Installing StreamBase on Windows

Throughout this topic, remember that for StreamBase Developer Edition, StreamBase Studio and StreamBase Server always run on the same machine. The options to run StreamBase on a remote server are available only in the StreamBase Enterprise Edition.

This topic explains how to install the StreamBase authoring and server software on Windows.

Before You Install

Read Prerequisite Documentation

If you have not already done so, read the Release Notes, New and Noteworthy, and the Supported Configurations topics.

If you are upgrading StreamBase from a version older than 5.0, see Migrating StreamBase Releases.

Check Materials

To install StreamBase on Windows, you need:

  • A machine running the 32-bit versions of Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Server 2003, or running the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003.

  • A StreamBase for Windows CD, or a StreamBase installation kit downloaded from the Developer Zone, or from a URL provided by your StreamBase Systems representative.

  • A valid StreamBase license file.

Back Up StreamBase 3.x Workspaces

Starting with StreamBase 5.0, the StreamBase Studio workspace is placed in a directory with the StreamBase version number in its name. This allows you to keep the workspace directory for a previous version of StreamBase on the same machine without overwriting its contents. StreamBase Studio releases 5.0 and later provide a way to import and convert your StreamBase 3.x projects, and the importation process leaves your original project files in place.

For these reasons, it is not strictly required that you back up your workspace contents from previous versions before installing StreamBase 5.0 and later. Nevertheless, it is always prudent to have a recent backup of important files. To back up a StreamBase 3.x workspace, make a copy of your application (*.sbapp and .ssql) files and all related project files such as *.sbfs, *.sbconf, *.sbrec, DLL, and CSV files. The default location for your StreamBase 3.x workspace is: 

C:\Documents and Settings\username\StreamBase Workspace

You can optionally archive the contents of the StreamBase Configuration directory in the same location. Make backup copies of both folders, such as in a zip file, prior to using the new StreamBase release. Rename your zip or archive file to include the StreamBase version number; for example, mySBWorkspace_375.zip.

Coexistence of Multiple StreamBase Installations

Starting with release 5.0, you can install more than one release of StreamBase on the same Windows machine. Here are some important features of multiple installations:

  • StreamBase release 3.7 and earlier required you to uninstall a previous version before installing a newer release, and that restriction is still true for those earlier releases.

  • Release 5.0 and later versions are installed by default in: 

    C:\Program Files\StreamBase Systems\StreamBase.n.m

    where n.m are the major and minor release numbers. Other file system elements, such as program groups, shortcut names, and registry keys, are similarly version-decorated.

  • In practice, this means you can have on the same Windows machine:

    • One instance of StreamBase 3.7 or earlier.

    • Any number of StreamBase 5.0 or later instances, as long as the major.minor release number is different.

  • Maintenance releases are always installed in the parent release's directory. For example, release 6.0.2 would be installed in the same directory as StreamBase 6.0.

  • Conversely, you cannot install a maintenance release alongside its parent major release. That is, you can install release 6.1.3 without removing release 6.0, but you cannot install 6.1.3 alongside release 6.1. You can only upgrade from release 6.1 to 6.1.3.

  • Going forward, installing new releases of StreamBase should not impact existing StreamBase deployments. Installation directories, Windows services, event logging, registry keys, and so on, are independent.

  • To better support multiple installation scenarios, current StreamBase installers no longer update the system PATH and STREAMBASE_HOME environment variables during installation. If a 3.x StreamBase release is installed, its PATH and STREAMBASE_HOME settings are left in place. This allows you to have independent command prompt windows, with separate environment settings for each installed release. See Post-Installation: Running from Command Windows for more information.

Uninstalling Previous Releases

As a consequence of multiple release coexistence, you might have to uninstall an existing StreamBase release before installing the current release of StreamBase. Follow these rules:

  • If the existing installation is release 2.x or earlier, you must uninstall it before proceeding.

  • If the existing installation is release 3.x, you can leave it installed (for example, to continue supporting a 3.x production environment).

  • If the existing installation is any 5.x or 6.x version, and you are installing a maintenance release of the same version (denoted by a change in the third digit of the version number), you must uninstall the existing version before proceeding. For example, you must uninstall version 6.1.1 before installing 6.1.3.

  • If the existing installation is any 5.x or 6.x version, and you are installing a newer minor release (denoted by a change in the second digit of the version number), you can leave the existing version installed. For example, versions 6.0.x and 6.1.x , and 5.2.x can co-exist.

To remove a previous StreamBase version, use the Windows Add or Remove Programs Control Panel.

Uninstalling a previous StreamBase release does not affect any StreamBase application files you created in that release. Your StreamBase Studio workspace is left in place, with any project files it contains.

If you try to install multiple StreamBase versions in a situation that does not support multiversioning, the installer displays a message like the following, and the installation cannot proceed:

Installation Process

Before beginning the installation, perform any required uninstallation of existing StreamBase versions, as described in the previous section.

To install StreamBase on Windows, follow these steps:

  1. Launch the StreamBase installer using one of the following methods:

    • Load the StreamBase for Windows CD-ROM. In the CD's kit directory, double-click Setup.exe.

    • Run the StreamBase .msi file that you downloaded from the StreamBase DevZone or from an FTP site provided by your StreamBase Systems representative.

  2. On the installer's Welcome screen, click Next.

  3. Read the StreamBase license agreement. Select the I accept option and click Next.

  4. Accept the default StreamBase installation location or browse to a different location. Click Next.

  5. Click Install to begin the installation process.

  6. On the installer's final screen, check the checkbox to open the post-installation README, to read important information.

  7. Click the Finish button.

Additional Notes

  • When you install the product, the installation creates a StreamBase icon on the desktop, and a StreamBase n.m entry is added to the Start → (All) Programs menu. The StreamBase n.m menu contains the following:

    • StreamBase Adapter Documentation folder

    • StreamBase API Documentation folder

    • StreamBase User Documentation folder

    • StreamBase Command Prompt (described in StreamBase Command Prompt).

    • StreamBase Manager n.m

    • StreamBase Studio n.m

  • The StreamBase installation defines one or more Windows services that are not started by default, and a number of registry keys. You do not need to modify these entities as part of the post-installation process, or during your initial use of StreamBase. When you are ready to customize and deploy a StreamBase application, read the StreamBase Services and Registry Keys on Windows topic in the Administration Guide.

Post-Installation: Licensing

Configure your StreamBase license as described in Configuring a StreamBase License.

Post-Installation: Running from Command Windows

Before running StreamBase Server (sbd) from command windows, you must define the PATH and STREAMBASE_HOME environment variables, as described in sb-config. The recommended way is to use the StreamBase Command Prompt item in the Windows Start menu to open a pre-configured command prompt window. On 64-bit Windows, use the StreamBase 64-bit Command Prompt menu item to run the 64-bit versions of sbd and the sb* utilities.

You can also set the environment manually with the sb-config command, as described in sb-config. But use caution when doing so if you have a mix of StreamBase 3.x and later installations, as described in StreamBase Command Prompt.

Post-Installation Option: Configure an External JDK

To run StreamBase applications, you must have a supported JDK installed. StreamBase requires a full JDK, not just a JRE.

The StreamBase installation on all platforms includes the runtime components of a Sun JDK for private use by StreamBase Studio and StreamBase Server. See Supported Configurations for the current version of the JDK shipped with StreamBase. By default, the private JDK is installed in: 

C:\Program Files\StreamBase Systems\StreamBase.n.m\jdk

On 64-bit Windows, a 64-bit JDK is also installed in the jdk64 directory.

If you prefer to use a separately installed JDK to run StreamBase applications, you must configure your system and StreamBase as described in Using an External JDK.

Allow Connection by StreamBase Studio if Your Firewall Prompts

When you run a StreamBase application in Studio (for example, by launching one of the demos in the SB Demos perspective), StreamBase Studio makes a local network connection to a StreamBase Server instance. When this connection is first attempted, your firewall or Internet security software issues a warning message. Always select the Allow or Unblock option that allows StreamBase to make the connection.

In StreamBase Studio, the connection cannot proceed until you allow the firewall or Internet security software to let StreamBase make the connection.

The message may refer to StreamBase Server, or sbstudio.exe (StreamBase Studio), or javaw.exe (Java). In all cases, allow StreamBase Studio to make the connection. StreamBase is not performing an outgoing connection of any kind.

You may see similar messages if you select options on the StreamBase Studio Welcome page that access an external website or open a topic in the local StreamBase Help (which uses a Java viewer). For example:

Uninstalling on Windows

To uninstall StreamBase, use the Add or Remove Programs icon in the Windows Control Panel. Do not remove the StreamBase installation directory manually.

The StreamBase uninstaller only removes files that it placed on your disk, and deliberately leaves certain files in place:

  • Your license file is preserved in streambase-install-dir\etc. This allows you to uninstall a release and re-install a maintenance release into the same directory.

  • Your StreamBase Studio workspace and configuration directories are preserved.

  • Any Eclipse plug-ins you downloaded and installed into Studio are left behind, including any data and log files and directories they use.

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