SharePoint Online Connector Installation (6.1)

This page covers the installation and configuration of the SharePoint Online Connector for on-premises deployments using Modern Authentication (certificate-based).

This documentation applies to on-premises installations only. For Gimmal Cloud customers, the SharePoint Online Connector is hosted and managed by Gimmal.

If you are upgrading from a previous version, when entering the installation parameters, make sure to enter the same values used during the original installation. Do not use the default values.

Prerequisites

Before installing the SharePoint Online Connector, ensure you have the following available, installed or enabled:

General Prerequisites

Entra (Azure AD) App Registration: Complete the steps described in this document: Prepare to use the SharePoint Online Connector
Client ID and Tenant ID obtained as part of the App registration process
SharePoint App Catalog: Created in your Microsoft 365 tenant
SSL Certificate: Valid SSL certificate available for HTTPS communication
IIS Application Pool account: Domain account used to run the IIS Application Pool
Service Account: Domain account used to run the Windows service for the SharePoint Online Connector. This account needs rights to ‘Log on as a service’.

Typically, the IIS Application Pool account and the Service account are the same, but this is not required.
The ISS Application Pool and Service accounts require the following permissions to connect to the database. These permissions are automatically configured by the installer during initial installation if you selected the option to ‘Create Database’ during installation.
- db_datareader
- db_datawriter
- GRANT EXECUTE on all Stored Procedures
- GRANT EXECUTE on all Scalar User-Defined Functions
- GRANT SELECT on all Table and Inline User Defined Functions

Server Prerequisites

Account running the installation must be a Local Administrator and must have the DBCREATOR role assigned in SQL Server
Windows Server: Windows Server 2016 or later
IIS: Internet Information Services 7+ is installed
.NET Framework: .NET Framework 4.8 or later
SQL Server: SQL Server 2016 or later (for configuration database)
Enable the following Windows Roles & Features
- Role: Web Server
  - Role Services:
    - Static Content
    - Static Content Compression
    - Http Logging
    - Windows Authentication
    - ASP.NET 4.8 (on older servers ASP.NET 4.5)
      Note: On servers before Server 2025 - ASP.NET 4.5
    - Management Tools

Installation Setup Wizard

To install the SharePoint Online Web Connector, perform these steps:

Download and mount the installer ISO file, then start the installer by double-clicking on setup.hta
On the installer screen that appears, click the SharePoint Online Connector link under Install. Confirm the User Account Control prompt by clicking Yes
On the SharePoint Online Connector installer, click Install to the right of the SharePoint Online Connector Web option. The first screen that displays is the Check for Prerequisites.
This screen validates the following information before allowing the installation to proceed:
1. Current User is Local Administrator
2. IIS 7+ is Installed
Click Next. The installation location screen displays, which determines where the connector will be installed.
Leave the installation path as the default, or to change it, click the ... icon next to the installation location field, select the desired installation location, and then click Next.
The SharePoint Online Connector Web screen displays
The IIS Settings screen displays, where you will configure the IIS settings for the SharePoint Online Connector Web. Enter the following information:
1. Web Application Name: Specifies what the respective site will be named in IIS
2. Web Application Port: Specifies what port the respective site will use in IIS
3. SSL Certificate: Specifies the certificate used for HTTPS binding
4. Application Pool Account: When you install the SharePoint Online Connector Web, a new Application Pool will be created that is used by the web application. This should be a domain account (ex. DOMAIN\Username).
Click Next to proceed to the Database Settings screen.
Enter the following information to configure the SQL Server connection information used by the SharePoint Online Connector.
1. Database Server: The name of the SQL Server Install (ex. SERVERNAME\InstanceName)
2. Database Name: The name of the actual SQL Server Database
3. Automatically Create Database: When checked, the installation will automatically attempt to create the database using the Database Server and Database Name indicated. The Application Pool account will be automatically granted the appropriate rights to this database. This option requires that the account running the installation has permission to create databases and manage security in the SQL Server instance indicated.
  If Automatically Create Database is not specified, the installation will configure connection information but will not create the database. The SQL Scripts (found at %Install Path%\Web\Sql\RecordLion.RecordsManager.SPOnline.sql) will need to be executed (in the order listed) to manually create the database in the SQL Server instance indicated. Manually configure permissions as indicated above.
Use SQL Authentication (optional): Specifies that the connection information should use SQL Authentication with the Username and Password indicated below if not using an Application Pool account for database access
1. Username: The SQL Server username to use if SQL Authentication is specified
2. Password: The SQL Server password to use if SQL Authentication is specified
Click Next to go to the App Registration Settings screen, where you will enter the Client ID and Tenant ID that were obtained during App Registration.
Copy the Client ID and Tenant ID into the corresponding fields.
Click Next. The Installation screen displays with a progress bar indicating the current state of the installation.
When the application has finished installing, click Next to open the Finish screen, which indicates that everything has installed successfully.
Click Finish to close the installer.
Verify Windows Service has been installed. The installer creates the “Gimmal SharePoint Online Connector Service” (RLSPOnlineService) with the following details:
1. Service Name: RLSPOnlineService
2. Display Name: Gimmal SharePoint Online Connector Service
3. Startup Type: Automatic
4. Service Account: As configured during installation
Proceed to Configuration.