Installation Guide for PowerSchool

Introduction PowerSchool Installer

The PowerSchool installer allows you to manage your PowerSchool deployment. It installs the database and application for a specific server, and it configures per-server settings such as database and web server ports, passwords, and file paths.

If this is the first time you are installing PowerSchool 21.x, proceed to the Installation Process section of this guide.

If you are already running PowerSchool, you need to be on version 19.x or higher in order to upgrade to PowerSchool 21.x. Obtain the applicable installers on PowerSource (PowerSource > PowerSchool > Downloads), then begin the installation process described in the Upgrade Guide for PowerSchool 21.x, available on PowerSource.

PowerSchool leverages Oracle, the leading relational database management solution for enterprise applications. All Oracle database tasks, including backups, are performed automatically. A Database Administrator can manage these backups.

Oracle is a SQL-based database. SQL is a standard language that many applications use to communicate with database management systems. The PowerSchool application is written in Java and translates web requests to standard SQL statements that are sent to Oracle for processing. After processing a request, the results are returned and translated back to the web server to create output as a web page or report.

Oracle also supports read-only ODBC connections to the database allowing the use of other third-party software to create custom reports and for data analysis.

Note: PowerSchool supports only Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 2016, or Windows Server 2019 Standard and Datacenter editions. Only the Application Server has been certified on Windows Server 2019 with PowerSchool SIS version 21.11.1.0 or above. The database server has not yet been certified on Windows 2019 and needs to be on one of the other supported versions.

Installation Process About PowerSchool Installer

PowerSchool Installer is a Web application that guides you through the installation process and allows you to configure your PowerSchool deployment after installation is complete. The application installs as a Tomcat service in Program Files\PowerSchool.

PowerSchool can be installed as a single server where PowerSchool, PowerTeacher, Oracle and the image server are configured on the same computer if the active student count is fewer than 3,000 students. If the student count is over 3,000 students, an array setup may be required, and a separate image server is recommended. If the student count is over 7,000 students, a separate image server is required. Check the minimum system requirements to determine the correct hardware setup. For more information see the PowerSchool Hardware and Software Requirements available on PowerSource.

Note: To log on to PowerSource, you will need a username and password. Installation Checklist

This installation guide explains how to install the database, database jobs, and the PowerSchool application node. It also describes the considerations required for installing servers in an array environment and covers basic server installation.

Here are the steps you will take to complete the installation of PowerSchool 21.x:

1. Verify all anti-virus and backup software are stopped and disabled.
2. Verify Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is set to scan Windows programs and services only.
3. Verify required ports are open as part of the Windows Firewall Inbound rules as documented in Knowledgebase article 66567. Note: During the install process the Windows Firewall may be disabled. However, after installation it is strongly recommended that the Windows Firewall be re-enabled and allow incoming traffic on the ports described in Knowledgebase article 66567.
4. Database installer setup (see Database Installer Setup).
5. Database installation (see Database Installation).
6. Application installer setup (see Application Installer Setup).
7. Application installation (see Application Installation).
8. Start up and then shutdown PowerSchool on the Task Master application node.
9. Start PowerSchool on the Task Master application node
10. Start PowerSchool on all other nodes (multiple server configuration)
11. Update connection settings on the Global Server Settings page and the ReportWorks Administration page in PowerSchool.
12. When the installation of the PowerSchool Database and the PowerSchool Application is complete, install the latest version of Java SE on client computers. This is to ensure ReportWorks, PowerTeacher Gradebook, and multiple PDF reports function properly.
13. When the installation of the PowerSchool Database and the PowerSchool Application is complete, set the following directories as exclusions in the anti-virus software used on the application server:
    • PowerSchool
    • Oracle
    • Oradata
14. Contact your sales representative to update license information.

Installation Prerequisites

The customer prerequisites that must be met prior to installing PowerSchool 21.x are as follows:

• Review the Hardware and Software Requirements for PowerSchool 21.x available on PowerSource.

Email information (optional for Oracle Jobs installer) including:

• SMTP server
• Email from address
• Email to address

Oracle account passwords (these can be new passwords):

• PS
• Psnavigator
• Dataminer
• Passwords must be at least 8 characters in length and at most 16 characters long. However, to avoid a Windows message prompt regarding password length, use a minimum of 13 characters in length.
• Passwords must also meet three of the following four criteria:
  • Password must contain one uppercase letter.
  • Password must contain one lowercase letter.
  • Password must contain one number.
  • Password must contain one special character ($, -, _, and #).

OS specific requirements:

Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019. Only the application server has been certified on Windows Server 2019. Please see System Requirements Guide for more information.

Region and Language format set to English

Log on as local administrator (not a Domain Administrator)

PowerSchool 21.x software download

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Installation Process 7

• IP address(es) to be used for Database and Application Nodes

Security:

SSL/TLS certificate

SSL/TLS intermediate certificates(s) (if applicable)

SSL/TLS password (if set)

Server Array

• A shared folder on your database server for Network Share functionality

Note: Existing Server usernames, IP address(es), and hostname should not be changed after installation. These values are saved internally in Oracle and if changed may prevent Oracle from starting up correctly.

Note: PowerSchool cannot be installed on a Domain Controller. Document Attachments:

A local drive or network share that contains enough free space to meet or exceed the value you will configure for the document server quota.

SSL certificates (See Security earlier in this section of the document).

Note: While the document drive location can be changed at a later date, your data is not automatically moved. To change the location of your Document Attachment data, see the Configure Document Server section of the Oracle Database Backup and Restore Guide available on PowerSource.

Required Information

You must gather the following information prior to installing PowerSchool 21.x:

• Database IP address

System Requirements

Prior to installing PowerSchool 21.x be sure your network, workstations, and server meet the minimum requirements for PowerSchool 21.x. Review the complete system requirements outlined in the PowerSchool Hardware and Software Requirements on PowerSource.

Go to https://support.powerschool.com/ and navigate to Support > Documentation > PowerSchool Documentation > System Requirements. You will need a Username and Password to log in.

Remote Desktop Support

When working with PowerSchool to troubleshoot an issue, or in the course of fulfilling a service related to the deployment, configuration, or implementation of PowerSchool, it may be necessary for PowerSchool to remotely access your PowerSchool server, or another computer.

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Installation Process 8

Upon determining that remote control of your PowerSchool server or another computer is necessary, the PowerSchool representative will provide you with instructions on establishing a remote control connection via Bomgar.

Bomgar Requirements

You must be able to access the following sites from the computer requiring remote control access:

https://support-remote.powerschool.com

https://tsg-remote.powerschool.com
You must also have physical or remote access to your PowerSchool server to accept/allow the Bomgar

connection.
It is not necessary to pre-install any software to establish a Bomgar connection.

System Survey

System Survey is a tool that improves the time it takes for PowerSchool Technical Support to help you in troubleshooting issues and provides PowerSchool Development with a better understanding of the variety of environments in use. System Survey will securely poll basic system configuration data (for example, RAM, hard drive size, browsers, etc.) on a periodic or as-needed basis. This information enables PowerSchool Technical Support to better serve you when technical issues arise and helps PowerSchool engineers implement improvements for future releases. Absolutely no Personally Identifiable Information (PII) can be collected, and there is absolutely no performance impact from this occasional polling.

PowerSchool strongly encourages you to proceed with this feature enabled during the installation process.

Email Information

The Oracle nightly backup job sends an Email notification to the address you specify during the Oracle backup process. Obtain the following information in order to configure the Email settings:

SMTP server

Email from address

Email to address

Drives

Ensure your free drive space meets or exceeds the values described in the PowerSchool Hardware and Software Requirements on PowerSource.

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Installation Process 9

Log on as Local Administrator

Verify with the system administrator that the account you log on to the computer with is a local administrator account and not a domain administrator account. Access to this computer must always be with this account should database maintenance need to be performed.

Note: Two users are added as part of the install process:

powerschool - A limited user that the PowerSchool, ReportWorks and Message Service runs as.

A member of the Users group.

psinstaller - An admin account used by the local Installer service to install, manage, and update the PowerSchool instance. This includes Oracle, PowerSchool SIS, and PowerSchool State Reporting. A member of the Administrators group.

Verify Windows Edition

PowerSchool supports only Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows server 2016, or Windows server 2019 Standard and Datacenter editions. Only the Application Server has been certified on Windows Server 2019 with PowerSchool SIS version 21.11.1.0 or above. The database server has not yet been certified on Windows 2019 and needs to be on one of the other supported versions.

Note: PowerSchool 21.x utilizes a version of Java packaged with the application and will not conflict with any version of Java installed independently on your server.

Multiple NIC Configuration

If you are using multiple Network Interface Cards (NIC), you need to set up the primary NIC in the Windows 2012 operating system. Use the following procedure to set up the NIC correctly:

Navigate to Start > Control Panel.

Select Network and Internet.

Select Network and Sharing Center.

Select Change Adapter Settings.

Select Organize > Layout > Menu Bar.

Select Advanced > Advanced Settings.

Select the Adapters and Bindings tab.

In the Connections box, use the arrow icons to set the NIC order.

Click OK.

Download PowerSchool Installation Files

For all new installations of PowerSchool, download the PowerSchool 21.x installation files from PowerSource.

• The PowerSchool Database Installer and Database Scripts Updater are located at Support > Downloads > PowerSchool Database > PowerSchool Database [version].

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Installation Process 10

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x • The PowerSchool Application installer is located at Support > Downloads > PowerSchool >

PowerSchool Installers > PowerSchool 21.x > PowerSchool [version]. The installers for PowerSchool 21.x are:

PowerSchool PowerSchool Database [version] Installer.zip Database

PowerSchool PowerSchool Application [version] Installer.zip Application

Extract the zip files on the applicable server.

PowerSchool Database Installation

The database installer installs Oracle 19C software and creates an Oracle database.

PGA/SGA Memory PGA Memory:

Default amount of PGA memory to dedicate to this database (PGA_AGGREGATE_LIMIT) is set to 2048M. In production instances it is recommended that a value of 3096M be used as a starting value.

Customers with over 15,000 students should increase the PGA_AGGREGATE_LIMIT by 200M per 5,000 students in excess of 15,000. For 30,000 students, PGA_AGGREGATE_LIMIT would be (30,000-15,000)/5,000 * 200M + 3096M.

SGA Memory:

Default amount of SGA memory to dedicate to this database (SGA_MAX_SIZE) is set to 5120M. In production instances it is recommended that a value of 7740M be used as a starting value.

Customers with over 15,000 students should increase the SGA_MAX_SIZE by 1,280M (1.25G) per 5,000 students over 15,000. For 30,000 students, SGA_MAX_SIZE would be (30,000- 15,000)/5000 * 1280M + 7740M.

Installation Process 11

Note: Depending upon the functionality used in the application, these values may not be sufficient, and the DB could require further tuning for larger districts.

Database Layout

During the installation process, you can determine the Oracle database and software layout by selecting different drives or volumes. You can select up to four drives during installation. The following tables display the distribution of the database files based on which drive or volume you select.

Note: If using more than one drive, make drive 2 the fastest accessed drive (if possible) as this is the data drive.

Oracle Software Drive

PowerSchool Database Drive

Archive Log Drive

Installation Log

Oracle Binaries and scripts

PowerSchool data files
Multiplex online redo logs and control files

Archive log files

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

The installer copies the needed files to the computer, and then performs a number of Oracle tasks. The tasks are written to a log file, which you can view while the installer is running:

[drive path]:\Program Files\PowerSchool\logs\tomcat-agent\agent.[CURRENT DATE].log

Note: The text file displays the status of the install when you opened the file using Notepad. To view updated information, close the file and reopen it.

Note: There may be errors reported in the agent log that can be safely ignored. For details on which errors can be ignored and which are actionable, see Knowledgebase article 57774.

Install the PowerSchool Database

The PowerSchool Database Installer is only required for new installations of PowerSchool, and for customers upgrading from a previous major version of the PowerSchool Database. Consult the Release Notes document for the release version to verify if the Database Installer is needed.

The first step of the installation process is the PowerSchool Installation Setup Application. The first task the installer package performs is to prepare the server for the installation process. Necessary installation files are unpacked and stored on the server. Oracle is installed on your server during this process.

Installation Process 12

The Installation Setup application then launches the PowerSchool Installer. You will use the PowerSchool Installer to configure the PowerSchool database. The PowerSchool Installer provides you the opportunity to review and confirm your choices throughout the installation process:

Click Previous to review or change an earlier entry. The PowerSchool Installer will retain the data you entered.

Click Confirm to continue.

Click Cancel at any time to stop the installation process.
For more information on the fields on each page in the PowerSchool Database Installer, see the

respective field description table in the Appendix, or click on the page link in the procedure.
If this is the first time you are installing PowerSchool, proceed to How to Install the PowerSchool

Database.
How to Install the PowerSchool Database

Note: All processes accessing the database should be stopped before starting the install, and then restarted after the install.

Database Installer Setup

Download the database installer to the server desktop and extract the file.

Double-click PowerSchoolDatabaseInstallerSetup.exe file. The User Account Control dialog appears.

Click Yes to authorize the installation to make changes to the computer. The PowerSchool License Agreement dialog appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept. The Apache License Agreement dialog appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept. The Common Development and Deployment

License appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept. The PowerSchool Database Installer Setup

dialog appears. After checking the required files, the Continue button appears.

Select the drive on which to install the PowerSchool Installer and the PowerSchool instance from the pop-up menu and click Continue. The PowerSchool database files, and the PowerSchool Installer files are distributed into the folder structure you selected.

The Database Installer Setup application will report that is has completed with no errors if this process is successful. If any errors are encountered during the process they will be reported near the bottom of the listing.

Click the Continue button to launch the PowerSchool Installer web application in your default web browser.

The PowerSchool Installer web application launches in your default web browser after the installer setup is complete. If the PowerSchool Installer does not automatically launch, navigate to Program Files > PowerSchool and double-click PowerSchool Installer.html, and the PowerSchool Installer launches in your default web browser. The System Survey page appears.

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Installation Process 13

9. On the System Survey page, select Accept or Decline, and then click Next. The Drives, Memory, and IP Address page appears.

Database Installation

On the Drives, Memory and IP Address page, select the applicable database drive(s) for your environment. Verify the RAM setting is correct for your setup and that the correct IP address for the database server is displayed, then click Next.

On the Database Security/SID Page, enter the Oracle passwords for the PS, PSNavigator and Dataminer accounts, and modify the Oracle database SID if appropriate. Note that the Windows account used to administer Oracle is documented at the bottom. The default SID is generally satisfactory, and you do not need to change the SID value unless you are an experienced user. By default, Oracle provides DBA privileges to the currently logged in account. Click Next when you are finished entering data.

On the Database Installer Confirmation page, click Confirm to install the database. The Database Installer Summary page appears.

The PowerSchool database is successfully installed. The installation process performs the following sub-tasks:

Note: The PowerSchool Summary page may reference log files or errors, some of which can be safely ignored. For details on which errors can be ignored and which are actionable, see Knowledgebase article 57774.

On the Database Summary page, click Done. The Configure Server page appears.

Close the PowerSchool Installer and restart the server.

Note: You must now restart the server to complete the Oracle installation.

After the server restarts:

15. If migrating from another server running PowerSchool, copy the following folders from the PowerSchool\data folder:

• custom • external • picture • report

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

• •

o o

Installs Oracle components to drives based on the Database Layout table listed previously

Creates Oracle Services:

o OracleJobSchedulerPSPRODDB, OracleOH19000TNSListener OracleServicePSPRODDB and Oracle PSPRODDB VSS Writer Service.

Installs data management scripts

Enables jobs to back up your data. If you want to receive email notifications related to the backup jobs, click the Configure PowerSchool Backup Jobs link on the start page in the Database Configuration section.

Installation Process 14

• keys

Copy these folders from the original server to the new server in the PowerSchool\data folder and merge them individually with the existing custom, external, picture, and report folders.

Ensure any SSL certificates are in a location that can be accessed through the file system of the server intended for 21.x. Copy or move them as necessary.

On the 21.x server, navigate to Program Files > PowerSchool and double-click PowerSchool Installer.html. The PowerSchool Installer launches and the Configure Server Page appears.

Click Configure PowerSchool Backup Jobs. The Configure PowerSchool Backup Jobs page appears. If you want to receive email notifications related to the backup jobs, enter information in the fields provided. If you do not want to enable email notifications, click Next.

A Confirmation page appears. Click Confirm. The PowerSchool Backup Jobs begin. This process may take some time to complete.

The Configure Server page appears after the backup jobs are installed. The PowerSchool Database is successfully configured.

Close the PowerSchool Installer and proceed to the Update the PowerSchool Database section of this guide.

Note: If you have not already done so, run the Configure PowerSchool Back Jobs process via the link on the PowerSchool Installer Start Page. The backup script must be in place.

Backup jobs must be installed AND enabled. If you have manually disabled them, see Knowledgebase article 64609 for instruction on re-enabling them.

Update the PowerSchool Database

Note: The Database Scripts Updater is available for a release if updates to the database are necessary. Check the PowerSchool > Downloads folder on PowerSource to see if a Database Scripts Updater is needed for the release. When updating a major version of Oracle (Oracle 12.2 to 19C for example), only the database installer is used; the installer will coordinate the data migration between the two databases. Database Scripts Updater is used to upgrade within a version of Oracle.

All fixes and updates to the PowerSchool Database Installer are packaged in the latest Database Scripts Updater. Installations of the Oracle database using the latest installer will normally already contain these updates, but customers with an outdated version of the PowerSchool Database Installer must apply the latest Database Scripts Updater to their Database Server. Consult the applicable release Downloads page and Release Notes to verify the appropriate installer versions for that release.

If you are unsure if your Oracle installation is up to date, verify the current version name of the following folder on the PowerSchool Database server: [Drive]:\Program Files\PowerSchool\application\installed- packages\oracle-scripts-[Database Version]. If the Database Version is equal to the version of the latest Database Scripts Updater, you may skip the Update the PowerSchool Database section of this guide.

If the Database Version is less than the version number of the latest Database Scripts Updater, you must follow all steps to update the PowerSchool Database before proceeding.

If you are running PowerSchool on a Server Array, run the Database Scripts Updater on the Database node. Be sure to stop the PowerSchool/PowerTeacher and ReportWorks services on all other nodes before running the Database Scripts Updater.

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Installation Process 15

The PowerSchool database will stop and start automatically during this process. The update script can take up to three hours to complete, depending on the size of the database.

Important: Perform all steps in this section on the PowerSchool Database Server.

Download the Database Scripts Updater from PowerSource to the PowerSchool Database

server desktop and extract all files.

Double-click the extracted PowerSchoolDatabaseJobsSetup.exe file. The User Account Control dialog appears.

Click Yes to authorize the installation to make changes to the computer. The PowerSchool License Agreement dialog appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept if you agree to the terms. The Apache License Agreement dialog appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept if you agree to the terms. The Common Development and Deployment License appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept if you agree to the terms. The PowerSchool Database Jobs Setup verification dialog appears.

Click Continue. The PowerSchool Database Installer Setup dialog appears.

Click the Continue button to launch the PowerSchool Installer web application in your default web browser. The Upgrade Application Content page appears if the PowerSchool application was previously installed. If it is not installed, skip steps 9-11 and proceed to the next section, Install the PowerSchool Application.

Click Next. The Confirmation page appears. The applications currently installed are listed on the page.

Click Confirm. The upgrade installation proceeds.

On the Database Summary page, click Done. The Configure Server page appears. The database scripts update is now complete. Proceed to Install the PowerSchool Application. If you are already running a version of the PowerSchool Application that is compatible with this version of the database and were not planning on upgrading the application, see the Special Note below.

Note: The PowerSchool Summary page may reference log files or errors, some of which can be safely ignored. For details on which errors can be ignored and which are actionable, see Knowledgebase article 57774.

Special Note: If the district had installed a version of the PowerSchool application that is compatible with this new version of the database (owerchool 20.11.4.0/21.4.1.0 or higher for Oracle 19C) and will NOT be updating to a newer version immediately following the database upgrade, the following steps are required in order to update the APEX client which is used in Enterprise Reporting.

On each application node with ReportWorks (all OLAP content) installed, shut down the PowerSchool and ReportWorks services.

From the installer’s Start Page, click Deploy and Configure Application. The Deploy and Configure Application dialogue appears.

Confirm that ReportWorks appears in the section titled These Applications are Already Installed (Deselect Application to Uninstall). If not, this application node does not have ReportWorks installed and the remaining steps may be skipped.

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Installation Process 16

Uncheck ReportWorks and click Next.

On the following page, click Confirm to uninstall ReportWorks.

When uninstall completed, click Done to return to the Start Page.

Click Deploy and Configure Application. The Deploy and Configure Application dialogue appears.

Check ReportWorks in the installation section of the page and click Next.

Click Next on the following configuration pages to maintain the same settings currently

in use.

After ReportWorks is re-installed, the application will have access to the updated Apex client for Enterprise Reporting. The upgrade is now complete.

Install the PowerSchool Application

The next step in the installation process is to install the PowerSchool application. If this is a single server installation, the PowerSchool application will be installed on the database server. If this is an array setup, the application will be installed on separate dedicated servers.

The PowerSchool Installation Setup Application runs again to prepare the server for the application installation and load the required files on the server.

The Installation Setup application then launches the Installer. You will use the Installer to configure the PowerSchool application. You can click the Previous button at any time to review or alter earlier choices. You may also rerun the Installer later to change options.

For more information on the fields on each page in the PowerSchool Database Installer, see the respective field description table in the Appendix, or click on the page link in the procedure.

How to Install the PowerSchool Application
Note: In a server array environment, begin the PowerSchool Application Installer workflow starting on

the Task Master node and then move on to each node.

Application Installer Setup

Download the application installer to the PowerSchool application server desktop.

Double-click PowerSchoolApplicationInstallerSetup.exe file. The User Account Control dialog appears.

Click Yes to authorize the installation to make changes to the computer. The PowerSchool License Agreement dialog appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept. The Apache License Agreement dialog appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept. The Common Development and Deployment

License appears.

Review the license agreement and click Accept. The PowerSchool Application Installer Setup verification dialog appears.

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Installation Process 17

7.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x If necessary, select the drive on which to install the application from the pop-up menu and click

Continue. The PowerSchool Application Installer Setup dialog appears.

The PowerSchool application files, and the PowerSchool Installer files are distributed, and the PowerSchool Installer Web application launches in your default browser. The Application Installer Setup application will report that is has completed with no errors if this process is successful. If any errors are encountered during the process they will be reported near the bottom of the listing.

Note: If the PowerSchool Installer does not automatically launch, navigate to Program Files > PowerSchool and double-click PowerSchool Installer.html. The PowerSchool Installer launches in your default web browser.

8.

9. On the Deploy and Configure Application page, select the applicable country, state, and applications to install, then click Next. The Create PowerSchool Monitor Shortcut page appears. Note: The PowerSchool Installer workflow is dependent on the applications you choose to install. Some of the pages and fields described in this procedure may not display.
Note: If using Schoolnet with PowerSchool, you must select the following checkboxes on all nodes in order for Schoolnet to function: PowerSchool Identity Provider and PowerTeacher API.

Note: If installing plugins that use SAML SSO, you must select the PowerSchool Identity Provider checkbox on all nodes in order for SSO to function.

Note: If using Document Attachments functionality, you must select PowerSchool Document Server for all nodes running PowerSchool.

Select the checkbox to add the PowerSchool Monitor shortcut to the Windows Start folder, then click Next. The Database Connection page appears.

Enter applicable database connection information, then click Next. The Configure Application Instance page appears. Select the applicable options for this installation. For more information, see the Server Array Configuration section. Click Next. The Configure Mapped Drives page appears.

Enter the applicable drive mapping information, then click Next. The Import an SSL Certificate and Key into Database page appears. Note: If you are setting up a server array, your Network Share must be configured here and the Use this drive for data folder must be set to continue.

Enter and select the applicable SSL options, then click Next. The Configure ReportWorks Service Network Settings page appears.

Select and enter the applicable ReportWorks settings, then click Next. The Configure ReportWorks Services Memory Settings page appears.

Enter values in the fields provided, then click Next. The Configure PowerSchool/PowerTeacher Service Network Settings page appears.

Select and enter the applicable PowerSchool/PowerTeacher settings, then click Next. The Configure PowerSchool/PowerTeacher Service Memory Settings page appears.

Click Continue. The Deploy and Configure Application page appears. Application Installation

Installation Process 18

On the Server Type Configuration page, select the checkbox if you are installing the application on a test server. If you are installing on a production server, leave the checkbox unselected. Click Next. the Confirmation page appears.

Review the list of applications to be installed. The items that appear on this page are dependent on the selections you made during the installation and configuration process. Click Previous to review the information entered. Click Confirm to install the applications. Click Cancel to stop the installation. The progress bar and status messages appear.

On the installation Summary page, review any additional messages and click Done to complete the application installation. The PowerSchool and ReportWorks services will be started by default. You may need to restart the PowerSchool service multiple times for it to complete all of the schema updates. The PowerSchool application installation is now complete.

Note: If the IP addresses displayed do not appear to be correct, be sure you have set up the NIC correctly. For more information, see Multiple NIC Configuration in the Preinstall Checklist section.

Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) Special Instructions

Customers using SIF must do one additional step after installing or upgrading PowerSchool 21.x. The powerschool-events-adapter-sif-outgoing.jar file must be added to the following directory in order for PowerSchool to start:

ProgramFiles\PowerSchool\application\components\powerschool-core-[version number]\WEB- INF\lib\bundles\ext\

Once the .jar file is in place after the PowerSchool installation, restart PowerSchool, and then proceed with the normal PowerSchool startup.

The latest version of the SIF adapter jar file is available for download from PowerSource.

PowerSchool Monitor

PowerSchool Monitor is a stand-alone application that resides on the host server. Using PowerSchool Monitor, you can monitor the state of the PowerSchool and ReportWorks services with the information provided by the various logs and also address items that require attention.

A shortcut is created in the Program Files\PowerSchool\ folder during the PowerSchool Applications installation process.

The Status tab displays the health of any monitored Tomcat service. The service is considered up if it can serve pages, down if it can't make network contact, and transitional if it is somewhere in-between.

The Tomcat services are started at the end of the installation process. You can use the PowerSchool Monitor to see how the startup process is progressing.

During the initial startup of the services a number of schema and reports updates may need to be made. This can take some time to complete and you may need to restart the PowerSchool service more than once in order for all of the updates to complete.

A 503 error is normal during the startup process when using the PowerSchool URL. Watch the PowerSchool Monitor to view the process of the update. Initial startup time is dependent on the size of the database.

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Installation Process 19

If the PowerSchool service status indicator turns red at any point you should check the PS-runtime log to see if the logging has been stopped. This can occur if the schema updates need for the service to be restarted. Restart the service using the services application. The PowerSchool service may show that it is still running so you will have to stop and then restart the service. After the service starts you will see more information displayed in the log tab of the PowerSchool Monitor. After a short while the status indicator for the service should turn green to show that it is ready to serve web pages.

How to Monitor Installation Status

Double-click the PowerSchool Monitor shortcut.

Click the Status tab. The Status page displays the following information for each Tomcat service:

Application Message Service

An Application Message Service manages communication to and from PowerSchool. Configure the Application Message Service on the Configure Application Instance page in the PowerSchool Installer. For more information, see Configure Application Instance Page in the Appendix.

Note: When performing a new installation of PowerSchool, the Application Message Service must be configured before PowerSchool will successfully start.

Special Upgrade Instructions When Application Message Service is on a Secondary Node

If the Application Message Service is installed on a secondary node, follow these steps in order to successfully start PowerSchool:

1. Upgrade the secondary node that is running the message service before upgrading the Task Master node. For more information, see the PowerSchool Upgrade Guide, available on PowerSource. PowerSchool will fail to start on this node as it is dependent on the Task Master

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Installation Process 20

node, but in the process of attempting to start PowerSchool, the Application Message Service

will start.

Upgrade the Task Master node. Allow PowerSchool to complete the startup process and execute

all version fixes.

Restart PowerSchool on the secondary node that is running the Application Message Service.

Note: Always start PowerSchool on the node with the Application Message Service first before starting the Task Master node.

Windows Server 2012 R2/2016/2019 Settings

On Windows Server 2012 R2/2016/2019, the Windows firewall is enabled by default. Ensure that the following ports are open on the network interface, which connects to the application nodes. See the following Knowledgebase article for more information about specific port usage:

UDP 6112 (Intra server messaging)

Port for PowerSchool and PowerTeacher Gradebook (80 or 443 by default)

Port for Enterprise Reporting and ReportWorks (7980 or 8443 by default)

TCP 1521 (Oracle connection)

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Installation Process 21

TCP 61616 (ActiveMQ) Server Array Configuration About Server Array

PowerSchool server array is designed around a distributed network of PowerSchool servers. This architecture allows PowerSchool to dynamically scale for larger school districts while maintaining flexibility and performance.

There is currently no technical limit to the number of application nodes PowerSchool server array can support. PowerSchool server array has been deployed successfully in configurations of two to fourteen application nodes.

A server array is defined as more than one server running a PowerSchool application (PowerSchool, PowerSchool Document Server, ReportWorks, PowerTeacher and PowerTeacher Administrator or PowerSchool Identity Provider).

Enable Server Array

Enable the server array with specific settings on the server and through the PowerSchool Installer and specific pages in PowerSchool.

Database Server Settings

Ensure that file sharing is enabled on the database server. Consult your operating system documentation for further information.

AutoComm and AutoSend Setup

On a standard installation of PowerSchool, there is one application node and one database that reside on the same machine. AutoComm and AutoSend jobs on this configuration are able to import and export a file from any location on the machine. On a PowerSchool Server Array configuration on the other hand, many application nodes share a common database. In order for the AutoComm and AutoSend file to be located from any application node, the file must reside in a directory accessible to all nodes.

If the AutoComm and AutoSend jobs are not written to the PowerSchool folder structure, be sure to grant permissions to the PowerSchool operating system user for the applicable folder.

Server Array Preferences

General PowerSchool Server Array preferences are configured on the PowerSchool Server Array Preferences page:

Start Page > System Administrator > System Settings > Server Array Settings > Server Array Preferences.

There is one required preference:
TCP 61616 (ActiveMQ) Server Array Configuration 22

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Global Server Settings

Consult the PowerSchool Online Help for information on configuring the Global Server Settings.

Network Share

The PowerSchool Server Array configuration requires that several network share folders must be created. The network shares are links to specific mounted folders on attached volumes such as a network volume. The network share folders store custom web pages, student and faculty photos, scheduling engine files, batch result files, AutoComm and AutoSend files, SAIS reporting, and ReportWorks report output.

The required network share folders are suggested to be hosted on the database server. The data folders should have already been created in the PowerSchool Installer on the Configure Mapped Drives page.

The following folders need to exist on the Network Share. When converting from a single server to a server array these folders, and their contents, should be copied from {install drive}:\Program Files\PowerSchool\data to the Network Share.

custom

external\autocomm

external\autosend

external\SAIS (if Arizona)

external\EIS (if Tennessee)

external\powerschedule\staging

external\scheduler\staging

keys

Picture

Report\queue

Note: The keys folder contains critical information needed to decrypt certain values.
Note: If you copied your Network Share from your previous installation of PowerSchool, you can utilize

these folders for PowerSchool 21.x.

TCP 61616 (ActiveMQ) Server Array Configuration 23

Task Master Role

The Task Master has two primary functions: start up PowerSchool and nightly database tasks. During startup, the Task Master ensures that all nodes are running the same version of PowerSchool. It detects and prevents a node from attempting to launch a different version than its own.

Note: Any node can be assigned the Task Master role, as long as the node meets the minimum requirements for the computer. The Task Master node must always be running prior to launching any other application nodes.

Assign the Task Master to a node on the Configure Application Instance page in PowerSchool Installer, or on the Server List page in PowerSchool.

Working with PowerSchool on the Application Nodes

It is critical to launch the Task Master first whenever an upgrade is being performed. Wait for the upgrade to complete before starting the remaining nodes.

Note: Special installation instructions are needed when installing the Application Message service on a secondary node. For more information, see Special Upgrade Instructions When Application Message Service is on a Secondary Node. Note that when Application Message Service is enabled, the server node on which the message service is configured must be started before the Task Master node in order for PowerSchool to start. Another option if you do not want to run PowerSchool on the Application Message server would be to start the PowerSchool Message Service in the Windows Services, then start up the Task Master Node.

How to Launch PowerSchool on the Application Nodes

Go to the Task Master node.

Launch PowerSchool and wait until startup is complete. This can be viewed from the PowerSchool Monitor.

Repeat for the other application nodes.

How to Upgrade PowerSchool on the Application Nodes

Shutdown PowerSchool on all nodes.

Upgrade PowerSchool on the Task Master node via the PowerSchool Installer.

Launch PowerSchool on the Task Master node and wait until startup is complete. This can be viewed from the PowerSchool Monitor.

Upgrade PowerSchool on all other nodes one at a time waiting for startup to complete between each upgrade.

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TCP 61616 (ActiveMQ) Server Array Configuration 24

Configure PowerSchool Document Server Configure PowerSchool Document Server

Configure the document server where you will store documents you attach to student records in PowerSchool. This can be a local or mapped drive.

How to Configure the PowerSchool Document Server

On the PowerSchool server, navigate to Program Files > PowerSchool and double-click PowerSchool Installer.html. The PowerSchool Installer launches in your default web browser and the Configure Server page appears.

Click Deploy and Configure Application. The Deploy and Configure Application page appears.

Select the PowerSchool Document Server checkbox in the Select Applications to Install section.

Click Next. The Database Connection page appears.

Enter the server information in the fields provided. For more information, see Database

Connection Page in the Appendix. Click Next. The Configure Mapped Drives page appears.

Select a Document Server checkbox, and then enter the applicable server information in the fields provided. For more information, see Configure Mapped Drives Page in the Appendix. Click Next. The Confirmation page appears.

Enter the Document Server Quota Size in the field provided. Entering zero (0) renders Document Attachments as a read-only feature.

Review the information on the Confirmation page. The items that appear on this page are dependent on the selections you made during the installation and configuration process. Click Previous to review the information entered. Click Cancel to stop the installation. Click Confirm to install the applications. The progress bar and status messages appear.

On the installation Summary page, review any additional messages and then click Done to complete the application installation.

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Configure PowerSchool Document Server 25

Image Server Setup About Image Server

An image server is just what its name implies: a computer with the sole or primary task of sending image files to remote hosts. Image servers are used to spread the operational burden of Web servers, optimizing available network bandwidth, storage space, and processing power. The PowerSchool image server also serves JavaScript and CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) files in the PowerSchool scripts directory.

Why Set Up a PowerSchool Image Server?

Your PowerSchool server routinely serves up thousands of static image, JavaScript, and CSS files each day to users during the course of business, in addition to storing and retrieving data, organizing and formatting information for reports, and performing complex calculations on user demand. In large school environments, particularly when students and parent access is enabled, the operational load on the Web server can negatively impact user experience.

Setting up an image server eases the burden on your production database server by handling all the requests for the many static files that are used by PowerSchool, improving overall speed and performance. Essentially, an image server is a load- balancing mechanism. Because the PowerSchool application itself does not process the static file requests, performance can be improved even if the image server is set up on the same physical machine.

Image Server Configuration

PowerSchool does not directly support the installation and/or configuration of the Web server. If any issues with the installation or configuration of the Web server arise, contact the respective software provider of the Web server. Refer to the operating system instructions for how to set up a web server.

It is recommended that you configure your image server to GZIP the following mime types:

• text/html • text/xml • text/css
• text/plain

• text/javascript
• application/javascript
• application/x-javascript • image/svg+xml

Additionally, it is recommended that you configure your image server to have certain CORS options enabled:

Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://my.image.server.org Note: This should be set to your PowerSchool SIS domain.

Access-Control-Expose-Headers: Location Enable Image Server

Enable the image server on the Configure Application Instance page of the PowerSchool Installer. Image Server Setup 26

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Copy PowerSchool Images and Scripts

Once you have installed and configured your Web server, the next step in the Image Server Setup process is to copy the PowerSchool images and scripts directories to the Web server root. You must copy these files after each upgrade of PowerSchool.

All files in images directories must be copied to the images folder on the image server

All files in the scripts directories need to be copied into the scripts folder on the image server.

How to Copy PowerSchool Images to the Web Server Root

Navigate to the root folder of the Web service created on the server, such as Program Files >

Apache > [Apache folder/htdocs].

Create a new folder in the Web server root folder named psimages.

Navigate to the PowerSchool folder (Program Files\PowerSchool).

In the PowerSchool folder, navigate to applications\ components\powerschool-core- [version]\system\server\resources\web_root.
Note: If PowerSchool is not installed on this server, copy the folder from a server with PowerSchool installed.

Copy the entire images and scripts directories from the Web server root folder to the psimages folder.

Repeat the process for the following folders:
• applications\components\reporting-[country]-[state/province]-[version]\web_root\ • applications\components\reporting-common-[version]\web_root\

Test Image Server Images

After you have installed and configured your Web server and copied the PowerSchool images to the Web server root, the next step in the Image Server Setup process is to test the image server.

How to Test Image Server Images

Open a Web browser on the machine on which you installed and configured the image server.

Enter the local IP address of the machine, the image server port number, and the path, such as: http://192.168.1.100:5071/psimages/images/btn_go.gif.

Locate the Lookup Icon in the Web browser. If you do not see the image, you will need to troubleshoot the Web server configuration.

Change the local IP address in the URL to your fully qualified domain name and the port number and path to the image, such as: http://powerschool.yourserver.k12.us:5071/psimages/images/btn_go.gif

Click Go or press Enter.

Verify that the same image appears. If not, you will need to troubleshoot why your domain

name is not resolving internally.

Image Server Setup 27

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

7. Find a machine that is outside the district’s network and enter the fully qualified domain name, port number, and path to an image, such as: http://powerschool.yourserver.k12.us:5071/psimages/images/btn_go.gif

8. Verify that the same image appears. If not, you will need to troubleshoot why your domain name is not resolving externally.

Note: If the image is not visible outside of the network, remember to check the firewall settings and verify that the image server port is open.

If the image is visible outside of the network, the image server is configured, and you can now configure PowerSchool to use the image server.

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Image Server Setup 28

SSL Configuration About SSL Configuration

The Secure Socket Layer (SSL) securely transmits student data between web browsers, PowerTeacher, and your PowerSchool server. The data is secured using industry-standard SSL, which is transparent to the user, automatically switching to a secure connection when SSL is enabled.

Before implementing SSL, you must purchase an SSL certificate from a certificate authority. This certificate authenticates the server with the user, as well as manages the security of the transmitted data.

For important information about configuring SSL see Knowledgebase article. SSL Concepts

The Secure Socket Layer, or SSL, is an encryption and security scheme that protects transmitted information from being read by unauthorized parties. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) communications (information sent to and from web servers) is normally sent as plain text, which any third party can read if the communication is intercepted. The SSL scheme encrypts communication from the Internet so that intercepted messages are unreadable. Authorized users, however, can decrypt these “scrambled” messages. The SSL process does not require action on the part of the non- administrative user.

Certificate Authority

A Certificate Authority (CA) is a vendor that creates, sells, and authenticates SSL certificates. When purchasing a certificate, select a Certificate Authority with an established record of security and reliability. There are several vendors to choose from, including:

Note: This is not a comprehensive list of Certificate Authorities.

DigiCert (https://www.digicert.com)

Comodo (https://www.comodo.com)

GoDaddy (http://www.godaddy.com)

Certificate Signed Request (CSR)

A Certificate Signed Request file is used by a Certificate Authority (CA) to generate a unique digital security certificate. Based on information that identifies your server, such as your geographical location, school name, and server’s hostname or IP address, a unique text string is created and sent to the Certificate Authority.

Sample CSR

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- BIIB8jCCAVsCAQAwgbExCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMRMwEQYDVQQIEwpDYWxpZmH

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SSL Configuration 29

bmlhMQ8wDQYDVQQHEwZGb2xzb20xFDASBgNVBAoTC1hAiLb0B48ob29sMua wHgYDVQQLExd23WNobmljYWwgRG9jdW1ljyTRgDwqCVt1UEAxMTd3d3Lnsi d2Vyc2Nob29sL3IaIa/CthUlHuFtaGnMCQGCSqGSIb1337h4x0rd00dFuhl Fsc0Bwb3dlcnNjaG9vbC5jb20wgZ8lDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADgY0AMIGSE GBAMDHwfCtst01iVTth0QMPDjgebXv2tHCjmVAxlxN4aboEp86jOsazcMur iFv7Dv/w7SspxUKC7v0Q6i00nZhPSEy6x9iS42Vm37dxqAz1FB+Jn72vGci RcxMW0m9vURHl0P9KDq5fUQf8ytYyvZtZV03cZqeeKnymqxvzY/crH3fXks MBA23gADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQQFAAOBgQBENmpmEPKzKBn/rLI5l1G2BM8s/ YbVPn7JfrDcPAQLfGleQFS/j+7bjjFkSNr7gJFQhv7Cz3/Fnord/+jxh/7h yfhS80F9lCuBEloDYtE7Eo1qypVlsXXVsrb6JYjSsB9MrbCBKEwXp5YVcZt e/YA8OURw4ra/dDUssGzSLTnZ3Bg==

-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

Private Key

A private SSL key allows the PowerSchool server to decrypt messages when users accessing PowerSchool use the public key from the SSL certificate. A private key is generated at the same time as the CSR.

If you choose to encrypt your private key, the encryption password must be used when you enable SSL.

SSL Certificate

The SSL certificate is a file that identifies your organization and PowerSchool server, and contains a unique public encryption key to allow remote users to encrypt traffic to your server. SSL certificates are authenticated against another certificate maintained by the issuing Certificate Authority. SSL certificates must be purchased from a Certificate Authority.

PowerSchool supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) v1.2 with x.509-formatted certificates. For more information on implementing SSL for PowerSchool see Knowledgebase article 8476 available on PowerSource.

Intermediate Certificates

An intermediate certificate is a subordinate certificate issued by the Certificate Authority or by the trusted root certificate. Intermediate certificates are used for security purposes.

An intermediate certificate inherits the trustworthiness of the root certificate because it is signed by the trusted root. These trusted intermediate certificates can, in turn, sign other certificates. Intermediate certificates must be installed on the web server with the primary certificate so that browsers can link the certificate to a trusted authority. Intermediate certificates can also be combined into one single certificate file, known as a chained certificate.

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SSL Configuration 30

PowerSchool Server Configuration for SSL

The following steps outline the process by which to configure a PowerSchool Server with an SSL certificate:

Create the private key and certificate-signing request.

Obtain the SSL certificate from the certificate authority.

Import the private key and certificate file into the PowerSchool installation.

Create the SSL listen in PowerSchool.

Create the Private Key and Certificate Signing Request

In the PowerSchool Installer, input information on the Generate SSL Certificate Request page. Obtain SSL Certificate

Obtain a signed SSL certificate for the PowerSchool server from a Certificate Authority (CA) using the certificate signing request (Certreq.pem). For information about certificate authorities, see Certificate Authority.

When the Certificate Authority requests your CSR, open the certreq.pem file with a plain text editor, such as TextEdit, or Notepad. Copy and paste the contents of the certreq.pem file into the appropriate entry field on the Certificate Authority website.

When purchasing a certificate from a vendor’s web site, you may be asked to select from a pop-up menu which web server product you use. The format expected for use with PowerSchool is a x509 certificate.

After you send the CSR to the Certificate Authority, you will receive your SSL certificate.

Import SSL Certificate and Key into PowerSchool

It is critical that you save the SSL certificate to PowerSchool in plain text format. Other document types may contain formatting characters that cannot be properly interpreted by the PowerSchool web server. Plain text documents preserve the certificate information string exactly as the Certificate Authority originally generated it. Use the Import an SSL Certificate and Key into PowerSchool page in the PowerSchool Installer to complete the SSL configuration.

SSL Troubleshooting

Refer to the following topics below to assist with troubleshooting issues with using SSL.

Domain Name

Verify that the following items match:

Domain name used to create the SSL certificate

PowerSchool server location value, as defined under the PowerSchool Utilities menu

DNS entry for each DNS used in conjunction with the PowerSchool server

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SSL Configuration 31

DNS Setup

The most common reason why SSL is not working correctly is the DNS setup. When the DNS is not set up correctly and SSL is enabled, the web browser displays an alert to indicate that the attempt to authenticate the server failed.

The DNS is an application that maintains a list of IP addresses and corresponding domain names. The DNS enables server access using a name, rather than the IP address by identifying the name and forwarding the request to the corresponding IP address.

The DNS must be set up correctly for SSL to function properly. Two common configurations for a network in which PowerSchool is installed are:

The server is installed directly on the Internet using an external IP address.

The server is installed on an internal network and is using an internal IP address.

Servers installed on the internal network usually have a router configured to redirect any traffic from an external IP address to the internal IP address. In either case, the DNS used by the server must contain a proper DNS entry.

When a server is installed using an external IP address, the configuration is straightforward. The DNS must have an entry that matches both the domain used to create the SSL certificate and the PowerSchool server location value, as defined under the PowerSchool Utilities menu.

When a server is installed on the internal network using an internal IP address, such as 10.10.1.2, two DNS’s must be configured. One handles the external IP address, and the other handles the internal IP address. Both must contain an entry that matches the domain used to create the SSL certificate and the PowerSchool server location value, as defined under the PowerSchool Utilities menu.

Properly configuring the DNS on the network ensures the functionality of the SSL authentication.

System Extensions

Some system extensions can conflict with the PowerSchool server when SSL is enabled. If all steps have been taken to properly configure the network and PowerSchool, review the system extensions. If you have any third-party extensions enabled, disable them, restart, and attempt to enable SSL again.

SSL Certificate Expiration

SSL certificates are generally valid for one or two years. When an SSL certificate expires, you must renew it in order to continue using SSL. Some vendors offer tracking systems that notify the original purchaser when the certificate is about to expire.

Uninstall PowerSchool

You can uninstall specific PowerSchool applications via the PowerSchool Installer. To remove the entire PowerSchool application and database, use Windows software.

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SSL Configuration 32

How to Uninstall PowerSchool Applications

On the PowerSchool server, navigate to Program Files > PowerSchool and double-click PowerSchool Installer.html. The PowerSchool Installer launches, and the Configure Server page appears.

Click Deploy and Configure Application. The Deploy and Configure Applications page appears.

Under the These Applications are Already Installed (Deselect to Uninstall) heading, a list of installed applications appears. Deselect the checkbox next to any or all applications you want to remove.

Click Next. A confirmation page appears.

Click Confirm.

How to Uninstall PowerSchool Database and Application

Uninstall PowerSchool from the Windows Programs and Features screen (Control Panel >

Programs and Features).

Follow the on-screen instructions, and type UNINSTALL in the Command Prompt.

When the uninstall process is complete, restart the server.

When the server has restarted, delete the /oracle directory, if it still exists.

During the uninstall process, some existing data will be preserved on the install drive(s). If you need this data, the files will be named “backup-[original folder]”.

IMPORTANT NOTE

This is a permanent, irreversible action that removes the Oracle database management software and all PowerSchool data including PowerSchool database files from your server. You must have a recent database backup to restore your PowerSchool data on this or another server.

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SSL Configuration 33

Terminology Application Node

This is the server the PowerSchool application is installed on. The web application accepts all requests from the web browser interface and translates the requests to commands sent to the Oracle database server.

Archive Logging

Archive logging is a method to keep track of changes to the database for the purpose of recovering data up to a specific date and time. Archive logs track transactions continually for the purpose of restoring and recovering the database.

Flashback Data Recovery

Flashback data recovery provides a way to move the database back to a specific date and time. This is used in conjunction with archive logging to allow users to achieve a more precise restore point should it be required.

Image Server

An image server is software that is used to process background images for all the web pages accessed by PowerSchool. These images are not related to student or faculty photos but are background graphics used on all pages. These graphics include button images, lines, boxes and logos. The image server software is either Apache (preferred) or Windows. Installing an image server drastically improves page display performance and is required for any PowerSchool installation.

Load Balancer

A load balancer is used in a multiple server array environment to balance the incoming requests to each web server. This allows each web server to run evenly at approximately the same load.

Network Share

The network shares are links to specific mounted folders on attached volumes such as a network volume. The network share folders store custom web pages, student and faculty photos, scheduling engine files, batch result files, AutoComm and AutoSend files, SAIS reporting, and ReportWorks report output.

Oracle Database Server

The Oracle database server has several functions:
• Organize and store all the raw data that is to be maintained by PowerSchool.

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Terminology 34

Communicate with the application node and keep track of all data that is entered, updated and/or deleted.

Provide a method to back up and recover data in the event of accidental data loss or for disaster recovery.

Oracle Jobs

The Oracle jobs are a set of scripts that run to maintain the archive logs and backups. The scripts also run a process to reorganize and optimize the database for improved data access. These have been replaced by the PowerSchool Installer in PowerSchool 21.x.

PowerSchool Monitor

PowerSchool Monitor is a stand-alone application that resides on the host server. Using PowerSchool Monitor, you can monitor the state of PowerSchool services with the information provided by the various logs and address items that require attention.

Report Node

A report node is an application node that is tasked only with processing PowerSchool reports.

SID

Oracle System ID (SID) is used to uniquely identify a particular database on a system. On PowerSchool installations, this is typically PSPRODDB.

Server Array

This is a PowerSchool setup to improve data access and processing by spreading the load across multiple servers. Typically, the Oracle database is installed on a dedicated server and PowerSchool is installed on two or more dedicated servers for handling web requests, PowerTeacher access and a server for processing reports.

Task Master

The Task Master is always the first application node to start up after installation. The Task Master initiates any processing related to data manipulation. The processes can run hourly, nightly or weekly. In addition, this is the server that must always be upgraded first when new PowerSchool versions are available. When implementing an upgrade, the Task Master is verified and then performs any necessary table or data modifications. Database updates are not performed by any other node.

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Terminology 35

Appendix: Field Description Tables

Configure Application Instance Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

This is a single application server

Select the checkbox if this is a single application server running PowerSchool.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Previous

Cancel Next

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 36

Configure PowerSchool Backup Jobs

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Backup Email SMTP Server

Backup Email From

Cancel Next

Enter your PowerSchool mail server address. Although you can enter a URL, an IP address is preferred.

Enter the email address to appear in the From line of backup email.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Configure PowerSchool/PowerTeacher Service Network Settings Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Note: The proxy external port settings correspond to the publicly accessible ports for PowerSchool/PowerTeacher, ReportWorks, and Client-auth services. By default, these are 443, 8443, and 5443 respectively. If you cannot enable SSL, choose alternate ports such as 80 for PowerSchool and possibly 8080 for ReportWorks. Client-auth services cannot be enabled without setting up SSL, so the Proxy External Port for Client Authentication Connections field is ignored. All ports can be used for non- SSL configurations.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 37

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Appendix: Field Description Tables 38

Proxy External Port for PowerSchool/PowerTeacher

Previous

Cancel Next

443 is populated as the default value, but you may enter any port that does not conflict with any other application on the server.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Configure PowerSchool/PowerTeacher Service Memory Settings Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Service Name

Service Maximum Memory

Displays the service name.

Default value displays for a standard installation of PowerSchool on a server that meets the minimum PowerSchool system requirements.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 39

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Service Initial Memory

Previous

Cancel Next

Leave as default.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Configure ReportWorks Services Memory Settings Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Service Name

Displays the service name.

Service Initial Memory

Previous

Cancel Next

Leave as default.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 40

Configure ReportWorks Service Network Settings Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Appendix: Field Description Tables 41

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Proxy External Port for ReportWorks

Previous

Cancel Next

8443 is populated as the default value, but you may enter any port that does not conflict with any other application on the server.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Configure Server Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page. The options available on this page change based on where you are in the installation and configuration process.

Configure Database Connection

Reset PS Password

Generate a Certificate Request

This link begins the workflow to configure the database connection.

This link begins the workflow for changing the database password of the PS user.

This link begins the workflow to generate a certificate request which the district will use to request an SSL certificate from a certificate authority.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 42

Restart ReportWorks Services

Stop ReportWorks Services

Click to view the Restart ReportWorks Services page. Click to view the Stop ReportWorks Services page.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Create PowerSchool Monitor Shortcut

Configure Application Instance

Configure Mapped Drives

Click to view the Create PowerSchool Monitor Shortcut page.

This link begins the workflow for configuring the server, including server array and image server.

Click to view the Map Network Drives page and configure network shares.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 43

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Cancel Click to discard any changes you made. Next Click to submit data.

Installation Confirmation Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Previous

Cancel Confirm

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Create PowerSchool Monitor Shortcut Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Cancel Click to discard any changes you made. Next Click to submit data.

Database Connection Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Database Host Enter the host name of the database server. Database Port Enter the port for the database.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 44

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Database SID

Oracle PS Password

Previous

Cancel Next

The System Identifier (SID) you selected when installing the database, PSPRODDB by default.

When the database is created, a database user named PS is created and set to this password.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Database Password Expiration

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Number of days until Password Expires

Enter the number of days until the database password expires.

Database Security/SID Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 45

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Previous Cancel Next

Click to return to the previous page. Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Deploy and Configure Application

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Select Country

Select State/Province/Territory

Cancel Next

Select the country from the pop-up menu.
Select the state/province/territory from the pop-up menu.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Drives, Memory and IP Address Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Oracle Software Select the drive that the installer will deploy Oracles program files to. Drive The files will be installed under [drive]:\oracle.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 46

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

IP Address to assign to this database

Cancel Next

Enter the IP address for the database server.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Enable/Disable System Survey

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 47

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Generate SSL Certificate Request

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Private Key Size

Private Key Password

Confirm Key Password

Select a size from the pop-up menu.
Enter the password used to encrypt the private key.

Re-enter the password to confirm.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 48

Cancel Click to discard any changes you made. Generate Click to generate the certificate request.

Import an SSL Certificate and Key into Database

To enable HTTPS on this application server, import a certificate and private key into the database. If you have already imported a certificate on this or any other application node, skip this procedure. If you do not yet have a certificate you will have the option to import and enable HTTPS at a later time

If you choose to import, all certificates should be standard X509 certificates in standard Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) format. Viewed in a text editor, PEM format certificates start with "------BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----" and end with "-----END CERTIFICATE-----". The private key file should also be in PEM format. The private key password is the password you set when you generated the private key/certificate request pair. If your certificate authority provides an intermediate certificate or certificates, include them here.

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Certificate Alias Private Key

Private Key Password

Site Certificate

Intermediate Certificate

Previous

Cancel Next

Enter the name that is created in the database for this imported information.

Enter the path of the private key file or click Browse to navigate to the file on the server.

Enter the private key password. If none, leave blank.

Enter the path of the certificate file or click Browse to navigate to the file on the server.

Enter the path of the intermediate certificate file or click Browse to navigate to the file on the server.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Appendix: Field Description Tables 49

Configure Mapped Drives Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page. Note: This connection will be made available exclusively to PowerSchool.

Drive Letter Hostname/IP

Network Share Folder Name

Network Share Username

Network Share Password

Remove
Add another row Previous

Cancel Next

Select the drive for the mapping from the pop-up menu.
Enter the hostname/IP address for the network share.
Enter the name of the network share folder on the drive specified.

Enter the username to access the network share. Enter the password to access the network share.

Click to remove the network share information.
Click to add another row to configure additional network drives.

Click to return to the previous page and review the database configuration settings.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Appendix: Field Description Tables 50

Reset Database Password

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Note: Passwords must be at least 8 characters in length and at most 30 characters long. Passwords must also meet three of the following four criteria:

o Password o Password o Password o Password

Current Oracle PS Password

New Oracle PS Password

Confirm New Oracle PS Password

Current Oracle PS Navigator Password

New Oracle PS Navigator Password

Current Oracle PS DataMiner Password

New Oracle PS DataMiner Password

Cancel Next

must contain one uppercase letter.
must contain one lowercase letter.
must contain one number.
must contain one special character ($, -, _, and #).

Enter the current Oracle PS password.
Enter the new Oracle PS user password.
Re-enter the new Oracle PS password to confirm. Enter the current Oracle PS Navigator password. Enter the new Oracle PS Navigator password.

Enter the current Oracle PS DataMiner password. Enter the new Oracle PS DataMiner user password.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Server Type Configuration

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.
Appendix: Field Description Tables 51

Cancel Click to discard any changes you made. Next Click to submit data.

Summary Page

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Done Click to complete the database installation and display the Configure Server page.

Uninstall PowerSchool Database

The following table describes the options that are visible on this page.

Installation Guide for PowerSchool 21.x

Applications Currently Installed Removing Applications

Cancel Confirm

Lists all applications installed on the server. Displays items to be removed.

Click to discard any changes you made. Click to submit data.