Frequently Asked Questions About Installing Bamboo Web Parts

Well, it has been a while since my last blog post, so I've decided to write few articles about some of the most common support questions we hear regarding Bamboo Web Parts and SharePoint in general. In this post,  I will discuss two issues that commonly cause confusion during the installation of Bamboo Web Parts. 

1. Running the Installation Zip File on a Network Drive and/or Failing to Unzip the Folder

Bamboo Web Parts are distributed as Zip files, a popular, compressed file format.  Over the years, we found that Zip files seem to be the most convenient format for our customers.  We have considered making the files available as an executable, but that caused some problems for customers behind an aggressive firewall.  You need to extract the components of the Zip file and run Setup.bat to install your download.  If you get a blank Setup.bat screen during the installation, most likely you are either running the setup.bat from a network drive or a mapped drive.

NOTE:: The installation file must be run on the local computer.

Another common reason why you might be seeing a blank Setup screen is that the Zip file was just opened without being extracted.  The solution is simple.  Just unzip the download file before running Setup.bat, and you're off and running.  FYI, the Setup.bat launches a html application that checks the version of SharePoint you're running and pulls the correct Web Part files to be installed (WSv2 or WSSv3, x86 or x64bits). We care about SharePoint Administrators

2. Deploying the Solution package on Multiple Front End Servers

Another common issue is a timeout error message during a Web Part installation on a Farm environment with more than 1 WFE server. Well, this is very simple. Since our Web Parts are now being packaged as a solution (.wsp file), the installation file should be run on just one of the WFE servers. It will be added to the solutions store and SharePoint will deploy it to all available web servers through a timer job. Let's pay attention here! The installer only checks the current Web Front-End server for Windows SharePoint Service Timer service and Windows SharePoint Services Adminstration service to confirm that  they are started.

However, it cannot check other WFE servers on the farm to confirm the status of those 2 services. If any of the services not started, the installation will time out and throw an error message.  

If you go to the solution management page in Central Adminstration > Operations, you will find that the Web Part is already added to the solution store but the deployment to the WFE failed. Therefore, you MUST make sure that those two services are started before installing a Bamboo Web Part.

That's it for today! Later I will discuss some common installation issues with few of our most complex Web Parts such as Bamboo Alert Plus Web Part or Bamboo Office to PDF Converstion Solutions Accelerator.  I hope you've found this post helpful!