VERYSILENT

 

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