Section 9.4. Installing the Location Server

9.4. Installing the Location Server

In a production environment, Microsoft Location Server components should be distributed among multiple computers for security reasons; however, when you are developing and testing Microsoft Location Server applications, you may want to install all the components on a single computer. In this section, we'll see how to set up your Microsoft Location Server environment and install Microsoft Location Server on a single computer for development and testing.

For the latest version of the Microsoft Location Server, go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=25704.

To use Microsoft Location Server, you also need a valid MapPoint Web Service account. For more information about MapPoint Web Service or to sign up for a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, visit the MapPoint Web Service web site at http://www.microsoft.com/mappoint/products/webservice/default.mspx.

9.4.1. Installation Overview

To install Microsoft Location Server , you need Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition in a new Active Directory domain as your web server and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 as the Microsoft Location Server database.

For a complete list of Microsoft Location Server prerequisites, see Chapter 2, Installing Microsoft Location Server, in the Microsoft Location Server Administrator's Guide.

The installation process consists of four primary tasks, each with a number of subtasks. The four primary tasks are:

1. Install and configure Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition.

2. Install and configure SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition and apply the latest service pack (SP3a).

3. Generate a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate and configure Internet Information Services (IIS) for SSL.

4. Install and configure Microsoft Location Server and verify your installation.

Microsoft Location Server requires you to preconfigure Windows Server 2003, SQL Server 2000, and Internet Information Server with SSL before installing the Location Server itself.

For detailed information and step-by-step instructions for preconfiguration and installation, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnmaploc/html/MLSSetup.asp?frame=true.

Once you successfully install Microsoft Location Server, there are two kinds of applications you can develop:

Real-time location applications

Using the Location Web Service that you installed, you can build real-time location applications using mobile devices provisioned within your enterprise.

Location Server applications

Using the Location Server APIs, you can build applications to manage users, contacts, and providers and to find nearby points of interest.

In the following sections, I will outline how to access both location web service APIs and server APIs once the Microsoft Location Server is installed.