Site preparations

CADMATIC eShare is based on client-server architecture. The server computer runs the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) web server to host design project data stored in Microsoft SQL Server databases and on disk. Client computers access and modify the data on the server using a web browser with either HTTP or HTTPS connection. Client logins are authenticated using Microsoft Windows user authentication.

Note: Using an HTTPS connection requires a valid SSL certificate. See Enabling HTTPS binding for secure access to eShare.

The following topics provide information on preparing a site for CADMATIC eShare installation.

• Site preparations
• Prepare the server computer
• Install Microsoft SQL Server
• Install CADMATIC License Server

Prepare the server computer

Make sure that the computer to be used as the CADMATIC eShare server (host) computer is set up according to the system requirements available at docs.cadmatic.com/systemrequirements.

Install Microsoft SQL Server

Make sure that your site has Microsoft SQL Server installed. It can be installed on the CADMATIC eShare server computer, or it can be on another server computer in the same network that the eShare server can access.

Even though also Microsoft SQL Server Express, the free version of the database engine, is compatible with eShare, we recommend that you use it only for evaluation purposes, and not in mission-critical production use. If you are planning to use the Express edition, be aware that any performance issues that might occur can be due to its various built-in limitations, such as limited database size, limited access to RAM, and limited support for multiple CPUs and cores. You can download the free database engine and Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio from the Microsoft web site at www.microsoft.com.

Note: Starting from the 2016 edition, Microsoft SQL Server requires a 64-bit operating system.

When installing SQL Server, you might want to specify the following settings:

• On the Feature Selection page, select to install the component SQL Server Replication.
• On the Instance Configuration page, select to use a Named instance.
• On the Database Engine Configuration page, select to use Mixed Mode authentication, and specify the password of the SQL Server system administrator (sa) account.

You need to know the instance name and ID (host\instance), if using a named instance, and have a suitable SQL Server login, when installing eShare.

Install CADMATIC License Server

For detailed information on how to manage CADMATIC License Server and update license files, see CADMATIC License Server manual in docs.cadmatic.com.

Make sure that your site has a CADMATIC license server installed, that it is accessible to the CADMATIC eShare server computer, and that it contains the required eShare licenses:

• One eShare server license ('eShare Server').

• The required number of eShare user licenses. These can be either named licenses ('eShare User') or floating licenses ('eShare Client'), depending on the intended license configuration.

  See Licensing for more details on licensing.

You need to know the license server's host name and port number when installing eShare.