Simcenter Testing Solutions How do I install and setup the Documentation Server (Help or Manual Server) with the Testlab manuals?

Starting with release 2021.1 of Simcenter Testlab there is a new Documentation Server that hosts the Help or Manuals files.  This article will show how to install and set up the Documentation Server.

With 2021.2 and future releases if the Secure Documentation Proxy (option 1 below) or the Siemens Documentation (or Help)  Server  (option 2 below) is already installed they do not need to be installed again.  In that case start with Step (2) below.

There are a two options available:

option 1)  Install the Secure Documentation Proxy and point to the documentation files on Siemens Support Center .  This can be done on one PC or server at your company and shared to everyone else by exposing the network port as a server or can be installed separately on each PC.  With this option the Support Center site will host the Testlab documentation and will be accessed via the secure documentation proxy.  It would require internet access to access the files on the Support Center and other computers at the same company would need Intranet access to it through the same network port.

• Pros - small install, no help files locally installed.
• Cons - need internet access to use the Documentation / Help files.

If you need help determining an open port there are several resources that can be found via Google.  One resource is  here:  https://helpdeskgeek.com/networking/determine-open-and-blocked-ports/

Follow the steps here:  Secure Documentation Proxy Installation Guide for Windows (siemens.com)  

The landing page for the Simcenter Testlab 2021.1 documentation is https://docs.sw.siemens.com/en-US/release/215806642/Simcenter%20Testlab%202021.1?releasesku=PL20200302201244977

For 2021.2 (and 2021.2.x) the landing page is https://docs.sw.siemens.com/en-US/release/215806642/Simcenter%20Testlab%202021.2?releasesku=PL20200302201244977

An available port should be used, if port 5000 is used, then the installation can be tested via those links:

• for 2021 : https://localhost:5000/en-US/release/215806642/Simcenter%20Testlab%202021.1?releasesku=PL20200302201244977
• for 2021.2 (or 2021.2.x):  https://localhost:5000/en-US/release/215806642/Simcenter%20Testlab%202021.2?releasesku=PL20200302201244977 

When configuring the Manuals Configuration Tool for Testlab, the server would be localhost and the port would be 5000.

option 2)  Install the Siemens Documentation Server and the Simcenter Testlab Documents.  This can be done on one PC at your company and shared to everyone else by completing a Network installation or can be done on every PC.  If the installation is done on every PC then it is similar to older versions of Testlab - the help or manuals files are installed on every PC.

• Pros - No internet access needed.  With a local installation on each PC, no intranet is needed either.
• Cons - Large installation (~2 GB).   With a network installation the local intranet needs to be available.

The Documentation server can be used for many Siemens products though and for each new release of Testlab just the new Documentation needs to be installed.

NOTE: The steps below have been written for Testlab 2021.1 and 2022.2. From 2021.2.1 on, the procedure has been simplified (unzipping the 'docs' zip package has been removed). If you want to install 2021.2.1, please check the following article: Quick installation guide for installing local help files for Simcenter Testlab 2021.2.1
 

1. Install the Siemens Documentation Server by following the link from the Installation via autorun.exe on the Simcenter Testlab ISO image.
2. Install the Testlab manuals for the documentation server.

(Both (1) and (2) will require using your Support Center login for the downloads)




Step (1) the link to download the Documentation server is here as well:  https://support.sw.siemens.com/en-US/product/266603595/download/PL20191017083607918 - download HelpServer.1.0.6.exe for either Windows 64 or Linux64.   

Update 5-Jan-2022: the Help Server 1.0 has been removed from the downloads. If you are installing Testlab 2021.1 or 201.2 you can still follow the instrucions below, with Help Server 2.0 instead of 1.0. Help Server 2.x can be found here: .Siemens Documentation Server 2.0 If you are installing 2021.2.1 (or later), please check the following article: Quick installation guide for installing local help files for Simcenter Testlab 2021.2.1

Requirements:  The Siemens Help Server uses Elasticsearch to provide the search capabilities. The version of Elasticsearch bundled with Siemens Help Server requires Java 8 or Java 11. Elasticsearch supports only Oracle's Java and OpenJDK. The following releases of Java are supported (64 bit only):

• Oracle Java 8
• Azul Zulu Java 8
• AdoptOpenJDK 8
• Azul Zulu Java 11
• AdoptOpenJDK 11
• Azul Zulu JRE 11 64-bit (no installation)

JAVA_HOME must be defined as a system environment variable only and not as a user environment variable. You must set it to a 64 bit Java installation (the folder the bin directory resides in).

To set an environment variable, right click on This PC or the name of your computer in Windows Explorer or File Explorer and get its properties.  On the left side, select Advanced system properties.  Near the bottom, select Environment Variables...   In the bottom area, create a new system variable JAVA_HOME and set it to the folder that the 64 bit JAVA bin folder resides in as shown here.





For detailed information on installing the Help Server, refer to the Siemens Help Server Installation Guide for Windows at
 Siemens Help Server Installation Guide for Windows




Run the HelpServer.1.0.6.exe executable to install the Documentation Server as shown in the following steps. 

If you get an error concerning a JAVA_HOME Environment variable not being set as a SYSTEM variable, see above or scroll down to the end of Step 1 to resolve.

Select your language:


Select Next:

Select your Shortcut Locations and for your user or all users:



Select the installation location: 



Select the ports for Application and for Storage:

Select Network access - No for a standalone installation or yes for a served one (Other people can point to your Documentation server and view the files):

 


Review installation summary:



Press Install and wait for the installation to finish.

Error.  If you get this error, you need to have Java 64 bit rev 8 installed and create a Windows System Environment variable JAVA_HOME that is equal to the path that the Java bin folder resides in.  For example JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_281



To resolve:
a)  Install one of the required versions of Java (listed above).  

b)  On your computer, create a JAVA_HOME System Environment variable and set it the path the Java bin folder resides in (if not already created during the Java installation).  Do not create a User Environment Variable, it requires a System Environment variable.  

c) In the Windows search, type "Edit the system environment variables"



d) Click on the "Environment Variables" button at the bottom of the menu. In the resulting menu, either edit the JAVA_HOME variable or add it.  Sett the variable to the path where Java is installed.




Step (2) the link to download the Testlab manuals for the documentation server is here as well at the Testlab installation splash screen: 
2021.1:  https://support.sw.siemens.com/en-US/product/215806642/download/PL20200302201244977
2021.2:  https://support.sw.siemens.com/en-US/product/215806642/download/PL20201216054357244 



Download and extract docs-simcenter-testlab-2021.1-en-US.zip or docs-simcenter-testlab-2021.2-en-US.zip.  Unzip this file (using the standard zip extraction of Windows may fail - we recommend to use 7-zip  ). After extracting the zip file run the WindowsDocInstaller.1.0.5.exe installer which is in the extracted files.



Press Done when complete.   
Very important Note:   Do not delete or move the files in the docs-simcenter-testlab-2021.{rev}-en-us folder as they are going to be used with Testlab later.

 

That completes the installation of the Documentation server and the Simcenter Testlab manuals.  The same Documentation Server can be used for your other Siemens Simcenter software products.


How to define and use other port numbers than the default port number 5000?

To use in Simcenter Testlab, during the Installation of Simcenter Testlab 2021.1 or 2021.2 the Manuals Configuration is asked for as shown on page 1-38 of the Installation Manual and also shown here:



Select the location of the Documentation Server as Server Name.  If you are installing the manuals locally on your PC then the server name as localhost is fine.  Also specify the port number that the documentations server uses.  If it was changed from port 5000 during the installation, specify that here.

If Simcenter Testlab has already been installed and you wish to point to a Documentation or Manual server after the installation, you can use the "Manuals Configuration Tool" which you will find in the start menu of your windows or in the Testlab 2021.1 or 2021.2, Tools folder on your Desktop shortcut :

Or you can directly change the following registry keys:
under Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\LMS\LMS Test.Lab 21A\21A (2021.1) or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\LMS\LMS Test.Lab 21B\21B (2021.2):