Installing PerformancePoint Server for Demos

Recently I have been involved with running a POC using PerformancePoint (PPS). The first POC was scoped to identify how to leverage MOSS and PerformancePoint server to enhance Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities.

If you are new to Business Intelligence and PerformancePoint I highly recommend the following articles.

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/solutions/bi/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/business/performancepoint/productinfo/newsreviews.aspx

First of all the POC was scoped to identifying how PPS would fit into an overall enterprise architecture. So we did a limited scoping exercise and identified the minimum software requirements for PerformancePoint Server. The following is a cut down version of how I setup a Virtual development/demo server for PerformancePoint Server.

Most of this information is available on TechNet but I found that these were mostly too broad when it comes to actually doing an install for a demo and testing.

I wont go into too much details on configuring a Virtual Image. Basically this is my standard configuration.

Note I chose NOT to run Active Directory on this single VPC. Also note that running PerformancePoint on a Domain controller is not supported.

First up I created 3 user accounts on the Windows Server.

Note You’ll need to adapt to your own account requirements when deploying in your own environment. Details on the accounts you need are available on TechNet PerformancePoint planning guide. I highly recommend that you read the following downloadable guides for PerformancePoint Server from TechNet.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc161069.aspx

For Software requirements refer to > http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb821208.aspx

With PerformancePoint Server (PPS) you install two components, these being the Planning Server and the Monitoring Server. The Planning Server takes care of your planning related to your business process planning and management reports. Depending on your requirements you can choose the appropriate topology. In this post I am deploying a single server topology. More details on how you can create a highly scalable topology for PerformancePoint Server is documented on TechNet.

In essence the Planning Server provides the following

Understanding the Planning Components and SQL Server Requirements

It is important to understand that in order for the planning components to work you need to have the following installed and configured first before attempting to install and configure PPS.

Installing SQL Server with all Components required

Since I am using a single server for demo purposes I installed SQL server with all the following components.

In a real world deployment scenario it is recommended you should run your Analysis services on a separate server for better performance. I also installed the sample AdventureWorks databases that come with SQL. You can install these databases by selecting the ‘Advanced’ option. If you are new to SQL Server please follow SQL Server installation guidelines on TechNet or consult your DBA in your own organisation. This post assumes that you are installing PPS on a demo environment.

It is also important to understand the targeted roles for Planning Server. This is documented on TechNet.

Once your SQL server install is completed ensure that you Install Service Pack 2 for SQL server as well the update pack (Build 3186) for your server.

Installing PerformancePoint

Once you have your SQL server configured. You can proceed to install PPS. For the install I am using the following accounts.

Note: This is a demo install and uses local accounts for the install.

First you will need to install the Planning Server Component

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/Install.jpg)

Select “Install Planning Server”

You can select which drive PPS should install. In my case I chose a separate drive: D:\PerformancePoint\

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/Install2.jpg)

Once the installation is complete check that the “Run the Planning Server Configuration Manager Wizard” checkbox and click Finish. The Planning Server Configuration Manager will guide you through the steps of configuring Planning Server.

The Prerequisites check will ensure that all required SQL server and other requirements are met as follows.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/PreReqsCheck_2.jpg)

Choose “Stand Alone Configuration” This will install all configurations for a stand alone server.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/StanAlone_2.jpg)

For Databases choose “Create Databases for Planning Server”. Optionally you can provision previously created databases. When doing a production deployment you may require to provision previously created databases.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/Databases_2.jpg)

Add the Admin Account name used for administration. In my demo I am using an account named “PPSAdmin”

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/AdminAc_2.jpg)

Next choose the SQL Analysis Services setting server location. In my case it’s the server name “CKDEMO”.

Next you will add the Service Identity Account (Planning Server Application Pool Identity and Service Identity). This is the account I created earlier named “PPSWebApp”

Note that the Planning Server application pool identity and Service Identity account typically should be a domain user account and have the following permissions

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/ServIdentity_2.jpg)

Next Choose a System Logs location for PPS. My location chosen was D:\PerformancePoint\Logs\

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/LogsLocation_2.jpg)

Next you will need to select the port configurations for the Planning Web Service and the Planning Console. I am not using SSL so therefore I have unchecked the SSL ports.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/PortConfig_2.jpg)

If all your configurations are successful you should see the validation checks complete successfully.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/Validate_2.jpg)

At the next screen you can review your options and click “Configure” to confirm your selections. The wizard will start configuring your Planning Server and show the progress.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/Progress_2.jpg)

Once the steps are complete you should see a confirmation box “Configuration completed successfully.”.

Next Install the “Planning Business Modeler”.

From the Install screen choose “Install Planning Business Modeler option and agree to the license terms. Select the location for the default installation. I have chosen: D:\PerformancePoint\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server. Setup will install all required binaries.

Next install the “PerformancePoint Add in for Excel” Note: You will require MS Excel to be installed first with .Net Programming support for the installer to succeed.

Installing Monitoring Server

Next install the Monitoring Server component for Performance Point Server.

Select “Install Monitoring Server” via setup and agree to license terms. Select the install location of the files. In my demo it’s D:\PerformancePoint\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server. Once setup is completed check the “Run the Monitoring Server Configuration Manager” wizard and click Finish.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/MonServer_2.jpg)

The Monitoring Server Configuration Manager will guide you through the steps required.

Note: That to install Monitoring Server you also require Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or WSS V3 on your Monitoring Server and ASP .net 2.0 AJAX extensions. These provide the capability of monitoring dashboard views. In my installation I am using WSS V3. You can download WSS V3 from the Microsoft Download site.

If you have all the prerequisites for Monitoring Server installed you will see the following.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/Monitoring_2.jpg)

In the Installation Options screen choose stand alone server and ensure that all components are selected.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/InstallOptions_2.jpg)

In the Database provisioning screen select the default values. Note you can chose to supply your own database names. I am using the default name of PPSMonitoring.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/DBsetMoni_2.jpg)

Next choose the web site configuration for the monitoring web site. I have unchecked the SSL requirements and chosen port 4000.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/MonitoringWeb_2.jpg)

Set the application pool identity for the Monitoring Server web application. I have used my previous account “PPSWebApp”. In a real deployment make sure you plan your accounts or use a different account for each web application according to best practice guidelines.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/AppPoolMon_2.jpg)

Now you will need to specify a Windows SharePoint Services site collection for the “Dashboard Viewer” web part to be deployed.

Note: I have not outlined how to create a WSS site collection. In my demo I have pre-created a site collection named “demoserver”.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/WSSSite_2.jpg)

Next you select the Reporting Server instance for the report views to be deployed.

Once your settings are done you can validate your options. You should see a similar screen as below.

](https://www.chandima.net/Blog/Lists/Posts/Attachments/135/ValidMoni_2.jpg)

Once you review your options you can commit your configuration by choosing “Configure”. A visual progress will indicate the configuring process.

Now you should have all the components required for doing a demo of PerformancePoint server capabilities.

In my next post I will highlight some of my Demo scenarios using sample data and PerformancePoint capabilities for reporting.