Installing the infoRouter software takes 15 to 20 minutes. That is the time it takes to set the program up on a server that is already prepared for it. A successful infoRouter implementation starts well before that step and continues after it: getting hardware and software that meet the system requirements, deciding how your Libraries and folders will be organized, deciding who will use the system and with what rights, naming the people who will administer it, and planning backups. This checklist sets out what has to be done, and in what order.
Key Takeaways
- Installing infoRouter takes 15 to 20 minutes on a server that is already prepared. The implementation as a whole is much more than that one step.
- Most of the work happens before installation: compliant hardware and software, Library and folder design, users and groups, administrators, custom properties and a backup plan.
- After installation, connect Active Directory, build the structure, apply permissions to groups, bring documents in, and test backups before people depend on the system.
- infoRouter needs a professional installation and ongoing administration. Your IT staff, an outside IT provider or a reseller does this work.
How Long Does an infoRouter Implementation Take?
The installation itself takes 15 to 20 minutes. Everything around it depends on your organization: how many departments and Libraries you need, how detailed your security model is, how many documents you are bringing in, and whether your server is already in place. A 10-person office with a simple folder plan and a ready server needs far less preparation than a company with several departments, strict access rules and years of files on shared drives. Plan the steps below before you set an installation date, not after.
Before You Install
1. Decide where infoRouter will run
infoRouter runs on a server you control: your own server, a server in your own cloud account, or a dedicated instance hosted for you by a provider. The software is the same in each case. The choice decides who buys and maintains the hardware, who patches the operating system and who runs the backups. On-Premise vs Cloud Document Management sets out the trade-offs.
2. Get hardware and software that meet the system requirements
Buying or provisioning the right server is often the longest single task before installation, and it has to be finished before anything else can start.
- Operating system: Windows Server 2016 or later. Windows Server 2022 is recommended.
- Database: Microsoft SQL Server 2016 or later, or MySQL 8.0 or later.
- Hardware: at least an Intel Xeon processor, 32 GB of RAM and 100 GB of storage. 64 GB of RAM or more is recommended, and storage grows with your document volume.
- Supported editions only: avoid "Express" editions of databases and operating systems not intended for production use.
- Supported versions only: infoRouter follows Microsoft's support lifecycle. When Microsoft ends support for a platform, infoRouter ends support for it too, so choose versions with years of support ahead of them.
See the technical overview and supported versions for the full detail, and check the database licenses you will need for your user count.
3. Decide who installs and looks after infoRouter
infoRouter is server software. It needs a professional installation and ongoing administration: backups, database maintenance, operating system updates and infoRouter updates. Decide now whether that is your own IT staff, an outside IT provider or a reseller, and make sure they have the time set aside.
4. Design your Libraries and folder structure
The structure you choose now shapes search, security and everyday use for years. Changing it after thousands of documents are filed is far harder than getting it right on paper first.
- Libraries: plan 5 to 50, organized by security boundary, department or function. Avoid one catch-all Library.
- Folder depth: three or four levels is usually enough.
- Folder size: keep folders to not more than 500 documents.
- Naming: agree on folder and document naming conventions before anyone files the first document.
infoRouter Best Practices and Steps to Create a Great Folder Structure cover the design in detail.
5. Decide who will use infoRouter, and with what rights
List the people and teams who will use the system and what each needs to do: read, add, edit, approve or administer. Then map those needs to groups.
- Use groups, not individuals. Assign permissions to groups, so that when someone joins or leaves a team you change one membership instead of dozens of folder settings.
- Start from Active Directory. If you use Active Directory or another LDAP directory, decide which groups and organizational units infoRouter should synchronize.
- Avoid broad "Full Control" grants. Give each group the rights it needs and no more.
- Decide on external access. If people outside your organization will view documents, decide how: a portal, or an Anonymous Library with the Anonymous Access module (licensed separately).
6. Name your administrators
One person should not do everything. infoRouter has built-in roles so the work can be shared: Library Managers, Search and Category Administrators, Portal Administrators, User Managers, Audit Managers and Policy Managers. Records Managers look after retention and disposition. Decide who takes each role, and who is a member of the Administrators group.
7. Define your document types and custom properties
Decide which kinds of documents you manage (contracts, invoices, drawings, policies) and what information you want to record about each: a project number, a client, a contract end date. These become custom properties, and they are what makes search by something other than a file name possible.
8. Plan retention, if you need it
If you will use the Compliance module (licensed separately), decide how long each kind of record must be kept and who approves its destruction. Retention schedules are set on folders and documents, and documents inherit the schedule of the folder they are filed in, so your retention plan and your folder plan should be designed together.
9. Take stock of the documents you will bring in
Before migrating, look at what you have: where it lives, how much there is, and what can be left behind. Clear out duplicates and obsolete copies. Keep documents under 30 MB, and leave out disk images, DVDs and legacy database files.
10. Plan backups before anyone depends on the system
An infoRouter backup has three parts that must stay in step with each other: the database, the document Warehouse and the application directory. Decide where backups go, how often they run and who checks them, and plan a database maintenance schedule.
Install infoRouter (15 to 20 Minutes)
With the server ready, the database in place and the plan agreed, installing the infoRouter software takes 15 to 20 minutes. No software is installed on users' computers: people work in a web browser.
After You Install
- Connect Active Directory or LDAP and set the synchronization schedule, so users and groups arrive automatically and stay current.
- Create the Libraries and folders you designed, and apply permissions to groups.
- Assign the administrative roles you decided on.
- Set up custom property sets and any form templates.
- Set up capture where you need it: the Email Scanner, Hot Folders and Scan Station.
- Bring your documents in. Bulk import in the browser moves whole folder trees across with their structure kept.
- Run and test a backup, including a restore, before people start relying on the system.
- Start the database maintenance plan.
- Show people how to work in it. The folder model is familiar to anyone who uses Windows Explorer, but your naming conventions, custom properties and approval steps are new to them.
- Keep infoRouter current. Install updates as they are released, and keep the operating system and database on supported versions.
The Checklist at a Glance
| When | Task |
|---|---|
| Before | Decide where infoRouter will run |
| Before | Get hardware and software that meet the system requirements |
| Before | Decide who installs and maintains infoRouter |
| Before | Design Libraries and folders |
| Before | Map people and teams to groups and rights |
| Before | Name administrators for each role |
| Before | Define document types and custom properties |
| Before | Plan retention (Compliance module) |
| Before | Take stock of the documents to migrate |
| Before | Plan backups and database maintenance |
| Install | Install the infoRouter software (15 to 20 minutes) |
| After | Connect Active Directory or LDAP |
| After | Create the structure and apply group permissions |
| After | Assign administrative roles |
| After | Set up custom properties, forms and capture |
| After | Bring documents in |
| After | Test a backup and a restore |
| After | Start database maintenance |
| After | Show people how to work in it |
| After | Keep infoRouter, the operating system and the database current |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long does it take to install infoRouter?
- Installing the infoRouter software takes 15 to 20 minutes on a server that is already prepared. The implementation as a whole takes longer: preparing compliant hardware and software, designing Libraries and folders, setting up users, groups and administrators, and planning backups all happen around that step.
- What has to be done before infoRouter is installed?
- Decide where it will run, get hardware and software that meet the system requirements, decide who installs and maintains it, design your Libraries and folders, map people to groups and rights, name your administrators, define custom properties, plan retention if you use the Compliance module, take stock of the documents to migrate, and plan backups.
- Who installs infoRouter?
- infoRouter needs a professional installation and ongoing administration, including backups and database maintenance. Your own IT staff, an outside IT provider or a reseller does this work.
Plan Your Implementation With Us
Request a Guided Trial. We set up an evaluation with you, in the cloud or on your own server, with infoRouter Connect included, so you can work through this checklist with your own documents before you commit.