Web Interface management tasks
After installing Active Roles, you perform the initial configuration task to create the default Web Interface sites, getting the Web Interface ready for use. Then, you can use Configuration Center to:
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Identify the Web Interface sites that are currently deployed on the web server running the Web Interface.
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Create, modify or delete Web Interface sites.
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Export a Web Interface site’s configuration object to a file
Identify Web Interface sites
The Web Interface page in the Configuration Center main window lists all Web Interface sites of the current version that are deployed on the web server running the Web Interface. For each Web Interface site, the list provides the following information:
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IIS Web site: The name of the website that holds the web application implementing the Web Interface site.
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Web app alias: The alias of the web application that implements the Web Interface site, which defines the virtual path of that application on the web server.
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Configuration: Identifies the object that holds the Web Interface site’s configuration and customization data on the Active Roles Administration Service.
From the Web Interface page, you can open Web Interface sites in your web browser: Click an entry in the list of Web Interface sites and then click Open in Browser on toolbar.
Create a Web Interface site
You can create a Web Interface site by clicking Create on the Web Interface page in the Configuration Center main window. The Create Web Interface Site wizard appears, prompting you to:
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Choose the web site to contain the web application that implements the new Web Interface site.
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Supply the desired alias for that web application. The alias defines the virtual path that becomes part of the Web Interface site’s address (URL).
Then, the wizard lets you specify the object to hold the configuration and customization data of the new Web Interface site on the Active Roles Administration Service. You can choose from the following options:
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Create the object from a template: The new site will have the default configuration and customization based on the template you select.
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Use an existing object: The new site will have the same configuration and customization as any existing Web Interface site that also uses the object you select. This option is intended for the scenario where you create an additional instance of one of your existing Web Interface sites on a different web server.
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Create the object by importing data from another object: The new site will inherit the configuration and customization of the site that used the object you select for data import. This option is mainly intended for the upgrade scenario where you create Web Interface sites of the new Active Roles version with the same configuration and customization as your Web Interface sites of an earlier Active Roles version. In this scenario, you import the configuration data of the earlier version to the Administration Service of the new version (which also imports the site configuration objects of the earlier version), and then create configuration objects for Web Interface sites of the new version by importing data from site configuration objects of the earlier version.
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Create the object by importing data from an export file: The new site will inherit the configuration and customization of the site whose configuration data was saved to the export file you specify. You can choose an export file of any supported Active Roles version.
For more information and step-by-step instructions, see the “Additional configuration” topic in the Active Roles Quick Start Guide.
Modify a Web Interface site
From the Web Interface page in the Configuration Center main window, you can make changes to existing Web Interface sites: Click an entry in the list of sites and then click Modify on the toolbar. The Modify Web Interface Site wizard starts, allowing you to:
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Choose the website to contain the web application that implements the Web Interface site.
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Supply the desired alias for that web application. The alias defines the virtual path that becomes part of the Web Interface site’s address (URL).
Then, the wizard lets you specify the object to hold the site’s configuration and customization data on the Active Roles Administration Service. You can choose from the following options:
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Keep on using the current object (default option): The site’s configuration will remain intact. The wizard displays the name and version of the current configuration object.
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Create the object from a template: The site will have the default configuration and customization based on the template you select.
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Use an existing object: The site will have the same configuration and customization as any existing Web Interface site that also uses the object you select. You could use this option to deploy an additional instance of one of your existing Web Interface sites on a different web server.
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Create the object by importing data from another object: The site will inherit the configuration and customization of the site that used the object you select for data import. You could use this option to deploy a Web Interface site of the new Active Roles version with the same configuration and customization as one of your Web Interface sites of an earlier Active Roles version. In this case, you import the configuration data of the earlier version to the Administration Service of the current version (which also imports the site configuration objects of the earlier version), then create the site configuration object by importing data from the appropriate site configuration object of the earlier version.
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Create the object by importing data from an export file: The site will inherit the configuration and customization of the site whose configuration data was saved to the export file you specify. You can choose an export file of any supported Active Roles version.
For more information and step-by-step instructions, see the “Additional configuration” topic in the Active Roles Quick Start Guide.