Prerequisites
• Windows Server 2012 or above with IIS installed
• Shibboleth SP for IIS installed and configured
• ASP.NET Core Runtime 6.0 - Hosting Bundle installed (https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/6.0)
• .NET Desktop Runtime 6.0 installed (https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/6.0)
• SQL Server containing the Microsoft Dynamics GP databases (required for Student Payments feature)
• SQL Server containing the Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases (required for the Student Details feature, on-premises CRM only supported)
• SQL Server database containing information to link student login names to Microsoft Dynamics GP Debtor IDs (only required where this information is not available from Microsoft Dynamics GP or Microsoft Dynamics CRM)
Student Billing is NOT required as a prerequisite for Student Portal. Using Student Portal WITHOUT Student Billing will result in Student Portal NOT displaying the Student Billing fee and charge information.
Installation
The Student Portal requires a separate database to hold its configuration and log data. If it is being used with Microsoft Dynamics GP, create the new StudentPortal database on the SQL Server used with Microsoft Dynamics GP. Otherwise, create the new StudentPortal database on the SQL Server used with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Use the Deployment Wizard to manage the StudentPortal database and to create the SQL logins that the web application will use at runtime to access the databases.
Installing and configuring IIS is out of scope of this document. Once installed, Student Portal can be set-up as a Web Site, or as a Web Application within an existing Web Site. The Web Site or Web Application should be pointing to the NBS.StudentPortal.WebUI folder installed on the server. For online payments to work, the URL for the Web Site must be externally accessible from the internet and should be configured to use an SSL certificate.
Installing and configuring the Shibboleth SP module is out of scope of this document. Once installed, Shibboleth SP must be configured to authenticate the /App folder of the Student Portal web application. For example, if the Student Portal web application URL is https://apps.college.ac.uk/StudentPortal/, then the path for Shibboleth to authenticate would be https://apps.college.ac.uk/StudentPortal/App/.
Once installation is complete, go to the Student Portal web application URL in a browser. It will automatically direct you to create the first Administrator account for the application, allowing you to continue to the set-up in the Admin area.
