Grooper 21.00.0082 is available as of 12-12-2023! Check the  Downloads Discussion  for the release notes and to get the latest version.
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Grooper Installation

jongoesboomjongoesboom Posts: 26 ✭✭✭
edited November 2018 in The Launchpad (Getting Started)

Prerequisites

System Requirements

The sections below outline the minimum system requirements for installing Grooper


Grooper Service Components

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 or higher
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or higher

Grooper Workstation Components

  • Microsoft Workstation Components

Distributed Third-Party Components

  • Intel Integrated Performance Primitives (Intel IPP) 7.0
  • Atalasoft DotImage Server 10.6.1
  • Transym OCR
  • SharpDevelopment IC#Code Redistributables
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1
  • Microsoft ReportViewer 2012
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012 CLR Types
  • Microsoft VSTA 2013
  • (Optional) Microsoft SQL Server Express 2014

Grooper Advanced Scripting

Before Installation

Before installing Grooper you should have the following tasks completed:

  • A network share
  • An empty SQL Server database

System Sizing

When deploying a new instance of Grooper, it is important to design the system with enough file storage space, and database storage space to accommodate the volume of documents to be processed.

File Storage Space

The amount of space required for storing files also varies greatly depending on system configuration. The following factors have the largest impact on file storage requirements

  • The resolution and color depth at which documents are scanned.
  • The quality of the documents (noisy images don't compress as well as clean images).
  • The percentage of pages on which Full Text OCR is being performed.
  • Whether the Undo Image Cleanup feature is enabled.
  • Whether alternate images are being generated to support the OCR process.
  • The amount of time batches should be retained in Grooper after export.

Again, despite the difficulties in accuracy estimating storage space requirements, reasonable estimates can be derived using standard metrics. For example, the following table provides the average storage space required (in KB) for a single page for various image sizes and types:

Image Type Primary Image Thumbnail Image OCR Results Total Size Per Page
B&W 200 DPI Letter 20 kB 3 kB 80 kB 123 kB
B&W 300 DPI Letter 75 kB 3 kB 155 kB 308 kB
Color 200 DPI Letter 350 kB 3 kB 80 kB 783 kB
Color 300 DPI Letter 1200 kB 3 kB 155 kB 2558 kB

Applying the information from the table above to a scenario where an average of 5X the daily processing volume is stored in Grooper at any given time and 100% of the pages are processed through OCR will produce the following total file storage estimates:

With Undo Enabled (Sizes in GB)
Pages/Day: 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
B&W 200 DPI Letter 11.73 23.46 35.19 46.92 58.65
B&W 300 DPI Letter 29.37 58.75 88.12 117.49 146.87
Color 200 DPI Letter 74.67 149.35 224.02 298.69 373.36
Color 300 DPI Letter
243.95
487.90
731.85
975.80
1291.75


Without Undo Enabled (Sizes in GB)
Pages/Day: 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
B&W 200 DPI Letter 9.82 19.65 29.47 39.29 49.11
B&W 300 DPI Letter 22.22 44.44 66.66 88.88 111.10
Color 200 DPI Letter 41.29 82.59 123.88 165.18 206.47
Color 300 DPI Letter 129.51 259.02 388.53 518.04 647.54

Database Space

Database storage requirements are dependent on many factors also. The most prominent factors affecting database storage requirements are as follows.

  • The average number of pages stored in Grooper at any given time.
  • The number of pages trained for classification purposes.
  • The number of fields trained for data extraction purposes.
  • The average number of pages per folder in batches.
  • The logging settings configured on the Grooper Root object.

With that said, a good general rule of thumb for Grooper database sizing is around 100 kB per page object. Applying this rule to a scenario where an average of 5X the daily processing volume is stored in Grooper at any given time will produce the following total database storage estimates:


Estimated Data Storage Based on Pages Per Day (Sizes in GB)
20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
9.54 19.07 28.61 38.15 47.68

Permissions

Before running configuration, you will want to make sure that users that will be connecting to this repository have read/write permissions to the file store and read/write permissions to the database. Please contact your system administrator if you are unable to do this.

Installing Grooper

Current Grooper Installation Files

Grooper Installer and Initialization

Depending on the number of prerequisites that exist on the target machine, the prerequisites will take most of the installation time and may require one or more reboots.

Grooper Installation Files

File Name Description
Setup.exe Primary Grooper installation file.
Grooper (x##).msi Resource used by the Grooper installer. - x##: x86 for 32bit and x64 for 64bit.
Setup.ini Resource used by the Grooper installer.
0x0409.ini Resource used by the Grooper installer.
Program Files folder Resource used by the Grooper installer.
Windows folder Resource used by the Grooper installer.
System32 folder Resource used by the Grooper installer.
System64 folder Resource used by the Grooper installer.

Running the Installer

  1. Launch setup.exe
  2. Any required prerequisites will be prompted for installation at this time. Click install to continue. One or more system reboots may be required.
    image
  3. After the prerequisites are installed, the Grooper InstallShield Wizard will install the Grooper files. Click Next until the Ready to Install the Program screen appears, and then click Install.
    image
    image
  4. After the Grooper InstallShield Wizard is completed, click Finish.
    image

Grooper Configuration

Grooper Configuration allows you to Add, Delete, and select Default Grooper Repository connections. It provides the ability to Initialize or Upgrade a Grooper Repository (and, optionally, install SQL Express for stand-alone installations that do not have access to SQL Server).

image

The first time you open Grooper Configuration on a new install, you should see the following message.

image

Click Yes to proceed.

Adding a Repository

  1. Open Grooper Configuration from the Start Menu
  2. Click the Add button on the toolbar.
  3. Enter the Server Name where the SQL Database is located.image
  4. Select the correct Database Name from the dropdown box. (If no database names show up then check to make sure you have entered the correct Server Name)
  5. If you are using Windows Authentication, then leave the user name and password blank. If using SQL Server authentication, enter the credentials here.
  6. You should now see the repository you have added in the main window of Grooper Configuration.
  7. Select the repository and then click on Test Connection to make sure you have a connection to the database.image

Initializing a Repository

  1. Select the repository that has not been initialized.
  2. Click on the Initialize button on the toolbar.
  3. This will bring up the Grooper Database Initialization Wizard.image
  4. Click Next to select the File Store Location
  5. Enter the path to directory that will be used as your Grooper file store and select Next. (NOTE: Best practice is to use a UNC path for your file store so not only can other users connect, but it also makes it easier for and Administrator to troubleshoot)image
  6. Then click Apply Configuration to save your settings and initialize the Grooper database.imageOnce done the Status should now say Ok, and the repository is ready.

Installing Grooper Render Printer

Grooper Render Printer Installer and Initialization

The Grooper Render Printer Installer installs a custom version of the Black Ice Printer Driver for Grooper.

Grooper Render Printer Installation Files

  • Setup.exe
    This is the main Grooper® Render Printer installation file.
  • Setup.exe.config
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Setup.pdb
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Setup.vshost.exe
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Setup.vshost.exe.config
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Setup.vshost.exe.manifest
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Setup.xml
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Driver Files folder
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.
  • Install folder
    Resource used by the Grooper® Render Printer installer.

Installing Grooper Render Printer

This section will describe the steps required to run the Grooper Render Printer installer and configure Grooper Render Printer via the installation wizard.

Running the Installer

  1. Launch setup.exe (be sure to Run as Administrator).
  2. The splash screen will be presented. Click Next to continue. An uninstall option will be presented if Grooper Render Printer has been previously installed (see below).
  3. The installation destination location will be presented next. Click Browse to make any required path changes. Click Next to continue.
  4. This is the configuration for the output folder destination for temporary Grooper Render Printer files. Click Next to continue.
    5. Note: This temporary storage requires few resources and is not recommended to be changed unless necessary.
  5. The installation will execute. Depending on system usage, the installer may prompt for a system restart. Click Finish to exit the installer.

Uninstalling Grooper Render Printer

This section will describe the steps required to uninstall Grooper Render Printer.
  1. Launch setup.exe.
  2. Click Yes to continue with the uninstaller. The wizard will uninstall the Grooper Render Printer.
  3. Depending on system usage, the uninstall process may require a system restart.

Installation Context (Setting Up Multiple Users and Service Accounts)

Grooper Render Printer installs under the context of the account/user that is logged in to perform the installation. Certain steps may need to be taken in situations in which the logged in user or service does not perform the installation or when more than one user on a machine will perform rendering activities. While Grooper Render Printer should not have to be installed more than once per machine, the following steps should be taken to configure Grooper Render Printer for any user/service account that did not perform the installation:
  1. Log in as the user or service account that will perform render activities.
  2. Open Devices and Printers (Microsoft Devices and Printers):
  3. Right-click on Grooper Render Printer.
  4. Select Set as default printer.
  5. Go to the local user’s Documents folder in Windows Explorer (e.g. C:\Users\\Documents\) and created a folder named GrooperRender.
  6. Open User Environment Variables (Microsoft User Environment Variables):
  7. Click New...
  8. Enter GROOPER_RENDERPATH for the Variable name.
  9. Enter the path configured in step 3 for the Variable value (e.g. C:\Users\\Documents\GrooperRender).
  10. Click OK.
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Comments

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    RandoCalrisianRandoCalrisian Posts: 195 admin
    It's worth noting here that if you plan to use a physical scanner with Grooper, you must run the x86 (32bit) version of the software.
    Randall Kinard
    rkinard@bisok.com

  • Options
    RandoCalrisianRandoCalrisian Posts: 195 admin
    Here's some flavor to add to this discussion:

    Grooper Processing Server

    • Windows 10/Server 2012
    • 16GB RAM
    • 4-∞ virtual cores (as required)
    • Default port for licensing 13900 (this is arbitrary and can be changed)
    This can be a virtual or physical machine. The main consideration is number of CPU cores, as this determines your concurrent processing power. Enough memory to support this is also requisite, especially considering Image Processing. This comes down entirely to your demands as a company over time. Do you need to be able to process 1k pages at a time, or 100k pages at a time?

    Grooper SQL Server

    • DB Size ~20GB & set scaling to % growth, no MBs
    • SQL Port 1433
    SQL can be on the same machine as the main processing server, or separate. You can choose to manage multiple Grooper repositories from one SQL instance if you choose, so demands of that particular server should be considered in that scope.

    Grooper FileStore Share

    • ~150GB FileStore size for small to medium installs
    • CIFS/SMB AD Authentication
    Like the SQL server, this share for the Grooper FileStore can be local to the processing server, or not. Be sure to use UNC paths when initializing Grooper repositories.

    End User PC • Grooper Thick Client Installs

    • Latency <50ms
    • Throughput >50MB
    This would be a VM or physical machine with an installation of just the Grooper software. Activity Processing Services can be installed on these machines to take advantage of their processing power for unattended activities. This allows you to, essentially, infinitely scale out a Grooper environment and take full advantage of parallel processing.
    For designers of Grooper, they can connect to the main Grooper repository from these machines, or spin up their own local environments that can use the licensing of the main repository.
    For end users that plan to do task processing like scanning, Data Review, etc, their Grooper software simply needs to connect to the main Grooper repository. If you plan to do scanning, the PC with the scanner needs to be a 32bit installation of Grooper (the Windows installation can be 64bit, however.)
    Randall Kinard
    rkinard@bisok.com

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