Pre-Installation Worksheet

The Pre-Installation worksheet helps identify all the information required by the installer. Filling out the worksheet prior to installation will help the installation process run smoothly and provide a record of the settings used for ease of replication across multiple servers.

In a load-balanced configuration the values required by the installer must be the same for each application server and for the Collaboration server. Ports and settings that point to the database server, Collaboration server, and file system server must be the same on all servers.

Print a copy of this page for editing and later reference.

Pre-installation worksheet

The following information is needed by the installer to complete the installation.

1. Blackboard Destination Directory: ___________________________________________
   The path to a directory on the application server where Blackboard Learn will reside. Note that the installer will create a directory called blackboard within this directory.
2. Setup Type: ___________________________________________
   Select one of the following options:
   Full Installation: Select this option to install Blackboard Learn on one or more servers. This option is also used when installing Blackboard Learn on the database and the first application server.
   Appserver-only Installation Select this option when installing the second and all subsequent application servers or when setting up the Collaboration server in a load-balanced configuration.
3. License File: ___________________________________________
   The path to the current license file for this release and your institution. If a current License File is not available, contact your Blackboard Client Representative to request one. The License file determines which capabilities are installed. The license file will be automatically detected if it is renamed bb-license.xml and placed in the same directory as the installer. Make sure your license files isn't located in the Blackboard Learn installation directory.
4. Installer Properties File: ___________________________________________
   The path to the installer properties file. This is only required in Q2 2016 or later. This file must be located outside of the directory Blackboard Learn will be installed into. When starting the installer, be sure to refer to this file using its full path.
5. Java Location: ___________________________________________
   The path to the JDK.
6. Shared Content Directory: ___________________________________________
   The path to the directory where the Blackboard Learn content files associated with Courses, images uploaded to the system, and all other files added to the system will be stored. The default location is /usr/local/blackboard/content for Linux or c:\blackboard\content for Windows. The location can be a share on one of the application servers or on the database server, or it can be a SAN (storage area network) or NAS (network-attached storage) on a separate file server.
   In a load-balanced configuration, this location must be accessible by all of the application servers. To learn more about using a separate file server, see Set Up File System Storage.
7. Frontend Full Hostname :_________________________
   The default Hostname end users access the Learn service from. The Frontend Full hostname should be resolvable from the application server.
8. Frontend Port Number:_________________________
   The default port that will be used by end users to access the Learn service. This will in most cases be 443.
9. Frontend Protocol:_________________________
   The default Protocol that will be used by end users to access the Learn service. This will in most cases be https.
   Port 80 and Http should only be selected in a test or development scenario.
10. Application Server Machine Name: ___________________________________________
    The name of the application server. The installer will find the name of the machine that the installer is on and automatically populate this value. The installer must be run on the application server. To manually find the machine name of a server, follow the steps below:

    UNIX
        On the command line enter hostname....

    Windows
        1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties.
        2. Select the Network Identification tab.
        3. The full computer name and the domain name both appear. The full computer name is the application server Machine Name with the domain name appended (webservermachinename.domain).

11. Application Server Domain Name: ___________________________________________
    The domain portion of the fully qualified DNS where the server resides.
12. Application Server Port Number (applies to SP 14 and earlier releases): ___________________________________________
    The port that the application engine uses. The default value is 8009.
13. Web Server Port Numbers: ___________________________________________
    The port that the Web server will use for http connections with clients. For release April 2014 and later, the default values are 8080 and 8443. The default value is 80 for SP 14 and earlier releases. Note that these are internal values and should not be exposed externally - note here any change from the default to facilitate firewall and HTTPd port management.
14. Database Hostname: ___________________________________________
    The domain name and machine name where the SQL Server or Oracle database that Blackboard Learn will use is installed. The database machine name can be found the same way as the Web server machine name. When installed on a one server configuration, the database machine name is the same as the application server machine name. For this reason, the default value is the machine name of the local machine.
15. Database Instance Name: ___________________________________________
    The name of the SQL Server instance or Oracle SID where Blackboard Learn databases will reside.
16. Database Port (applies to April 2014 and later releases): ___________________________________________
    The SQL Server or Oracle Database port used by Blackboard Learn to communicate with the database.
        The default value for Oracle is 1521.
        The default SQL Server port is 1433.
17. SQL or Oracle System Database Administrator Password: _________________________
    The SQL System password associated with the "sa" login or Oracle Database Administrator (sys) password.
18. Blackboard Database User Password: ________________________________________
    A password for a SQL Server or an Oracle user that Blackboard Learn creates at install. This account is also used by the application to access the database.
19. Blackboard Database Report User Password: __________________________________
    The password for the Database Report User. This is a SQL Server or an Oracle user that Blackboard Learn uses to access the reporting database.
20. Content Management Database Password: _______________________
    The password for the database user the installer creates for the content management databases. This value is required only if your institution licenses content management.
21. Database Identifier: ___________________________________________
    Database identifiers must be unique within the database server, Begin with BB and be a maximum of 8 Characters long. The database identifier is, by default, BBLEARN. If this parameter is left blank, it will default to BBLEARN. This option is not visible during an upgrade, and is typically used exclusively in a multi-tenancy environment. A multi-tenancy environment offers the ability to host multiple Blackboard Learn instances on a single machine without the data being shared between instances. Multi-tenancy environments are not standard. If you are upgrading your environment and wish to rename your database identifier, contact Blackboard Support for assistance.
22. Database Data Directory: ___________________________________________
    The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database data files. This directory will not store application data or content. This directory must be on the database server. Make sure that the directory has space to accommodate database growth. This directory must be created before installing Blackboard Learn. Ensure SQL Server or Oracle has read/write/execute privileges.
23. Database Log Files and Index Data File Directory: ___________________________________________________________
    The directory that will store Blackboard Learn database log or index data files. This directory will not store application or Web logs. This directory must be on the database server. Ensure SQL Server or Oracle has read/write/execute privileges.
24. Blackboard File Storage database user Password: ___________________________________________
    The password which will be used for the BBLEARN_cms and BBLEARN_cms_doc databases. These databases store the locations and permission sets to content files added to Learn by users.
25. External Storage Location: ___________________________________________
    The location to store content files added to Learn by users.
26. Collaboration Server Machine Name: _________________________________________
    The machine name that runs the Collaboration Server. It is possible to dual-purpose an existing application to also serve as the Collaboration Server. Though not typically required, a separate server may be dedicated as the Collaboration server exclusively. In one server and two server configurations this machine name is the same as the application server machine name. In load-balanced configurations this machine name directs all Collaboration Tool traffic to one server to maintain session integrity across users.
27. Collaboration Server TCP/IP Port: ___________________________________________
    The default port is 8010.
    This port handles primary TCP communication for the Collaboration server. By default, TCP communication connects users to the Collaboration server
28. Collaboration Server HTTP Port: ___________________________________________
    The default port is 8011.
    This port handles HTTP communication for the Collaboration server and is configured for legacy reasons, but does not receive traffic in April 2014 and later releases.
29. Collaboration Server HTTPS Port: ___________________________________________
    The default port is 8012.
    This port handles HTTPS communications for the Collaboration server for downloading the applet.

    On Upgrade, you must change the Collaboration HTTPS port from the previous default of 8443 to the new default of 8012 otherwise there will be a conflict with the Tomcat https port setting of 8443.

30. SMTP Server: ___________________________________________
    The full hostname of the SMTP server that Blackboard Learn will use to send emails: For example: smtp.blackboard.com.
    The parameter bbconfig.email.bitbucket_address=email_address may be added and set in the bb-config.properties file to avoid system-generated messages, such as enrollment notifications and discussion board subscriptions from being sent to the administrator. The bit-bucket email address should be set to a valid campus address that has no recipients; failure to use a valid address will result in rejection by email servers.
31. Administrator Password: ___________________________________________
    The Administrator account has full Administrator privileges. This account and the root_admin account are the only two accounts that can log in until more users are created.
32. Integration User Password: ___________________________________________
    The integration user is used only to facilitate Snapshot operations. This account cannot be used to log in through the GUI nor does it appear in any lists of users in the user interface. To change the password for this account, on the Administrator Panel, under Building Blocks, select Integration Password.
    To learn more about the integration account, see Editing the Integration Password.
33. Root Administrator Password: ___________________________________________
    The root administrator account has full administrative privileges including the management of Virtual Installations through the Administrator Panel. When the r root administrator account user views the Administrator Panel, the Manage Virtual Installations link appears at the top of the panel. The root administrator can log in to any Virtual Installation and access the Virtual Installation management features from this link.
    The root administrator account is created even if your license does not include the use of additional Virtual Installations. The root administrator account can be modified from the Edit Root Administrator Profile page.
34. Administrator Name: ___________________________________________
    The name of the Administrator.
35. Administrator Email: ___________________________________________
    The email address of the Administrator.
36. Institution Name: ___________________________________________
    The institution that will be using Blackboard Learn.
37. Institution Type: ___________________________________________
    Choose one of the following options:
    K-12
    Higher Education
    Continuing Education
    Corporate
    Professional Association
    Hobby
38. City: ___________________________________________
    The state, province, or territory where the institution is located.
39. State: ___________________________________________
    The state, province, or territory where the institution is located.
40. ZIP/Postal Code: ___________________________________________
    The ZIP or Postal Code where the institution is located.
41. Country: ___________________________________________
    The Country where the institution is located.