How to install the QLM License Server on Microsoft Azure

QLM and Windows Azure Integration

Important: If you are using QLM v12 or higher, refer to the instructions here.

You can host the QLM License Server on a Windows Azure portal. The procedure outlined in this section will show you how to build a QLM Azure deployment package, how to create the database on the Azure Portal and finally how to connect QLM to the Azure hosted QLM License Server.

1. Database Creation

To create the QLM database on the Azure portal:

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Go to the Windows Azure Portal.
Select SQL Databases.
Click on the New button.
Click on Quick Create.
Set the database name to: qlm
Pick the server of your choice or create a new SQL database server.
Click on Create SQL database.

2. Server settings

If you selected to create a new SQL database server on the previous step, you need to configure a user account on the SQL Server.

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Enter qlm as the login name of the server
Enter a password
Select a region
When done, confirm that you see the database in the list of available databases.

3. Configure the database

Now that the database is created, we need to create the tables and stored procedures. Follow the steps below:

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Click on the QLM database in the list
In the Connect to your database panel, click on "Run Transact-SQL queries against your SQL database.
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When prompted to login, enter your SQL Server credentials.
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Click on New Query and paste the content of the file: %Public%\Documents\Quick License Manager\DeployToAzure\Db\qlm.createtables.sql
Click on Run to execute the query
Repeat these two steps for the following files, in the exact order listed here: InstallCommon.sql, InstallRoles.sql, InstallPersonalization.sql, InstallProfile.sql, InstallMembership.sql

4. Creating the QLM package

To deploy the QLM License Server to Windows Azure, you must create an Azure package by following the steps oultined below:

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Launch the QLM Management Console and go to the Manage Keys tab
Click on the Sites button in the toolbar, then click on Add
Enter a name for your Azure site, say QlmAzure, and click OK.
In the Primary Site field, enter (you can replace 'myqlm' with any value of your choice): http://myqlm.cloudapp.net/qlmwebservice/QlmService.asmx
If you replaced 'myqlm' with any other value, note that you will need to use the same value later on in this procedure.
Set the Database Engine to: SQL Server
Click on the Encryption Keys tab, then click New for both fields to generate a CommunicationEncryptionKey and an AdminEncryptionKey
Click on the Database Connection tab and enter all the fields on this tab
Server Hostname or IP: to get this value, select your database in Azure, and click on the Dashboard link. The SERVER NAME field is displayed in the right hand panel and typically looks like: o5ad7dxk8e.database.windows.net
Database Name: qlm or any other name you have entered earlier in the process
User Name: name of the user you specified earlier in the process
User Password: password of the user you specified earlier in the process
Click on Update config files
Do not click OK -- leave the Sites editor open.
The next steps involve building the package using Visual Studio 2015. You will need to first install the Azure SDK for .NET.
Open and Build the QlmAzure solution located in the %Public%\Documents\Quick License Manager\DeployToAzure\ folder using Visual Studio 2012
Right mouse click on the QlmAzure project and select "Package"
Set the Service Configuration to Cloud and Build Configuration to Release then click on Package
The following 2 files will be created in the QlmAzure\QlmAzure\bin\Release\app.publish folder: QlmAzure.cspkg and ServiceConfiguration.Cloud.cscfg files

5. Cloud Service

Finally, we need to create the Azure Cloud Service and deploy the QLM package to the Azure portal:

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Go to the Windows Azure Portal.
Select Cloud Services.
Click on the New button.
Click on Quick Create.
Set the URL to any value of your choice that matches the value you set earlier on Sites page: myqlm
Set the region to any value of your choice.
Click on Create Cloud Service.
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Once created, click on the service and select Upload a new production deployment.
In the Deployment label field, enter: QLM
In the Package field, click From Local and select the QlmAzure.cspkg file created earlier
In the Configuration field, click From Local and select the Service.Configuration.Cloud.cscfg file created earlier
Check "Deploy even if one or more roles contain a single instance".
Check "Start deployment".
Click on the checkmark at the bottom of the page
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Once the package is created, click on Dashboard link to view details about the package. Take note of the Site Url
Now go back to the QLM Management Console, Manage Keys / Sites which you left open earlier.
On the General tab, set the Primary Site to: <siteUrl>/qlmwebservice/qlmservice.asmx
Click the Test button next to the primary site URL and confirm that all tests have passed.

This completes the configuration of the Azure site.