System integration

Q1.01

If you install PPM under Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows 7 the installation is incomplete. ARIS PPM Cloud Agent cannot be set up as a Windows system service. Why?

 

The above Windows operating systems have stricter security policies. Run the installation program as an administrator (pop-up menu item Run as administrator). Other user accounts do not work, even if they were assigned administrator privileges.

 

 

Q1.02

Which network resources does a PPM system require?

 

For detailed information, refer to the PPM system architecture documentation (PPM network/Network protocols chapter).

 

 

Q1.03

How can the PPM installation be protected against unauthorized access?

 

To protect your PPM installation against unauthorized access, you can use the operating system's file access privileges. Note that the operating system user whose ID is used to start system services (the Windows default is the SYSTEM user) has full access privileges for the directory structure.

 

 

Q1.04

Does PPM support NAT (NetworkAddressTranslation)?

 

The http or https protocol used by the PPM user interface supports NAT. Therefore, running PPM in a public cloud environment is possible provided the system is only to be accessed externally using the PPM interface.

The Java RMI protocol used by PPM for the command line programs does not support NAT. Therefore, running PPM in a public cloud environment is impossible if the system is to be accessed externally using the command line programs.

 

 

Q1.05

Can https be used to access PPM?

 

Yes. The load balancer supports https since PPM 9.0 by default.

See also chapter https support

 

 

Q1.06

How can data transfer between PPM server and user interface be encrypted (SSL encryption)?

 

See Safe communication channels chapter.

 

 

Q1.07

What is the "server" mode on a PPM server?

 

The server option is configured during installation of a client. If the option is enabled, the PPM server uses the Java VM version optimized for server applications. To use this option, you must use a Java SDK version for the PPM server.

 

 

Q1.08

How do I change the Java Runtime Environment used by the PPM server?

 

It is impossible to change the Java Runtime Environment. From PPM 9, only the one supplied can be used.

 

 

Q1.09

When using PPM with MS Internet Information Server (IIS), I cannot access PPM. Why?

 

From PPM 9.0, IIS is no longer supported.

 

 

Q1.10

It is impossible to connect to a PPM client server. The extended information in the login dialog states that the computer name of the PPM client server is unknown. What is the reason for this?

 

Possible causes:

  • The client server does not have the status STARTED.
  • The DNS system detects a different computer name for the client server, depending on whether you address it using the name or IP address. Make sure that the nslookup <computer name> and nslookup <IP address> refer to the same computer.
  • The DNS system in your network cannot resolve the computer name of the PPM client server. If PPM server and user interface are being operated in different subnets or multiple DNS servers exist in the network, the computer name may be specified in the file Registry_settings.properties located in the clientjars directory on the http server. Avoid inconsistent name resolutions using etc/hosts files and the DNS system.
  • Forwarding of the request from the load balancer to the client server is not configured or is incorrectly configured. Check whether the target addresses are entered in the files httpd-proxy.conf and httpd-proxy-ssl.conf in the directory <Installation directory>\ppm\server\bin\work\work_loadbalancer_<Memory model>\httpdconf\extra and are accessible.

 

 

Q1.11

The connection to the PPM server fails. Example message in log output:

Client "umg_en" does not exist.

Error connecting to server.

Trying to connect PPM server //pcppm:16300/ppm_rmi_server_umg_en

ppm_rmi_server_umg_en

java.rmi.NotBoundException: ppm_rmi_server_umg_en

 

The required client server may not have been started or the specified client name is not correct. If the client server is running, it is also possible that the PPM RMI registry has been restarted, for example, due to an unexpected system incident. In this case, restart the client server.

 

 

Q1.12

Does PPM support the use of a cross-company directory service?

 

The LDAP interface integrated into central User Management allows particular users to be transferred. The users transferred from the LDAP system are authenticated synchronously against the corresponding LDAP system.
Detailed information on using central User Management is available in the online help.

 

 

Q1.13

What is important about environment variables?

 

Since PPM 9.0, environment variables have no longer been supported.

 

 

Q1.14

What is a client-specific configuration file?

 

For each PPM client installed, a directory of the same name exists in the subdirectory <installation directory>\ppm\server\bin\work\data_ppm\config. This directory contains the component-specific configuration files for the client server and analysis server. These text-based configuration files have the extension _settings.properties.

 

 

Q1.15

What is a system-wide configuration file?

 

The system-wide configuration files specify global settings for the entire PPM system and are saved under <installation directory>\ppm\server\bin\work\data_ppm\config.

 

 

Q1.16

How do I change the TCP/IP ports of the PPM services?

 

You change the TCP/IP ports using ARIS Cloud Controller.

Further information on the individual commands is available in the help of the ARIS Cloud Controller command line. You can view the help by entering the command help in the command line.

  • PPM registry

    reconfigure ppm_core

  • PPM analysis server

    using CTK

  • PPM server

    using CTK

 

 

Q1.17

When installing PPM, errors occur when the required Visual C++ Redistributable packages are installed. What can be done?

 

There are two possible causes.

  • The first may be that the packages cannot be installed because the computer has to be rebooted by an earlier update process. In this case, restart your computer. Then you should be able to carry out the PPM installation successfully.
  • Secondly, it can happen that the packages have already been installed once, and now they can no longer be overwritten. In this case, uninstall the existing packages. They will then be re-installed by the PPM installation and the PPM installation can be completed successfully.