HRPro Web Application Server Deployment Guide for IIS

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for deploying the HRPro Web Application, including HR Workspace and the optional Employee Portal (EPortal), on a Windows Server with Internet Information Services (IIS).

The deployment process includes:

• Preparing the server and installing IIS.

• Copying the HRPro application files.

• Configuring IIS applications and database connections.

• Configuring HTTPS and testing access.

• Troubleshooting common deployment issues.

You should install Microsoft SQL Server and restore the Application Database and System Database before deploying the HRPro Web Application Server. Refer to HRPro Brief Installation Procedure for database setup steps.

1. Prepare the server

Before deploying the web applications, install Microsoft SQL Server and restore both HRPro databases:

• dbSystem: The system database.

• dbHRPro: The application database, or your actual company database.

For instructions, see HRPro Brief Installation Procedure

Check the requirements

Ensure that the application server has:

• Windows Server 2022 Standard or Datacenter Edition.

• The latest Windows updates.

• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 or a supported later version.

• Administrator access.

• Network connectivity to the SQL Server database server.

• Sufficient disk space for application files, IIS logs, exports, and temporary files.

Windows Server 2022 includes .NET Framework 4.8 and supports upgrading to 4.8.1. If deploying on Windows Server 2019, use .NET Framework 4.8 instead; version 4.8.1 is not supported on that operating system.

Complete the preparation

1. Sign in using a local or domain administrator account.

2. Install all available Windows updates.

3. Configure a static IP address.

4. Verify the server’s date, time, and time zone.

5. Confirm connectivity to SQL Server.

6. If applicable, confirm connectivity to the domain controller and SMTP mail server.

7. Restart the server before installing IIS.

2. Install and configure IIS

HRPro Web Applications require Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) with ASP.NET support.

Install the IIS Server Role

1. Open Server Manager.

2. Select Manage > Add Roles and Features.

3. Click Next until you reach the Server Roles page.

• In Server Roles, check Web Server (IIS) and accept the prompt to Add features.

• • Click Add Features when prompted.

• In Features, ensure .NET Framework 4.8 Features (including ASP.NET 4.8) are selected; Windows Server 2022 ships with .NET Framework 4.8, but you must still enable the IIS/.NET integration features.

• In Role Services under Web Server (IIS) → Application Development, select all required components: 

Application Development Features:

• • • .NET Extensibility 4.8, 

    • ASP.NET 4.8, 

    • ISAPI Extensions, 

    • ISAPI Filters, 

Common HTTP Features: 

• • • Default Document

    • HTTP Errors

    • HTTP Redirection

    • Static Content 

Health and Diagnostics:

• • • HTTP Logging

Performance Features:

• • • Static Content Compression

Security:

• • • Request Filtering

• Complete the wizard and click Install.

• Restart the server after IIS installation finishes.

If you deploy to Windows Server 2019 or earlier, .NET Framework 4.8.1 is not preinstalled; download and install it separately following the How to install .NET Framework 4.8.1 guide.

Verify IIS Installation

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. Browse to:

http://localhost

3. Confirm that the default IIS welcome page is displayed.

If the IIS welcome page is displayed successfully, IIS has been installed correctly.

Copy the application files

For HR Workspace:

1. On the application server, create a new folder under C:\inetpub\wwwroot for the HR Workspace website. For example:

C:\inetpub\wwwroot\HRWorkspace

       You may also use a company-specific folder name if preferred.

2. From the HRPro Setup Package, locate the HRWorkspace folder.

3. Copy all files and subfolders from the HRWorkspace folder into the newly created website folder.

For Employee Portal, if required:

If the Employee Portal (EPortal) will be deployed, complete the following steps:

1. Create a new folder under C:\inetpub\wwwroot for the Employee Portal website. For example:

C:\inetpub\wwwroot\EPortal

Alternatively, you may use a company-specific folder name.

2. From the HRPro Setup Package, locate the EPortal folder.

3. Copy all files and subfolders from the EPortal folder into the newly created website folder.

Example Folder Structure

C:\

└─ inetpub

   └─ wwwroot

      ├─ HRWorkspace

      └─ EPortal

Verify Application Files

Confirm that the application files have been copied successfully.

Example:

HRWorkspace

│

├─ App_Data

├─ bin

├─ Content

├─ fonts

├─ Images

├─ Localization

└─ ...

Convert the folders to applications

•  Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager from Server Manager → Tools → Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

• In the Connections pane, expand the server node, then expand Sites and locate the folder/site you created (e.g., HRWorkspace).

• Right‑click the folder and choose Convert to Application.

• Verify the alias and physical path.

• Select the application pool intended for HR Workspace.

• Click OK.

• Repeat these steps for EPortal, if deployed.

If a folder does not appear, refresh the Connections pane and confirm that it is inside the website’s physical root folder.

Configure IIS Application Pools and Folder Permissions for HRPro

See Configure IIS Application Pools and Folder Permissions for HRPro.

3. Configure database connections

Configure HR Workspace

• In the HR Workspace application folder, locate the HRPro.Config file.

• Open it with a text editor (e.g., Notepad). If you cannot save changes, run the editor as Administrator, or save to another location and copy it back into the folder.

• In the configuration block for the SQL connection string, update:

  • YourServerName\InstanceName to your actual SQL Server/instance name.

  • YourPassword to the correct password for the specified SQL login.

<appSettings>

  <add key="data source" value="YourServerName\InstanceName"/>

  <add key="initial catalog" value="dbHRPro"/>

  <add key="user id" value="sa"/>

  <add key="password" value="YourPassword"/>

</appSettings>

Configure Employee Portal

If Employee Portal is deployed, open EPortal.config in its application folder and update the corresponding database connection settings.

Enable password encryption

To avoid storing the SQL password in plain text, follow 

How to Enable SQL Server Password Encryption.

That procedure changes the configuration key from password to password encrypted and uses the encrypted value obtained from HRPro. It also applies to EPortal.config.

Check remote SQL connectivity

If IIS and SQL Server are on different servers, verify that:

• TCP/IP is enabled for the SQL Server instance.

• The SQL Server service has been restarted after any protocol changes.

• Firewall rules permit the required connection between the servers.

See How to enable TCP/IP connection for the SQL Server Express edition.

4. Secure and test deployment

Add robots.txt

Copy the supplied robots.txt file from the HR Workspace package to the website’s root folder.

For the Default Web Site layout used in this guide, the location is:

C:\inetpub\wwwroot\robots.txt

This is the website root, not the HRWorkspace application folder.

The file tells web crawlers which parts of the website they should avoid crawling. For the recommended content, see What Is robots.txt For?

Configure HTTPS

Configure HTTPS before making the applications available to users. HTTPS encrypts traffic between the browser and the web server.

Follow How to Enable SSL (HTTPS) Connection for HRPro Web Application Server to install the certificate, configure the HTTPS binding, and enforce HTTPS access.

For additional deployment security measures, see HRPro Security Guidance, including restrictions on public exposure and database access.

Test local access

On the application server, open Microsoft Edge and test the following addresses:

http://localhost/HRWorkspace

http://localhost/EPortal

Only test EPortal if it has been deployed. Replace the application aliases if you used different names.

These HTTP addresses are for initial local testing. After configuring HTTPS, test using the hostname configured for your secure website.

Test client access

From a workstation on the same network, test:

https://<ServerName>/HRWorkspace

https://<ServerName>/EPortal

Replace <ServerName> with your configured HTTPS hostname.

Sign in using an account appropriate to each application and confirm that:

• The login page loads correctly.

• Sign-in succeeds.

• The application connects to the HRPro databases.

• The expected information is displayed.

• Required pages and functions work correctly.

5. Troubleshoot common issues

Use the following checklist to investigate deployment problems.

If the issue remains unresolved, record the exact error message and the affected URL before contacting your HRPro support representative.

Verify Application Files

Confirm that the application files have been copied successfully.

Example: