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Installation (Windows)

This guide shows how to install Apleno Server on a Windows operating system.

Windows Versions

Apleno Server has been tested on Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 and 2022 versions.

Prerequisites

Depending on the apps you will use on Apleno Server, R and/or Python must be installed.

Warning

The default browser in Windows Server before Server 2022 is Internet Explorer (IE). IE by default is in a "hard admin" mode with extended security features, like Javascript being disabled by default. This might impact your experience browsing the Internet. Also, IE might ask you for permission to whitelist a website before visiting it. If you don't want to struggle with this, download another browser like Google Chrome, or turn off IE Enhanced Security Configuration from the Server Manager screen.

Installation

Download Apleno Server with the link provided to you and double click on the downloaded file and click on Run. Select where you want to install Apleno and then click Next then Install.

When finished, you can leave the two options checked to automatically install the service and start it. You can also uncheck them to edit the configuration file and change the default port and default main address of the website first.

Installer options

Configuration

Apleno Server is configured with a .env file placed in the Apleno Server folder. See the configuration file page for the full list of settings. All changes require a restart of the server.

Warning

You should at least set PORT and ROOT in the .env file to suit your environment.

When Apleno Server is correctly running, you should land on the first-time wizard.

Start, restart and stop

Apleno is installed as a service. You can see it by going in the Services screen of Windows:

Windows Start menu with Services selected

From there, you can stop, restart, start and with right-click then Properties you can choose how the server starts on Windows startup.

Service context menu with stop option

Windows Firewall

Some ports need to be open for Apleno to work from outside. This includes the 80 port for HTTP but also the port 443 for HTTPS if you want Apleno Server to serve on HTTPS directly.

Go to the Firewall with advanced security:

Windows Start menu with Windows Defender Firewall selected

Right click on Inbound Rules on the right panel and select New Rule...:

Windows Firewall screen with context menu for creating a new rule

In the wizard dialog:

  • Select Port in the Rule step;
  • Select TCP in the Protocol and Ports step, and enter 80 for HTTP, 443 for HTTPS or 80, 443 for both;
  • Select Allow the connection in the Action step;

Ports are now opened!

Uninstall

To uninstall Apleno Server, go to apleno-server folder and double click on the file windows-uninstall.bat. You might need to go to the Windows' Services screen to stop the apleno-server service (See above). You can then delete the apleno-server folder.