Installation Guide

CAST Online LibraryInstallation Guide

June 2010NX 7.5

Publication Number

Contents

CAST Online Library Installation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Installing CAST (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Installation procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2The installation types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

The Default installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4The Custom installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5The Network/Web Access installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Using CAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7Installing CAST to a web server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8

Installing CAST (Linux and UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Installation instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2Create an installation log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3Start the installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4The interactive dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Using CAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7Putting CAST on a web server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Move the CAST source files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9Modify CAST startup scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10Configure your server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Browser and plug-in requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Java support for Web browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Web server recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

CAST Online Library Installation Guide 3

CAST Online LibraryInstallation Guide

This document shows you how to install the CAST Online Library. There is asection for Windows and another section for UNIX and Linux. There is also asection to help you set up a web server.

CAST Online Library Installation Guide 5

Lesson

1 Installing CAST (Windows)

This section explains the installation of the CAST Online Library on Windows(Intel) systems.

For more information about CAST, visit the CAST information page.

CAST Online Library Installation Guide 1-1

http://cast.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/

Installing CAST (Windows)

Installation procedureThis procedure installs the CAST Online Library, which requiresapproximately 2.2 GB of disk space (386 MB for the html directory; 1.9 GBfor the parts).

Follow the instructions below.

• Log in as administrator or as a user that has administrator privileges.

• Put the CAST DVD into your DVD drive.

• If you have autoplay activated, a launch screen appears in a few seconds.If you do not have autoplay activated, from Windows Explorer double-clickthe AutoPlay.exe file on the DVD drive.

• Click Install CAST to start the CAST installation.

The installation prompts you for the appropriate installation information.

1-2 CAST Online Library Installation Guide


The installation typesIn the Setup Type window, you must specify the type of installation:

• Default

• Custom

• Network/Web Access



The Default installation

The Default installation is the simplest way to install CAST. This installationaccepts all the default values and installs all the files associated with CAST,with no input from you.

The following is an outline of this installation:

• CAST is not being installed on a Web Server.

• The HTML source files and CAST part files are installed to the defaultlocation at:

%UGII_BASE_DIR%\nxcast\

If %UGII_BASE_DIR% is not defined, the files are installed to yourdefault Program Files folder under UGS\NX 7.5\nxcast\.



The Custom installation

The Custom installation installs CAST on your system and lets you select acustom location for both the HTML source files and the part files.

You are asked the following questions:

• Will CAST be running from a Web Server (Yes/No)?

– If you answer Yes, you are prompted for the URL of the web serverthat is running CAST.

For example: http://my.server.com/castnx/html/index.html

– If you answer No, the installation continues with the next question.

• You are shown the feature selection screen. On this screen you can defineseparate installation locations for both the CAST HTML files and theCAST part files.

1. Select to install or not install each of the features using the pull-downselection.

2. Use the Change button to change the location for each feature.

If you are installing CAST HTML files to be run from a Web Server, youshould enter a path location somewhere within the folder structure of yourweb server, for example, d:\inetpub\wwwroot\nxcast.

When the installation is complete, a folder named html is added under thefolder you specify for the CAST HTML files and a folder named parts is addedfor the CAST part files location.

After you have specified the locations of the HTML and part files, theinstallation program installs the files in the specified locations.



The Network/Web Access installation

The Network/Web Access installation requires that CAST has already beeninstalled somewhere on your network. One of the advantages of runninga Network/Web Access installation is that only a few very small files areinstalled on your system.

Before you run a Network/Web Access installation, you need to know thelocation of the CAST HTML source files (either a URL on a web server or thefull system path) and the location of the CAST part files.

You are asked the following questions:

• Will CAST be running from a Web Server (Yes/No)?

– If you answer Yes, you are prompted for the URL of the web serverthat is running CAST. For example: http://my.server.com

– If you answer No, you are prompted for the path location of the HTMLsource folder. For example: h:\castnx(The location you select here must contain a folder called html. Forthe above example to work, the file h:\castnx\html\index.html mustexist.)

After you have defined the location of the CAST source files, eitherthrough a URL or a path name, you are prompted for the locationof the part files.

• Specify the location of the folder that contains the CAST part files folder(this folder must contain a folder named parts).



Using CAST

Starting CAST from inside NX

To run CAST from inside NX, choose Help→Training from the NX menu bar.

Starting CAST from Windows

To run CAST, use the CAST icons in the UGS NX program group, by choosing:

• Start→Programs→UGS NX 7.5→NX 7.5 CAST

Due to screen size constraints, we do not recommend using CAST withresolutions less than 1024x768.



Installing CAST to a web serverThe Network/Web Access and Custom installations let you configure CASTso that it is accessed from a web server on your intranet.

The advantage of this is that you can run a full install of CAST once onto aweb server, then configure all other systems to use the HTML source filesfrom that installation. The CAST part files from that installation could alsobe used by all other systems.

If you plan on putting CAST on a web server, you should use the CASTinstallation to install these source files directly into the folder structure ofyour web server.

Here is an example of how you would run a Custom installation on theWindows machine that is running your web server.

• Specify that CAST will be running off a web server, then enter yourserver’s URL when requested – for example:http://my.server.com/castnx/html/index.html

• When prompted for the location of the HTML source files, enter a pathlocation somewhere within the folder structure of your web server – forexample:d:\inetpub\wwwroot\nxcast

• When prompted for the location of the CAST part files, put them in alocation other systems can access. For example, you could put the filesinto a public shared folder so other people can map a network drive toaccess them, like this:d:\public\nxcast

After the HTML source files and part files have been installed, you can installCAST on other systems and point them to this installation of CAST.

To install CAST onto a different Windows machine, rerun the installationusing the Network/Web Access installation.

• Specify that CAST will be running from a web server, then enter the URLof the server where you just installed the CAST source files. It should bethe same URL you entered above.

• When prompted for the location of the CAST part files you can enter thedrive letter of the mapped drive with the path to the location of the partfiles. For example:h:\castnx

When you run CAST from either of these two machines, it opens your webbrowser pointing to the URL that you specified in the installation.


Lesson

2 Installing CAST (Linuxand UNIX)

This section explains the installation of the CAST (Computer Aided SelfTeach) Online product on all supported Linux and UNIX workstations.Techniques are included to help you manage your CAST software on a Linuxor UNIX system.

Although NX is no longer supported on UNIX, you can still serve theCAST Library from a UNIX web server.

The topics covered are:

• Installation instructions

• Using CAST

• Putting CAST on a web server

The installation of the CAST Online Library is accomplished using thesupplied installation script. If you accept the defaults, the CAST files areinstalled into $UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast. This directory will contain yourCAST executable files.

For more information about CAST, visit the CAST information page.


http://cast.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/

Installing CAST (Linux and UNIX)

Installation instructionsRoot access: You must be able to log in as the root user or have accessto super user permissions. If the directory that NX CAST is beinginstalled to or from is NFS mounted, the directory must be exportedwith root permission for the node on which the CAST install is running.

• Log in as the root user.

• If installing from DVD, if a mount point is not automatically established,create one.



Create an installation log

As a troubleshooting aid or historical reference, you can create an installationlog. If you do not wish to create a log of the installation, proceed to the nextpage.

• To create a log, enter the following command:

script /usr/tmp/nxcast.log (you may specify any name for the log file)

This script command will log any information that appears on your screenincluding your entries. To append to an existing log file, use script –a.

The log will continue until you enter Ctrl+D or exit <CR> to terminatethe log session. It cannot be terminated by nxcast_install.



Start the installation

After you have made the necessary preparations as discussed earlier, you canbegin the installation by following the instructions below.

• To begin the CAST Online installation, execute the following commands(except as noted):

[mounted drive]/nxcast_install –v {recommended verbose mode}

At any user input prompt during the installation, you may enter a ? <CR> orh <CR> to obtain help on that particular installation question. You may alsoenter a ! <CR> to escape to the command line prompt. This can be used totemporarily exit to the shell to perform system tasks and then return to thescript. To return to the installation script, enter Ctrl+D.

You may also enter a q to interrupt the installation.



The interactive dialogIf you do not have NX installed, you will get an error message whenyou try to install CAST, saying that it cannot find the path to NX inthe current working directory, or in the directory specified by theUGII_BASE_DIR environment variable (or if this environment variableis not defined). You will get a message saying that NX must be installedbefore you can install CAST.

Begin interactive dialog

• The first question asks for the path name where the DVD is mounted.

Enter SOURCE directory for NX CAST [/scratch/nx75cast]:

If the default path name is not correct, supply the correct path name.

• The next question is looking for the path name where you want CASTinstalled.

Enter the DESTINATION directory for NX CAST[/scratch/nx75/nxcast]:

This path name is checked for sufficient disk space and permissions. Ifrequirements are satisfied, the procedure continues unaided.

If the disk you selected does not have enough disk space, you are promptedto select another disk.

The default location for the Destination directory is in$UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast. Make sure that the UGII_BASE_DIRenvironment variable is set correctly before you run the installation scriptor, when you are prompted, make sure that CAST is being installed to thenxcast directory located in the directory where NX is installed.

Checking available disk space...

Three NX CAST installation options are available.

1. Install NX CAST html and parts files.2. Install NX CAST html files only.3. Install NX CAST parts files only.

Select installation option: [1]

If you select the default of 1, both the HTML and part files are installed.If you wish to install the part files in a different location, select option2 and install the HTML files, then run the install script again, usingoption 3 to save the part files to the desired location.

Both HTML and PARTS files will be loaded.



No further input required.

Configuring...

NX 7.5 CAST Installation Completed

***************************************************If you would like to install CAST on a web server,see the CAST Online Library Installation Guidedocument on the CD or in the CAST Online Library.***************************************************

End interactive dialog



Using CAST

Starting CAST

To access the CAST Library, you can use either of the following procedures:

• Use the CAST option in the NX Activity Menu (this brings up CAST andNX).

• Use Help→Training in the NX menu bar.

Due to screen size constraints, we do not recommend using CAST withresolutions less than 1024x768.

Starting CAST manually

The CAST installation always creates a directory or link entry in theUGII_BASE_DIR directory, which is usually named nxcast.

If you prefer, you can start CAST with NX by executing the followingcommand:

$UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/bin/startcast

You can also use the following command to start CAST without NX:

$UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/bin/castonly



Putting CAST on a web serverIf you have installed CAST using the default installation, it is installed inthe $UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast directory. After you have installed CAST youcan, with a few modifications, move the CAST source files onto a web serveron your company network.

After you have installed CAST, use the following directions to add CASTto your internal web server.

These instructions assume that you already have a web server up andrunning on your network.



Move the CAST source files

First, move the CAST source files from the NX directory structure into thedirectory structure of an existing web server. These source files are theHTML and graphic files that are served by your web server.

The CAST source files are located in:

$UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/html

For example, you could use the following commands to manually move andrename the CAST source directory:

• Copy CAST source files to the location where your web browser can usethem.

# cp –r $UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/html\/disk1/apache/share/htdocs/NX

• Change directory to the location of the web server.

# cd /disk1/apache/share/htdocs/NX

• Rename the CAST source directory.

# mv html castnx

• Delete original html directory.

# rm –r $UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/html

• Create a link from the original location to the location where the sourcefiles were copied.

# ln –s /disk1/apache/share/htdocs/NX/castnx\$UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/html

When moving the CAST source files, make sure all other directoriesunder nxcast/ remain in their original location.



Modify CAST startup scripts

After you have moved the CAST source files, you must modify the CASTstartup script to point to the new location.

This value should be the URL of the web server that contains the CAST sourcefiles, and should point to the index.html file in the CAST source directory.

This change is made by editing the value of the UGII_CAST_HTML_URLenvironment variable within the castonly script. Follow the instructionsbelow to complete this operation.

• Using a text editor, open the following file:

$UGII_BASE_DIR/nxcast/bin/castonly

• Make the following change to the line that sets the UGII_CAST_SOURCEenvironment variable:

:${UGII_CAST_HTML_URL:=http://your.server.com/NX/castnx/index.html}

If you have this environment variable set at the system level, that valuewould override the setting in this script.

Also, in the above example, http://your.server.com is the URL address for aweb server. This server needs to be up and running before you can run CAST.



Configure your server

If you are using a UNIX web server such as Apache, you only need to updatethe server Mime Types so that the server recognizes the JavaScript extensioncorrectly.

To do this you must edit the mime.types file, which is usually in the<server root>/etc directory, depending on what server you are using.

• Open the mime.types file on your web server and add the following line,if necessary:

application/x-javascript js

• After you have added the line above, restart your server.


Lesson

3 Browser and plug-inrequirements

The CAST Online Library is provided in an HTML format that is displayedin your local Web browser.

The Web browser must support Java (Microsoft JVM or Sun JVMversion 1.6 or higher) for the Search tool to work. See Java support forWeb browsers for additional information.

Windows browser support

• Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher

If you have problems displaying the pages in Internet Explorer, you mayneed to set your browser options to allow active content to be displayed.This is usually an issue when using Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

To allow active content to be displayed in Internet Explorer, follow thesesteps:

1. Select Tools→Internet Options.

2. Click the Advanced tab.

3. In the Security section, turn on Allow active content to run in files onMy Computer.


Browser and plug-in requirements

• Mozilla Firefox 3.0.5 or higher, for Windows

Firefox has a default security setting that prevents the courses fromlaunching correctly from a UNC path (file:///). If you intend tolaunch the self-paced courses using a file:/// protocol, you must setthe value of the security.fileuri.strict_origin_policy preferenceto false. To do so:

1. In the browser URL address bar, type about:config.

2. In the Filter field, type security.fileuri.

3. Change the value of the security.fileuri.strict_origin_policypreference to false.

4. Restart the browser.

Linux browser support

• Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher

If you have other Mozilla web browsers installed on your system, makesure either your default browser is set to the correct Firefox version, orthe UGII_HTML_BROWSER environment variable in your ugii_env.datfile is set to the supported Firefox version.

Mac OS X browser support

• Safari 3.0 or higher

Downloading browsers

These browsers are free and can be downloaded from the following Web sites:

Internet Explorer — http://www.microsoft.com

Firefox — http://www.mozilla.org

Safari — http://www.apple.com

Flash plug-in

To view some of the animations, you need the Macromedia Flash player,Flash 5 or greater. Visit the Macromedia site for more information aboutthe Flash player.


http://www.microsoft.com

http://www.mozilla.org

http://www.apple.com/safari/

http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/alternates/

Browser and plug-in requirements

Java support for Web browsersNavigation and search tools are provided to browse through the textualinformation of the NX documentation. In order to properly use these tools, itis necessary to have version 1.6.0 or higher of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)installed locally on your machine. The JVM is available in the Java RuntimeEnvironment (JRE) 6.0. If you need to install the JRE, or an equivalent Javaenvironment, visit the Java download site at www.java.sun.com.


http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp

Lesson

4 Web server recommendations

There are many free web server packages available over the Internet. Ifyou do not currently have a web server set up to run CAST at your site, youshould install a web server such as Apache, Microsoft Internet InformationServer (IIS), or other available server that will work with your system.

If you already have a server set up at your site, it will probably work with theCAST Online Library.

If you want to install an Apache server, it is free and can be downloadedfrom http://www.apache.org.


http://www.apache.org

Installation Guide

Documents

cast installation

cast dvd

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cast source files

cast information page

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installation instructions

cast windowsthis section