Looking for information on how to host Rock internally? Well look no further. In this step-by-step guide we'll walk through the process of getting Rock up and running. Before we jump in, let's cover a few things to make sure we get started off on the right foot.

System Requirements

Rock was developed on Microsoft's ASP.Net platform so it requires a Windows Server environment to run. Below are specific requirements of the hosting platform:

Things You'll Need During Installation

Here is a short list of settings that you'll need to complete the Rock installation.

• Email settings for your email server
• Internal and external web addresses for your organization
• An email address to send exception messages to

Other Considerations

Windows Updates
Rock's foundation is built upon Microsoft's .NET technology. Since .NET is an ever-evolving technology, we recommend that you install all the latest updates for your Windows Server.

Server Version
The instructions and pictures in this guide are written for Windows Server 2012. If you plan to install Rock on Windows Server 2008, there are a few differences in the installation you will need to watch out for. Keep an eye out for the Windows Server 2008 tips.

Certificates
As you configure Rock, make sure you purchase and configure an SSL certificate before making it available at a publicly accessible domain. Prices range from $9–$100+ per year, and while the setup may seem daunting, there are plenty of helpful tutorials that walk you through the setup process. Also, you can check with your current domain registrar to see if they offer SSL Certificates. If you're new to SSL, Google provides a detailed list of best practices.

Now that we have these things covered, let’s begin!

Let’s open up Start > Server Manager. Once opened, the first thing we need to do is to install the Web Server role. That can be done by clicking on Manage and then Add Roles and Features.

Click Next.

On the next screen, select Role-based or feature-based installation.

Choose Select a server from the server pool and then highlight your server from the list below. Click Next.

On the next screen, check the box for Web Server (IIS).

You will be prompted to add some required features for IIS. Click on Add Features. Then click Next.

On the Select Features screen, add .NET Framework 3.5 Features and click Next.

You will be presented with some information about the IIS feature. Click Next.

On the Select Role Services screen, scroll down to Application Development and check the box for ASP.NET 4.5.

You will be prompted to add some required features for ASP.NET 4.5. Click on Add Features. Then click Next.

On the final screen, select Restart the destination server automatically if required and click Install.

Installation will begin.

Congratulations! The web server is now installed. Let's move on to configuring Internet Information Services.

Configuring IIS

Open up the Internet Information Services Manager by clicking Start > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. Right click on DefaultAppPool and click on Advanced Settings.

Change the .NET Framework Version to v4.0 and then change Identity setting to LocalSystem. Then click OK.

That was easy! Now let's move on and set up our database.

Getting SQL Server Express

To download SQL Server Express, Click Here.

SQL Server Express comes in different editions. The version we recommend is the 64-bit version of SQL Server Express with Tools. This version includes the management tools you need to set up the Rock database. Once you have SQL Server downloaded, let's move on to the next section.

Installing SQL Server

In this section, we will be installing SQL Server onto our Rock server. Let's begin.

Start the SQL Server installer and on the first screen click on New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.

On the next screen, agree to the license agreement and then click Next.

Keep the Include SQL Server Product Updates checkbox checked and click Next.

Next, the SQL installer will prepare to set up.

On the Feature Selection screen, we recommend using the settings shown in Figure 4.8. These are the minimum required settings needed for Rock. Click Next to continue.

On the Instance Configuration screen, click on the Default Instance button. Click Next.

Leave the default settings on the Server Configuration screen and click Next.

On the Database Engine Configuration screen, set the Authentication Mode to Mixed Mode and set a password for SQL Server. Click Next.

Skip past the Error Reporting unless you would like to send Microsoft error reports. Click Next.

Installation will begin, so hold tight.

When complete, close the installer.

Configuring SQL Server

In this section, we will be setting up a user account for Rock to use to access the SQL Server. To begin, let's open the SQL Server Management Studio and log in using the credentials we created during the SQL Server installation.

On the Object Explorer, expand the Security folder and right click on Logins and click on New Login.

Create a user called RockUser (or another username if you prefer) and create a password. Also, uncheck the Enforce password policy setting for this account.

Next, click on Server Roles. Check the dbcreator role. Then click OK.

Now let's open up SQL Server Configuration Manager. Expand the SQL Server Network Configuration item and click on Protocols for MSSQLSERVER. Right click on TCP/IP and click on Enable.

Next, click on SQL Server Services and then right click on SQL Server Agent (MSSQLSERVER) and click on Properties.

Set the start mode to Automatic and click on Apply.

Next, let's open up Firewall with Advanced Security. Right click on Inbound Rules and click New Rule.

Click on Port and click Next.

Choose TCP and type in the specified local port, "1433."

Click on Allow the connection and click Next.

Choose which profiles this rule is applied to and click Next.

Give the rule a name and click Finish.

Snapshot Isolation Settings

We recommend enabling snapshot isolation for your Rock database. This keeps database reads from being locked by database writes. Below are the settings we recommend (found by right-clicking on the database name in SQL Server Manager and selecting Properties.)

Two-Server Configuration

If you were looking at the system requirements in this guide's introduction, you might have noticed that there is a two-server configuration for larger installations. There are a few benefits for this kind of configuration.

• Performance: Having your Rock Database and Web Environment on seperate servers means they won't be sharing resources and will be able to perform at a higher capacity.


• Security: If you plan to use a public website with Rock, you can put the web server in a DMZ for added network security. Setting up a DMZ is outside the scope of this guide, but if this is something you plan on pursuing, reach out to the Rock community.

It's All in the Details

The process for setting up a two-server environment is not that much different from the single-server setup in this guide. Here is a high level task list for each server:

Database Server

• Install & Configure SQL Server

• Install the required Server Roles and Features
• Configure Internet Information Services (IIS)
• Point Rock at the database server during installation

Be sure to check out the rest of the Rock guides and manuals to help you get started.