Before you install ListManager, you'll need some information about the computer you're installing on and your network. The installer will prompt you for this information, so please have it handy when you install. These are general instructions for all platforms and SQL databases; consult the section on your particular database and operating system for more information.
Pre-Installation Considerations
ListManager is a 3-tier Internet application, and requires careful planning before installing in your network. Here is a series of steps to be considered as part of the installation process. Using these steps as a checklist before installing ListManager will ensure the best possibility for a smooth installation.
Network Architecture and Firewall Issues
ListManager has a number of TCP and UDP connections it establishes and for which it acts as a server.
If you are behind a firewall, and you plan on having ListManager running behind it, you'll need to configure your firewall so ListManager can send and receive mail properly.
How are you planning to route SMTP, DNS and web traffic in-and-out of ListManager? Are you going to have ListManager talk directly to the Internet, or have it relay email through another server?
If you have a mail server on the same machine you plan to install ListManager, you'll need to decide how you want to configure your mail server to coexist with ListManager. ListManager uses its own mail server, and doesn't need another. If there is no mail server on the machine on which you are installing ListManager, you don't need to worry about mail server coexistence.
For each site, you may wish to set up distinct domain names (e.g. lists.example.com). You’ll need to have an MX record created for each distinct hostname that routes incoming email to ListManager (e.g., bounces, unsubscribes, list postings, etc).
Webserver
ListManager provides its own proprietary webserver, and it is required to use and configure ListManager.
Apache and IIS are not required and cannot be used instead of the provided web server. If there is already a web server running on the machine where you'll be installing ListManager, the ListManager web interface will be installed on a different port.
You may wish to set up a stripped down version of the web server in your DMZ for handling interactions with the public, and keep the full administrative version of the webserver behind your firewall for internal use.
You may also wish to have a distinct URL for the web server that is used for handling opens, clickthroughs, clickstreams, action tags, etc. You will need a DNS A record which points to the IP address of the ListManager web server you have provided for recipient interaction (which may be distinct from the ListManager webserver you are using for administrative purposes)
ListManager uses your database to contain the data it needs to send and receive mail.
Before installing ListManager, you'll need to install the client tools on the system on which ListManager is going to be installed. ListManager will need to use the libraries provided by the client tools for database connectivity
If you are using your own SQL database server, you'll need to determine which database or instance to use for your ListManager tables, or create one specifically for ListManager. This step is not necessary if you are using an included database (MSDE).
Next, create the database (user/schema for Oracle) for ListManager to use.
Make sure you can connect from the ListManager host machine to the database using the client tools (Enterprise Manager or Query Analyzer for MSSQL, SQL*PLUS for Oracle).
Character sets may be an issue (especially for Oracle). We support single byte character sets (such as ISO8859P1 (or equivalent) Western European encoding). If you use UTF-8 (or another multi-byte character set) as your base character set, you risk corruption of your messages and other data. Please see the user manual for the proper environment variable settings to use with ListManager.
Mail Server
Routing mail to your internal mail servers can require some tuning of ListManager. ListManager typically performs its own DNS resolution, starting with the root name servers and top-level domain (TLD) name servers. When it tries to resolve your internal email addresses, it will try to connect to the outside IP address of your corporate mail server, which may be blocked by your firewall. Add an MX entry to the DNS bypass area of ListManager to route mail to the internal IP address (Utilities: Administration: Server: Server Settings: DNS Bypass).
Integration of ListManager with Existing Processes
How are you currently sending mailings and maintaining a database of customers? How will you integrate ListManager into this environment? This Manual contains details at the database level for how we maintain data; it may be worth consulting with the Lyris technical staff to clarify details. Also, how your current mailings map onto our list and segmentation capabilities may need to be clarified.
Before Installation
Be certain to download the correct installer. There are different installers for each operating system/database combination or the installer may complain about not having the correct libraries.
During Installation
Please have the following information ready:
The name of your SQL machine.
The SQL database server login or user name (blanks allowed for MSSQL with integrated security).
The SQL database password (blanks allowed for MSSQL with integrated security).
The database name.
Database Server Password Security
As the database password is saved unencrypted in a file (lmcfg.txt), you may later remove the password saved in this file and then specify that the password be provided on startup by altering this file.