Overview of APFW

1.The ACT! Premium for Web software emulates the look and feel of the ACT! software in the client’s web browser
2.Many of the controls and interfaces are similar. There are also some important differences:
   --Synchronization is not necessary for ACT! Premium for Web users because all users access one shared database
  --Reports can be created in HTML only.
  --The ACT! for Windows shortcut menus (right click) do not appear in the ACT! Premium for Web software

                                                                Pre Install Checklist

1.Determine whether single server or multi-server deployment is desired
2.Ensure servers meet recommended system requirements
3.Gather required information (IP information, virtual directories, web server config, etc.)
4.Verify IIS is installed properly and the ASP.NET service is running

                                                                       Best Practices

1.Host ACT! DBs on a separate server from IIS
2.All servers should be members of a Domain rather than Workgroup
3.All user accounts, including service accounts (impersonation, scheduler, etc.) should be members of the same Domain
4.Do not install on a Domain Controller (DC)

                                                                    Installation Checklist

1.The following steps should be performed to get the ACT! for Web Server installed:
  --Install ACT! for Web software on the server that will be hosting the ACT! website (and optionally the DB)
  --Create the ACT! database (on the ACT! website server or a separate server)
  --Create a Windows user account for use in ASP.NET impersonation
  --Register and activate APFW
  --Configure/Test ASP.NET and impersonation accounts, virtual directories and ACT! database via the Web Admin tool on the ACT! server

                                                                Single Server Deployment

1.In a single server configuration, the ACT! for Web web content, ACT! program files and database reside on a single Windows system running IIS
2.Recommended for businesses that require less than 25 simultaneous connections
3.External access through the firewall is typically granted by enabling port forwarding

                                                                Multi Server Deployment

1.Recommended for network environments that will host more than 25 simultaneous connections
2.A multi server configuration requires at least one Windows server running IIS and on Windows server running SQL
3.ACT! Premium for Web must be installed in its entirety on all servers (optionally ACT! Premium can be installed on the DB server)
  --For a more secure configuration, IIS should not be installed on the server hosting the ACT! database
  --SQL service(s) should be disabled on the server hosting IIS (8.02/9.0a only)
4.Enable port forwarding on one or more firewall(s)
5.Optionally: Configure ACT! web.config file to store preferences in a central shared folder to support load balancing

                                                                   Port Forwarding

1.TCP/IP Services such as Web Services “listen” for incoming requests on standard ports
2.If a firewall is placed between a server providing a service and the Internet, the firewall must be configured to receive incoming requests and forward them to the appropriate internal server
3.For ACT! Web Service, the following ports will need to be configured to listen and forward:
  --Port 80 (for website access)
  --Port 65100 if network synchronization is required
  --If the SQL Server is behind a separate firewall, the dynamically assigned SQL port should be allowed to the SQL Server (multi-firewall/DMZ configuration only)

                                                                    Impersonation

1.Impersonation Account in Single-Server Configuration should be:
  --Member of Local Administrators Group Local on the Web server
  --Granted permission to access all ACT! Premium for Web and database supplemental files
2.Impersonation Account in a Multi-Server Configuration should be:
  --Standard domain user that has been made a member of the Local Administrators group on the Web server
  --Granted permission to access all ACT! Premium for Web and database supplemental files