Flowster Studio Maintenance Change – with provided User Interface

Starting with Flowster Studio 5.3, a limited maintenance mode has been added to the installer, allowing the user to modify the contents of a Flowster deployment.
Specifically, a user may re-execute the installer as long the version has not been changed, and

• add/remove features compared to the initial deployment
• adjust minor settings (e.g. ports, descriptions, change SSL certificates)

It also come with the following list of limitations. The actions that are not supported as of version 5.3 are:

• the "Change current deployment" option is not available when the installer is accessed via Programs and Features,
• changing the installation path,
• removing the engine feature from a deployment,
• converting a main engine into an additional engine and viceversa,
• changing the tenant of additional components,
• changing the details for an already deployed Execution Agent (e.g. Execution Group name),
• changing the Client app names (WebPortal client name, WebApps client name),
• changing the Service User.

The areas containing these limitations are still enabled in the UI (if the feature is selected for install/reinstall), but that is in order to allow adjustments in case a faulty connection to the database or Flowster Studio RestApi service causes invalid or mismatching data to be retrieved.
In this chapter, we will go through a hypothetical scenario where someone had initially installed Flowster Studio 5.3 with the following feature configuration:

• Core (non-additional)
• Designer
• Execution Agent

and the following Flowster Studio settings:

• Use LDAP connection
• Domain user as Service user
• Domain user as Default Tenant Superadmin
• Default SSL certificate bound to service ports

and after a while they have reached the conclusion that a more appropriate deployment would consist of:

• Core (non-additional)
• Execution Agent
• WebPortal
• WebApps

and the following Flowster Studio settings:

• Use LDAP connection
• (same) domain user as Service user
• Custom SSL certificate bound to service ports

The GUI usage patterns is almost similar to its usage during an upgrade.
In order to have the "Change current deployment" option of the maintenance mode available, one must start Flowster Studio Setup.exe form the installer folder.

• Running the installer executable will display the Maintenance options dialog:

• Select Change current deployment and click Next. The Features dialog will be displayed:

• The installer will detect the Flowster Studio configuration that had been previously installed and preselect the features accordingly.
• Adjust the features to match your new deployment requirements: Please note the Flowster Studio Designer feature has been unchecked, while the WebPortal and WebApps have been selected.
• Click Next to continue. The Database settings dialog is displayed:
• The information (server, instance, authentication, database names) has been retrieved from the previous installation. If it doesn't match, please adjust and press Next. The installer will retrieve the rest of the information from the selected databases and prefill the dialog fields. The Flowster Studio users dialog is displayed:
• If you notice any inconsistencies in the information being displayed, please adjust.
• The LDAP server entry can be changed as long as it refers to the same domain. (e.g. specify a domain controller or not)
• Both the Active directory and Service user credentials can be changed during a Change deployment.
• The superadmin can only be set on the first Flowster Studio installation, therefore the whole area is disabled.
• Once you've overlooked the info in the dialog fields, press Next. The Flowster Studio engine settings dialog will be displayed:

• Please revise the information and make the necessary adjustments in order to continue.
• The Communication ports are all subject to modification during a Change deployment.
• Once the information is correct, press Next. The Flowster Studio components settings dialog will be displayed. According to the scenario, the WebPortal area will now be enabled:
• ! Modifying the Execution agent settings for an Execution agent that already exists in the database is not supported during Change deployment.
• The Interactive agent port is an exception to the limitation mentioned above.
• ! Modifying the Portal name for a WebPortal that already exists in the database is not supported during Change deployment (Not the case in this scenario, as it's just being added).
• Please review the information on the dialog and press Next. The second Flowster Studio components settings (WebApps) will be displayed:
• ! Modifying the WebApps client name for a WebApps client that already exists in the database is not supported during Change deployment (Not the case in our scenario, as it's currently being added)
• Please review/update the information in the dialog fields and press Next. The Flowster Studio SSL certificate settings dialog is displayed:
• As per our scenario, this Change deployment will update the bound service ports certificates from the default one to a custom one.
• Make sure the password is ok (no validation is performed) and press Next. The Ready to install dialog is displayed:
• Please note the Engine selection is not available, as it's a Designer feature.
• In order to generate the list of msiexec.exe arguments for later use, please press Create MST.
• In order to start the Flowster Studio 5.3 reinstallation, press Next. A progress bar will be displayed, followed by a installation result dialog.