Network Considerations
While PlanetPress Workflows is typically installed on a server machine that is only accessed by one single user such as an IT person, multiple users logging on to that machine is a possibility (except with terminal servers, see Environment Considerations). Because each user may have different local and network rights, it may be important to consider the implications in regards to PlanetPress Workflow. To change the service logon information, see PlanetPress Workflow Service Logon.
Local and Network Rights
Programs, such as PlanetPress Workflows and all its services, must identify themselves in order to be granted permission to perform operations on the computer on which they run as well as on other computers accessible via a network connection. On a given workstation, you can configure your PlanetPress Workflows to use either the local system account or any specific user account. When you do this, you grant PlanetPress Workflow and all its services the same rights associated with the selected account (except for PlanetPress Messenger Service which always runs on the Local System account).
When you are running PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program on a workstation, if it is associated with an account that is different from your account, the following icon is displayed in the lower right corner of PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program: 
. The icon reminds you that the logon information is different for the PlanetPress Suite services, and that some network resources may not be accessibly by PlanetPress Suite when running a live configuration.
Account Requirements
PlanetPress Workflows and its services require administrator rights to run on any given computer and must therefore be associated with an account that has such rights.
We recommend creating a network or domain account specifically for the PlanetPress Suite services (typically called "planetpress" or "ppress"), which has administrator credentials on the machine where it is installed, and is given proper rights for any network resources your configuration may request.
Mapped Drives
Mapped drives (for example, drive X: leading to \\server\public\) are always user-specific and are created at logon. This means that mapped drives are typically not available by the PlanetPress Suite services when running a live configuration. Furthermore, while the mapped drives are not shared, they are still limited to one map per computer, meaning if one user maps the X: drive, a different user (or a service) will not be able to map it again.
This creates a limitation in PlanetPress Workflow: if you create a mapped drive as a user, you will not have access to this mapped drive while running as a service unless you log off, and then have PlanetPress Workflow Tools map the drive using a Run Script action inside a Startup Process.
We strongly recommended that instead of using mapped drives, you use full UNC paths for your network drives. PlanetPress Suite Worfklow Tools can automatically convert mapped paths to UNC paths. For more information, please see Network User Options.
Network Ports used by each service
The port configuration for each PlanetPress Workflows component is described in the following table. The port number assignments comply with Internet standards. If PlanetPress Workflow component is not active, the port is not used.
|
Component |
Protocol |
Local Port |
Remote Port |
|
Email Input (POP3 mode) |
TCP |
Default1 |
110 |
|
Email Input (Outlook mode) |
TCP |
see Remote Port |
|
|
Folder Capture |
TCP/UDP |
Default1 |
Standard Windows file and printer sharing ports2:
|
|
LPD Input |
TCP |
515 (listening port) |
N/A |
|
FTP Input |
TCP |
Default1 |
21 |
|
Telnet Input |
TCP |
Default1 |
9100 (configurable) |
|
FTP Output |
TCP |
Default1 |
21 |
|
Email Output (SMTP mode) |
TCP |
Default1 |
25 |
|
Email Output (Outlook mode) |
TCP |
See Email Input (Outlook mode) |
See Email Input (Outlook mode) |
|
Send to Folder Windows Queue Output |
TCP |
Default1 |
Standard Windows file and printer sharing ports2:
|
|
LPR Output |
TCP |
Default or 721 to 7313 |
515 |
|
PlanetPress Database |
TCP or UDP |
Unknown4 |
Unknown4 |
|
SNMP Condition |
UDP |
Default1 |
161 |
- Value is greater than 1024 and is assigned by Windows XP. This is the default.
- Windows NT 4.0 uses NetBIOS over TCP/IP for file and printer sharing, while Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 may be configured to use NetBIOS over TCP/IP or SMB over TCP/IP. The operating system may use additional ports. Refer to the Windows documentation for further information.
- If the “No source port range restriction” option is checked (recommended), see footnote a. If the option is unchecked, the local port will be chosen from a range going from 721 to 731.
- Contact your DBMS vendor to determine which ports are used by the ODBC driver for accessing a network database.