Installation

Please make sure you have read through the Get Started/Overview before continuing down this document.

Also make sure you understand the concepts of:

• Microsoft Windows http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows
• A web browser, such as Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser
• Windows Services http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_service
• Windows Applications
• Windows users, and logging on as different users

Choosing Where To Install The Connector Software

The Connector Host Service needs access to files / APIs or Database interfaces (ODBC) so that data can be pushed and pulled from Business Systems through Data Sources linked to Adapters.  The ideal location for the Connector Host Service is on a Server/VM that has permissions to access those interfaces through the corporate private LAN/VLAN.  Therefore it is ideal to install the Connector Host Service and Connector Application on an internal Host/Virtual Machine that has direct access to the business system within a user domain.  You can install the Connector Application on the same server as the Business System however its best practice to isolate the systems for overall safety and security of your business software network.   This is because you have an extra layer of defence for any external data traffic that hits the connector VM because you can isolate the Connector VM from the LAN/VLAN.

Minimum Server Requirements

• Computer with one of the operating systems:
  • Windows 7
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 11
  • Windows Server 2008
  • Windows Small Business Server 2011
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2022
• Microsoft .NET version 4.6.1 or higher
• 5 Gigabytes of free disk space
• 2 Gigabytes of memory
• 1Ghz CPU processor
• 32bit or 64bit Windows

The following network requirements are essential for connecting the Connector Host Service to SQUIZZ.com.  Without doing this, you will not be able to connect any Adapter to SQUIZZ.com or vice verse.

The SQUIZZ.com Connector Host Service sends data to SQUIZZ.com and recieves data from SQUIZZ.com.  You must check the following to ensure that data can flow both ways.

Connector to SQUIZZ.com

• Ensure your Firewall outgoing WAN port allows traffic to flow from the server that the Connector software is installed on to the target SQUIZZ.com API gateway api.squizz.com on HTTPS port no 443.

SQUIZZ.com to Connector Host Service

• By default, the Connector Host Service listens on port 8050.  Setup a firewall rule on your inbound WAN interface to map (TCP) traffic on port 8050 to the LAN server for the Host/VM that the Connector Host Service listens on.
• Note: you can change the port that the Connector Host Service listens on by configuring a different port number using the Connector Application in the General Settings tab.  If you do this, setup the port mapping using the port number to have set.

Special Note:

Anti-virus software often comes with a firewall or traffic sniffing mechanism.  If you are sure you have correctly setup your network firewall and you still cannot successfully connect to SQUIZZ.com or vice-versa, then stop any installed anti-virus software or the built in Windows Firewall and see if this corrects the issue.  If it does, you may need to alter the configuration of your anti-virus software or Windows Firewall software to accomodate this.

Network File Sharing

By default, the Connector Host Service runs under the in-built system user account. This becomes an issue when an Adapter needs to connect to a file that resides on a network share as the system user account may not have access to those shared drives. Be sure to check that either the system user account has this access or you may need to switch the Connector Host Service to run as a different user that has been given access to network shares (particularly mapped network drives Ie, E:\ mapped to \\10.0.0.100\share )

The Connector is broken up into two pieces of software.

• Connector Windows Service Host
• Connector Application

On a single machine the Connector WIndows Service Host can only be installed once. However the Connector Application can be installed for 0 to infinite Windows users.

The connector's Windows Service Host must be installed first. It gets installed as a windows service, and it handles all the data requests between your Accounting/Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) system, and any external systems like the Squizz.com platform, or the TOTECS Ecommerce system.

Once the Windows Service Host has been installed, then for any given Windows user on your machine you can install the Connector Application. This application allows users to configure the Windows Service Host, as well as view message logs as the host is processing data. We recommend only installing the Connector Application for Windows users who would be in charge of your system's administration, or have a role requiring access to the connector. This is due to intricate nature of Accounting/ERP systems, processes, and the sensitivity of the data that goes through such systems.

Before you can install the Connector, your machine must have installed Micronet's .Net (pronounced Dot Net) version 4 software. Both the host and the application run on top of .Net and extensively use its available functionality.

1. Go into Control Panel > Program and Features (or Add Remove Programs) and check to see if Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1 Extended or higher has been installed.
2. • Ensure that the Extended .NET application has been installed, not just the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile
   • If you have .NET version 4.6.1 or higher installed on your machine then you do not need to worry about installing version 4.6.1.
3. Install Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2 Extended on your machine if it hasn't been installed by opening a browser and going to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53344
4. Download the installation file, and follow the prompts to install the software.

If you have Windows 2012 Server you may need to activate WCF Services to allow the connector's host service to talk to the connector application. To do so follow these steps (For all other Windows ignore these steps):

1. Click on Start button, in the start bar enter Server Manager to start the manager.
2. Scroll down to the Roles and Features section, click on the drop down icon then select Add Role or Feature option.
3. In the Add Role or Feature Wizard, click to add a feature.
4. Click on the Features label in the left hand menu.
5. Expand the .Net Framework 4,0 Features node.
6. Expand the WCF Services node.
7. Ensure that the following items are selected:
   1. HTTP Activation
   2. Named Pipe Activation.
8. Click on the Next Button, confirm the installation, then press the install button.

The connector's service host and the connector applications installed for each Windows user use the Named Pipe protocol in order to talk to each other. This protocol ensures that only users on the same Windows machine can interact with its Windows services.

1. Open a web browser, download the Connector Windows Service Host by entering the link https://www.squizz.com/applications/connector/ConnectorInstaller.msi
   • If any errors stop allowing the installation to run then ensure that the correct .NET 4 version has been installed and that the Connector Service has not already been installed.
2. Once the Connector Service Host has been installed it should be automatically running as a Windows Service, check this by looking at the Windows Services administration tool available through the Windows Control Panel.

Overview

The Connector Application is a GUI interface that allows users to manage the Settings, Transactions, Datasets and Adapters configured in the Connector Host Service.

The normal installation of the Connector Application is within a user account running on the Host/VM that the Connector Host Service is installed on.  This is because the Connector Application needs to connect to the Connector Database which is only accessible from the C:ProgramData folder on the server.  The C:ProgramData folder is hidden by default for standard user accounts and the user must have the rights to view this folder or you will not be able to select the Connector Database location using the instructions below.

Remote Dataset Management

The Connector Application can be installed on a different computers (Ie, a persons laptop) for the purposes of managing Datasets which can be SQL Lite files setup on a network shared folder.  If you do this, you must also install a local Connector Host Service on that machine.  With this setup, the user will not be able to see the live Connector Host Service however you can configure the Datasets so that the user can configured the product catalogue data with others.

Installation Instructions

Install the Squizz.com Connector application by logging into Windows as the relevent user.

1. Open a web browser, and enter the link https://www.squizz.com/applications/connector/connector-app.html
2. Click on the install button. If any warnings appear accept the warnings.
3. Follow the installation setup.
4. Once the application has been installed run the application by clicking its icon in the start menu folder Squizz.com > "Squizz.com Connector"
5. After the connector has loaded you will see a prompt asking you to locate the data directory of the connector, this is in C:\ProgramData\SquizzCom\Connector.
   • Note that you may not be able to see these directories if your windows user isn't able to view hidden folders.
6. Once the data directory has been found the application has now been installed and is ready to be configured.

Note:
The Connector application must be installed on the same Windows instance as the Connector Host. If this does not occur then the application will not be able to talk to the host and perform functions such as allowing users to manually import orders.

A Connector Adaptor is the core instrument in the Connector Application that pushes and pulls data from either the SQUIZZ.com Organisation Profiles / TOTECS Project Profile to and from one or more Business Systems / Spreadsheets / Files.

Adapters are selected from the dropdown when you create and name an Adapter profile.  There are two types of Adapters you can select:

• Custom Built Adapters: These are adapters that have been developed to work with specific data sources and business rules for particular Business Systems. 
• Generic Adapter: This adapter allows full configuration of all possible data import/exports to any data source/s that you wish to configure.  Data sources can be Files (CSV, XML), Database Sources (ODBC, Microsoft SQL Server) or API calls (REST or others) that return CSV, XML or JSON data.

Special Note:  Naturally the setup and configuration of an Adapter requires significant work.  The Generic Adapter has a mechanism to save the Adapter settings as a Preset (JSON file).  You can load presets into Generic Adapter and save a lot of time by using a default configuration for a platform.  Connector Partners can develop Generic Adapter Presets for various business systems which will be made available in future for anyone to use.

How To Setup Your First Adapter

To create a new adaptor follow these steps:

1. Open the Connector application by clicking on its icon in the desktop or within the Windows start menu.
2. Within the application, under the Adaptors and Messages tab in the Adaptors panel, in the drop down select the accounting/ERP system that you wish to connect the adaptor to.
3. In the Key field give the adaptor a unique value that no other adaptors have set.
4. Click the Add button to create the adaptor. A row will be added to the adaptors the table below the button.

Note:
If your Accounting/ERP system is not in the adaptors drop down list then it means that the Connector does not specifically support it. In that case you may need to install the Generic adaptor, and set up connections to your system's underlying data store, or any files where you are storing your data. We would recommend getting in contact with a data specialist if you are unsure on how to configure the Generic adaptor to read or write data from your system/files, or else read the Generic Adaptor documentation linked below.

Below are are list of issues that you may encounter whilst trying to install the Connector Application or the Connector Host in your Windows operating system.

On a periodic basic SQUIZZ.com will release a newer version of the Connector software. You can find out more information about these new releases by following the SQUIZZ.com Connector feed, as well as viewing the Version History page.

To update the Connector to the next version there are two things you need to do. Open the Connector Application and allow the application to be updated to the latest version. Then once done uninstall the older version of the Connector Windows Service Host, and install the newer version of it.

Update Issues

Below are are list of issues that you may encounter whilst trying to update the Connector Application or the Connector Host in your Windows operating system.