Installing Instantis

We had the opportunity to install and evaluate the latest version of Instantis EnterpriseTrack Version 9 in our demo environment. Instantis EnterpriseTrack is a cloud based project portfolio management solution provided by Oracle Primavera with the key feature of quick and easy deployment.

I decided to test the installation first in a Windows environment. This installation requires setting up a Weblogic server and installing Oracle HTTP Server. The setup of a Weblogic server and domain is a straightforward process and I was able to quickly create the domain for Instantis. Although setting up Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) may seem intimidating at first, there aren’t that many steps involved. The Instantis installation manual did not contain the procedure for creating the OHS domain but I was able to create the OHS domain by following the OHS install guide. After installing the Weblogic and OHS domains, the next step was to deploy Instantis (Sitewand) to the servers. Fortunately, they provide a configMiddleTier utility to automate the deployment step.

After installing Instantis on Windows, I reviewed the documentation on installing it on Linux. For installing Instantis on Linux, you are given the option to use Weblogic and Oracle HTTP Server, or install it using Apache and Tomcat. After deliberation, I decided that the Apache/Tomcat option would be quicker to install because it provides a script that installs Tomcat, Apache, and deploys Instantis in one step. This installation turned out to be even quicker than the Windows one and I was able to install and configure Instantis within a couple hours on our Linux server.

After getting Instantis up and running in our demo environment, the next step was to create the Administrator users. Instantis has two separate login URLs as described below.

The first login is “Instantis Sitewand” URL that is used for accessing the Sitewand backend allowing an IT administrator to perform certain administrative tasks. This part of the application appears to allow customizations to be done to the software. We will be investigating this further as we learn to use the software. For the initial setup on the Sitewand Backend, you only need to worry about changing the default administrative password. Once this is done you may log out.

The “Instantis EnterpriseTrack” URL is the main site for accessing Instantis. For the initial setup, you are provided with a sys_admin user account. After logging in and changing the password, you can start configuring the application in the Administration section. One of the steps you need to do is add an application administrator. The Administrator’s Guide for Instantis will help you with setting up the application. Once you have performed the basic configuration steps, you can click the Validate Configuration button to check if the configuration is completed. This will report any problems with the Configuration that need to be fixed. If the Validate Configuration is successful, you may click on Change Mode and set it to Production. Once the mode is set to Production, the application administrator may log in and start using the application.

Instantis appears to provide a lot features and functionality that we will be writing more about in months to come. It will be exciting to start using the application and accessing its true potential for portfolio management.