So you’re all ready to upgrade your Gibraltar Hub Server to Loupe Server 3.5, outstanding! But, this is more than the average upgrade so there are a few things to know before you launch that installation.

Recommended Upgrade Path

While you can simply double-click Loupe.exe and select the Loupe Server installation to upgrade in place we recommend that you instead uninstall any previous version of Gibraltar (or Loupe Preview) and then do a new installation of Loupe.  This won’t remove any of your data or configuration information but it absolutely, positively guarantees all of the right file checks get done.

SQL Server Required

Previously you could use either Microsoft SQL Server or the embedded database (VistaDB) for your Hub Server.  Because of the extensive new web user interface and analysis performed server side it just isn’t reasonable to run with the embedded database any more. So, before you start the upgrade you’ll need a SQL Server available.  It can be any edition (SQL Express works fine) 2008 or higher.  We don’t intend to use SQL 2008 R2 or 2012 specific features for some time but if you’re going to install something from scratch you might as well go for the latest.

You can download the latest SQL Server Express free from Microsoft.

The SQL Server can be on the same computer as the Loupe Server or on a remote server and it’s fine to share the SQL Server with other applications.

Finally, before you get going you’ll need to have an account with DBO access to the SQL Server so Loupe can create the index database.  We recommend using SQL’s built-in users if the SQL Server is remote, otherwise you have to do extra work to make sure the web site and windows service can access the database.  If you’d like more information, check out the documentation and if you have any remaining questions reach out to us via support.

Migrating to SQL Server

After the installation updates all of the files on your computer it’ll launch the SQL Server Migration Wizard.  This will prompt you for connection information to the SQL Server, verify it, and then start the data migration.

Depending on how many sessions you have in your hub repository and the speed of your SQL Server it could take a while to perform the migration.  For most people it’ll take less than 20 minutes.  During this process the embedded database will be upgraded to the latest schema and then copied into the SQL Server.

Verifying the Installation

Once the installation completes it’ll automatically launch the new Loupe Server Administrator.  Every time the Administrator launches it will check the status of the Loupe web site and windows service, as well as other configuration options.  If there are any problems then warnings be displayed at the top of the Start screen.

Adding Users

Before you can use the new Loupe Server web interface you'll need to create at least one administrator user.  Click on the Users node under Repository in the tree view to manage the set of users for the portal.

You can create administrators (who can reconfigure Loupe) or Full Users who can work with all of the data but not change the system configuration.  Virtual users are intended for notification-only access, such as to external systems.

Final Site Setup

Some features, like Notifications, need to know the connection information necessary to reach the server from the outside.  To set this information click on the Server node under Start in the tree view.  Enter the same information you'd provide to a Loupe Agent or Desktop to connect to the server and click save.

Now Go Wild!

You're all set.  Start the background service and log into your Loupe Server to take advantage of all the sweet, sweet new features we've baked in.