Section 2 Configuring LISTSERV Maestro for First Use

After installation, it is necessary to execute a few initial configuration steps in the Administration Hub before LISTSERV Maestro can be fully used. Access the Administration Hub as described in Section 1.4 Accessing the Hub Administrator Interface and log in with the administrator password.

1.	Configure the System Database (Optional) – The Maestro User Interface component of LISTSERV Maestro uses a “system database” to store its working data – recipient profiles, job ID numbers, tracking information, and so on.

An “internal” database (based on MySQL) is included as part of the application and may be used as the system database. Using this internal database will allow the application to run “out-of-the-box”. An optional external database may be configured in place of the default internal database if desired. Switching the system database from internal to external and vice versa can be done at a later time, if necessary. For more information on configuring an external database, see Section 10 The System Database.

2.	Define User Database Connections (Optional) – The Maestro User Interface may optionally access “user databases” to retrieve information to build recipients lists in the Recipient wizard or Target Groups wizard, or to create drop-in content elements.

If a user database is going to be used, LISTSERV Maestro must be configured to access it. The appropriate driver must be installed on the server running the Maestro User Interface (the LUI component) and the appropriate “plugin” must be registered in the Administration Hub (the HUB component). For more information on configuring an external database, see Section 9 Defining External Database Connections.

3.	Set up LISTSERV – See Section 4 LISTSERV and LISTSERV Maestro for details on how to set up LISTSERV to work with LISTSERV Maestro.

On Windows, if LISTSERV Maestro was installed using the Express Setup option from the Setup Suite Installation Kit, then this step can be skipped, unless you want to make additional configurations (for example, to enable Hosted LISTSERV Lists).

4.

Configure the Maestro User Interface (LUI) – Two steps in particular need to be accomplished. (These are also handled automatically by the Express Setup option on Windows. If you used this option during installation, then you may skip this step, unless you want to make changes to the default setup.)

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Define the default LISTSERV Connection – This connection is used for all accounts that do not have individual connection parameters configured. If a single LISTSERV connection is shared among all users, then configure this connection as the default connection and leave the configuration parameters of individual users (or groups) empty. Leave the default connection parameters empty only if connection parameters for all users and groups on the account or group level will be configured individually. See Section 5 Settings for the Maestro User Interface for more information on configuring the default LISTSERV connection.

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Define the tracking URLs – If tracking is to be used, it is necessary to define the domain name of the tracking server that will be used in the URLs for tracked links. Leave the default tracking URL parameter empty only if this parameter will be defined individually for all groups. See Section 5.3 Setting the Default Tracking URL for information on how to define the default tracking URLs.

5.	Configure Global Component Settings – Establish administrative policies and procedures and configure global component settings to reflect these. In particular decide upon:

•	Backup procedures – Decide what time to make daily backups, how many backups to keep, where the backup(s) will be saved, whether any external processes will run before or after a backup.

•	Archival procedures – Decide the circumstances under which old jobs will be archived. Define the archive folder.

•	Taking the system down – When will the system be taken down for maintenance, how will users be warned, what restrictions will be imposed before the system is taken down.

•	User account restrictions – What, if any, restrictions will be imposed on user accounts based upon the type(s) of user, size limits of uploads, recipients types, drop-in content types, and so on.

•	Tracker event transfer frequency – Decide how often the tracking information needs to be refreshed. This depends on how current the tracking reports need to be. The default time period is 10 minutes.

6.

Create User Accounts and Identities – Create at least one user account that can be used to access the Maestro User Interface. See Section 7 Creating and Editing User Accounts and Identities for more details on how to proceed with creating user accounts, changing the password for the “sample” user account, or deleting the “sample” account.

7.

Secure the Default Keystore – If any of the LISTSERV Maestro components are going to be secured using SSL (Secure Socket Layer), then change the password for the default keystore for trusted root certificates that is shipped with Java. The instructions for this procedure are located in Section 18.3.3 Securing the Trusted Root Certificate Keystore.