Network installation

BL Banking is a portable application that can be installed in different ways. In a network installation, several users can access the same data in the application. To do this, the program is installed centrally on a computer in the network, not on each individual workstation. All users start the program from their workstation by connecting to the BL Banking computer on the network. This type of installation is always recommended when several users work with BL Banking.

Preparations

The supplied H2 database is not recommended for network installation. You should use a different database that suits your needs, see the quick guide Database migration for more information.

For each user with bank connection, you must order a separate license number for BL Banking and a separate EBICS subscriber at the bank.

Installation

A network installation consists of the same steps as a single-user installation. Single-user installation. Details can be found in the corresponding quick guide.

A system administrator can perform the Installation on the central computer.
The First initialization must be performed by a BL Banking user, as this requires a license number and EBICS connection data. This can be done from a workstation computer after installation.

Create network drive

Navigate to the BL Banking installation directory on the central computer.
In the properties of the directory, create a Network share with read access.
Select the network users who are BL Banking users for the network share.
Grant these users write permissions to the subdirectory workspace.
Copy the network path (UNC path) to the shared directory for the next step.

Create a shortcut to the program file

The workstation computers require a shortcut to the program file in order to start BL Banking on the central computer.

Create a shortcut and paste the copied network path as the target: \\server\share – server is the computer name and share is the path to the shared directory.
Add the name of the program file to the path BL Banking.exe.
Send the shortcut file, .lnk under Windows, to the BL Banking users.
On the workstation computer, the shortcut can be placed on the desktop, in the start menu, or in the taskbar.

On the workstation computer, the network drive can be connected with a drive letter. The shortcut to the file BL Banking.exe can then refer to this drive letter (e.g. X:).

Add bank connection

In addition to the bank from the first initialization, further bank connections can be created in BL Banking. If you create the bank connections now, you will make it easier for other users to get started with BL Banking. Later, these users can also take over this task.

You need the complete EBICS connection data, including your personal subscriber ID (or user ID) from the bank.

Open the context menu in the Bank connections area and select the menu item Set up new bank connection.
In the following window, transfer the EBICS connection data to the fields URL, Host ID etc. The fields can be pre-filled for known banks by selection from the drop-down list. However, the information provided in the letter from the bank is always binding.
Click the button Check to set the latest EBICS version supported by the bank.
Enter your organization's customer ID and your personal subscriber ID (or user ID).
Click Finish and confirm the initialization with your password.
The new bank connection is displayed in the area Bank connections.
The initialization letter is displayed as a PDF file. Send it signed to the bank.

If initialization fails because your bank connection is in the wrong state, contact your bank so that your bank connection can be reset.

Add user

As the user who performed the first initialization, you are also the first administrator in BL Banking who can create more users. If you create a new user with administrator rights, this user can also create more users.

Note: It is advisable to connect your chosen database beforehand, as described in quick guide Database migration. If you skip this step, a database message box will pop up when you first create a user. You can keep the H2 database with network access for now and do the database migration later.

Select the item User administration from the menu Edit. Initially, only your own user will be listed there.
Click on the button New.
In the window Add User, enter the new user name and a temporary password that the user needs for his first login.
You can accept most of the properties as suggested and change them later if necessary.
The property Local user (without bank connection and without licence) cannot be changed later. If it is set incorrectly, the user must be deleted and recreated. This option is used to delegate tasks that do not require a bank connection if you have limited licenses. For users who are supposed to send orders to the bank, the checkbox must remain unchecked.
Click Finish. The new user is displayed in the user administration list.

The new user can now start BL Banking for the first time from his own workstation.

Initialize user

When you start BL Banking for the first time as a new user, a set up assistant (wizard) will open after you enter your temporary password. Details on the steps mentioned only can be found in the quick guide First initialization.

Enter your personal license number.
Select key medium and assign a new personal password.
Configure bank connections: As a new user, you cannot create new bank connections yourself during the first initialization, but you can do so later. The bank connections that another user has already initialized are displayed in a window. Enter your personal subscriber identification (or User ID) in the Subscriber ID column for at least one bank.
Select key directory.
Exit the wizard by clicking Finish. An initialization letter will be displayed as a PDF file for each bank that has been initialized. Sign this letter and send it to the respective bank.

BL Banking starts and is ready for use. The initialized bank connections are marked with a yellow exclamation mark until the bank has activated your connection.

If you are a new user without a license and bank connection and are starting BL Banking for the first time, no set up assistant will open. You only need to enter the temporary password once and then choose your own password.

Separate data storage

By default, the data from BL Banking is located in the workspace subdirectory of the installation directory (e.g., X:\blbanking). In addition, BL Banking uses the tmp subdirectory in the workspace directory as the default location for temporary data storage. As a system administrator, you can configure a separate data directory and temporary directory for each user of the network installation.

Create a file named BL Banking.ini in the installation directory, if it does not already exist.
Open the configuration file with a text editor and enter the line
-vmargs
In the next line, write a command with a fixed path to the workspace directory, e.g. to U:\blbanking, or the variable @user.home, which refers to the home directory of the local workstation computer.
-Dosgi.instance.area=U:\blbanking\workspace
-Dosgi.instance.area=@user.home\blbanking\workspace
Instead of entering the path in the configuration file BL Banking.ini, you can enter it in the shortcut to the program file. Add the parameter -data, e.g.
"X:\blbanking\BL Banking.exe" -data U:\blbanking\workspace
Write the desired location of the temporary directory to the file BL Banking.ini into a new line (this time not as a variable), e.g.
-Dde.businesslogics.tmpdir=T:\blbanking\workspace\tmp

Note: Users need write access to their data directory; the program directory can be write-protected. Please note that an administrator with write access must then perform software updates.

Related chapters

General - Installation

General - First initialization

General - Installation - Installation scenarios

Orders - Bank connections - Set up bank connection

General - General functions - User administration