Hub Installation Checklist

HotDocs Hub installation requires several installation files, scripts, and other prerequisites. Before you start installing the Hub, use the table below to check that you have all of the installation files and prerequisites available.

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Environment Configuration

Windows Server Configuration Checklist

IIS Configuration Checklist

SQL Server Configuration Checklist

Hub Installation Files

Active Directory Users Prerequisites

Notes on SSL Certificates and Signing Certificates

Environment Configuration

The following table lists all prerequisites required to install HotDocs Hub with user management and Active Directory. You should check this list before beginning a new installation, to verify that you have all the software necessary to complete the install process.

Item Name	Type	Description	Notes
Internet connection	Prerequisite	Required to download installation files and verify your HotDocs Server installation.
Active Directory	Prerequisite	Directory service for Windows. Provides user account management and authentication for HotDocs Hub.	The server on which you are installing Hub should be joined to the same domain as your Active Directory server.
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or later	Prerequisite	Server operating system.	See Windows and IIS Configuration Checklist below for specific configuration settings.
SQL Server 2012 or later	Prerequisite	Database server.	See SQL Server Configuration Checklist below.
Microsoft .Net Framework 4.6.2 or later	Prerequisite	.Net software framework.
Powershell 3.0 or later	Prerequisite	Used to run Hub post-installation configuration scripts.
SSL Certificate	Prerequisite	Used in IIS to configure HTTPS for the Hub.	See Notes on SSL Certificates and Signing Certificates below.
Signing Certificate	Prerequisite	Used to sign API requests between HotDocs Hub applications.	See Notes on SSL Certificates and Signing Certificates below.
HotDocs Hub installer	Installation file	Installer for HotDocs Hub. Provided with the Hub installation package.	HubInstaller.msi
Windows Authentication application	Application	Provided with the Hub installation package.	Webhostwinauth
Hub configuration scripts	Installation files	Powershell scripts used for post-installation configuration of Hub. Provided with the Hub installation package.	The files you will use are: DefaultConfig.psd1 – configuration settings file ConfigureHub.ps1 – runs configuration tasks
Hub Common Files	Installation files	Additional common files required by the post-installation configuration files. Provided with the Hub installation package.	Common folder
HotDocs Server	Installation files	Provides core HotDocs document assembly and interview generation functionality. Provided with the Hub installation package.
HotDocs Web Service API	Installation files	Web services used by HotDocs Hub to access core HotDocs Server functionality. Provided with the Hub installation package.
Upload Plugin for HotDocs Developer	Installation files	Plugin for HotDocs Developer required to upload templates to Hub. Provided with the Hub installation package.

Windows Server Configuration Checklist

You must enable the Windows Server features below before installing Hub.

Item Name	Type	Description	Notes
Web Server	Windows Server role	The following Windows server features are installed as part of the Web Server role, through Server Manager.
Internet Information Service (IIS) 7 or later	Windows Server feature	Web server for Windows Server.	See Windows and IIS Configuration Checklist below for specific configuration settings.
ASP.Net 4.6	Windows Server feature	Web application framework.
Basic authentication	Windows Server feature	Required to authenticate users login without AD.
Windows authentication	Windows Server feature	Required to authenticate requests to Hub applications.
HTTP redirection	Windows Server feature	Required by the HotDocs Hub UI.
Feature delegation > Authentication – Windows	IIS setting	Authentication – Windows setting must be set to Read/Write.	Must be enabled for the web site under which Hub is installed.
HTTPS binding	IIS setting	HTTPS must be enabled on the web site where Hub is installed.	See Notes on SSL Certificates and Signing Certificates below.
URL Rewrite module for IIS	IIS setting	An extension for IIS that enables administrators to rewrite URLs and create custom response messages.	See URL Rewrite module for IIS for more information.
Signing certificate permissions	Security setting	The user under which the Hub's application pool runs must have read permissions to the private key of your signing certificate.	See assigning permissions for the signing certificate for more information.

IIS Configuration Checklist

You must configure IIS to use the settings below before you install Hub.

Item Name	Type	Description	Notes
Feature delegation > Authentication – Windows	IIS setting	Authentication – Windows setting must be set to Read/Write.	Must be enabled for the web site under which Hub is installed.
HTTPS binding	IIS setting	HTTPS must be enabled on the web site where Hub is installed.	See Notes on SSL Certificates and Signing Certificates below.
URL Rewrite module for IIS	IIS setting	An extension for IIS that enables administrators to rewrite URLs and create custom response messages.	See URL Rewrite module for IIS for more information.
Signing certificate permissions	Security setting	The user under which the Hub's application pool runs must have read permissions to the private key of your signing certificate.	See assigning permissions for the signing certificate for more information.

SQL Server Configuration Checklist

Hub must be able to connect to SQL Server, to create new databases, read data, and write data.

Item Name	Type	Description	Notes
User account	SQL user	The account used by HotDocs Hub to access SQL Server. This can be: Local account – e.g. Network Service Service account – e.g. a specific domain user SQL login user – e.g. a specific SQL user account with appropriate permissions	You can also configure Hub to connect to the database using integrated security. See Installation Configuration Settings for more information.
dbcreator	SQL Server role	The user must be able to create new databases for the installed Hub applications.
db_datareader	Master Database role	The user must be able to read data from the Hub databases.	Typically not required when user has dbcreator role.
db_datawriter	Master Database role	The user must be able to write data to the Hub databases.	Typically not required when user has dbcreator role.

Hub Installation Files

Item Name	Type	Description	Notes
HotDocs Hub installer	Installation file	Installer for HotDocs Hub. Provided with the Hub installation package.	HubInstaller.msi
Windows Authentication application	Application	Provided with the Hub installation package.	Webhostwinauth
Hub configuration scripts	Installation files	Powershell scripts used for post-installation configuration of Hub. Provided with the Hub installation package.	The files you will use are: DefaultConfig.psd1 – configuration settings file ConfigureHub.ps1 – runs configuration tasks
Hub Common Files	Installation files	Additional common files required by the post-installation configuration files. Provided with the Hub installation package.	Common folder
HotDocs Server	Installation files	Provides core HotDocs document assembly and interview generation functionality. Provided with the Hub installation package.
HotDocs Web Service API	Installation files	Web services used by HotDocs Hub to access core HotDocs Server functionality. Provided with the Hub installation package.
Upload Plugin for HotDocs Developer	Installation files	Plugin for HotDocs Developer required to upload templates to Hub. Provided with the Hub installation package.

Active Directory Users Prerequisites

If you intend to import Active Directory users and user groups into Hub, AD users must always have values set for the following attributes:

First Name
Last Name
Display Name
Email

Notes on SSL Certificates and Signing Certificates

PFX Files

If you have not already set up the certificates, you must have .PFX files for both certificates ready for Hub deployment.

TLS/SSL

You must enable a TLS/SSL connection in IIS when installing Hub with Active Directory.

2048 bit public key.
Must be exportable.
Must be imported to the local machine Personal store.
Must be imported to the local machine Trusted People store (if using a self-signed certificate).
You should provide permissions to the MachineKeys directory for the application pool under which Hub runs in IIS

Signing Certificate

Hub requires a certificate for signing access tokens, used for authenticating requests to Hub APIs. The certificate has the following configuration requirements:

May be a self-signed certificate, if necessary.
2048 bit public key.
Must be exportable.
Must be imported to the local machine Personal store.
The identity for the application pool under which the HotDocs Hub applications run must have permissions to the private key of the certificate. You configure these permissions after you install Hub.

You must also add the certificate's thumbprint to the HotDocs Identity Server application settings SigningCertificateThumbprint key during the installation process.

HotDocs recommends that you use a separate security certificate as the signing certificate for HotDocs Hub. However, you can use the SSL certificate as the signing certificate if necessary.