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APPLICABLE TARGET: PLATO Intranet Applications, United Kingdom and Australasia.

Overview
The PLATOAtlas server is a DCOM server that runs when required to serve IIS requests. To function correctly, the PLATOAtlas DCOM server must be registered correctly and configured to run using an Active Directory account that gives it the permissions required to access both the PLATO SQL Database and the PLATO Middle Tier.

This document shows how to check the registration and configuration of the PLATOAtlas DCOM server as well as the configuration of IIS.

Requirements and Assumptions
The PLATOAtlas DCOM Server runs under an Active Directory account that you can specify. This account must have read/write access to both the PLATO Middle Tier share as well as the PLATO SQL Database. This account will be referred to in this document as the PLATOAtlas AD User Account. For some tests, this account may also be required to have Interactive Login permissions to the IIS server that you are running your PLATOAtlas Server on. For day-to-day running of the PLATOAtlas server once it is working correctly, Interactive Login is not required and can be disabled if you wish.

The article also refers to your IIS Server. This is the Microsoft IIS Server that you have installed the PLATOAtlas server on to.

Usually the IIS Server Virtual Directory that is set up for your PLATOAtlas Server uses an anonymous access account (an Active Directory Domain Account - usually IUSR_XXXXXXX - where XXXXXXX is the server name). This account is referred to as the IIS Anonymous User Account.

This article also assumes that you have installed your PLATOAtlas server into the "c:\program files\platoatlas" folder on your IIS Server. If you have installed this to a different folder location, then you will need to adjust any paths accordingly. The "c:\program files\platoatlas" server will be referred to as the PLATOAtlas Folder when appropriate.

PLATOAtlas AD User Account Checks
These checks ensure that the PLATOAtlas AD User Account can access the Middle Tier and SQL database.

1. Check the PLATOAtlas AD User Account has read/write (full permissions) to the PLATO Middle Tier share. The easiest way to do this is to log in to your IIS Server using your PLATOAtlas AD User Account and ensure that you can read/write to the PLATOAtlas Middle Tier folder.
2. Check the PLATOAtlas AD User Account has read/write access to the PLATO SQL Database (only required if your SQL Server uses mixed mode or trusted connection security). Usually you would do this by using a tool like SQL management studio when logged in to your IIS Server with your PLATOAtlas AD User Account.

DCOM Registration Check
This test ensures that your PLATOAtlas DCOM Server is registered correctly. You should perform this check while logged into the IIS Server using an Adminstrator account that allows you to work with and register DCOM components.

1. Run the PLATOAtlas.exe in the Bin folder in your PLATOAtlas Folder with a -regserver command line parameter (e.g. "c:\program files\platoatlas\bin\platoatlas.exe" -regserver). This will reregister the PLATOAtlas server if it hasn't been registered correctly during the install process. The command won't return any message.

DCOM Configuration Check
These tests will ensure the PLATOAtlas DCOM Server is configured with the correct security and the PLATOAtlas AD User Account to allow it to start correctly. You should perform these checks while logged into the IIS Server using an Adminstrator account that allows you to work with and register DCOM components.

1. Click Start and select Run.
2. Type DCOMCNFG into the Run dialog box and click OK.
3. The Windows DCOM Config application will start up:
   
4. Expand the Component Services branch:
   
5. Expand the Computers branch:
   
6. Expand the My Computer branch:
   
7. Expand the DCOM Config branch:
8. Locate the platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer node:
   
9. Note: If you can't locate the platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer node, look for the {76906C4B-D58D-4840-AC3D-C0EDDCFDDCA8} node instead. If neither node exist then your PLATOAtlas DCOM server has not been registered properly - see the DCOM Registration Check section above.
10. Once you have located the relevant node, right click on it and select properties.
11. The platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer Properties window will appear:
    
12. Select the Security tab:
    
13. Set the Launch and Activate permissions to custom and click the Edit button - add "Everyone" to the list of users allowed to Lunch and Activate this DCOM Server.
14. Set the Access permissions to custom and click the Edit button - add "Everyone" to the list of users allowed to Access this DCOM Server.
15. The security tab should then look like this:
    
16. Select the Identity tab:
    
17. Select This User and enter the username (including Domain) and password to the PLATOAtlas AD User Account. The identity tab should look similar to this:
    


18. Click OK.

Your PLATOAtlas DCOM Server should now be configured.

WC.INI File Check
The WC.INI file contains settings that are used to control how the PLATOAtlas Servers are started. The WC.INI file can be found in the webdir folder in your PLATOAtlas Folder.

1. Open the WC.INI file in notepad (or equivalent).
2. Check that the [wwcgi] path= setting is pointing to a valid temporary folder on your IIS Server and that the IIS Anonymous User Account has full access to this folder.
3. Check that the [wwcgi] Mechanism= setting is set to Automation.
4. Check that the [Automation Servers] ServerLoading= setting is set to 1.
5. Check that the [Automation Servers] KeepAlive settin= is setting is set to 1.
6. Normally you run more than one PLATOAtlas server at a time (for better performance). You should ensure that there is a line like "Server1=platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer" for each server you want to run under the [Automation Servers] section. For example to run four servers you would need the following lines:
   Server1=platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer
   Server2=platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer
   Server3=platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer
   Server4=platoatlas.PLATOAtlasServer
7. Save your WC.INI file if you have made any changes.

PLATOATLAS.INI File Check