Architecture

Main Components
ABBYY Recognition Server consists of 6 components: Server Manager, Processing Station, Verification Station, Remote Administration Console, COM based API, and Web Service.

Server Manager

This is the main component. It works as a Windows service, manages licenses and all processing options, forms and manages the job queue, distributes the jobs among Processing Stations and Verification Stations, and delivers the output documents after processing. It also coordinates the work of other components (Processing Stations and Verification Stations) and interacts with the Remote Administration Console and the API. The Server Manager does not perform recognition, this task is performed by Processing Stations. ABBYY Recognition Server will not function without the Server Manager. To run the Server Manager, you need an activated and non expired license. See the Protection Technology and License Activation section for details.

Processing Station

This component is a Windows service that directly performs recognition. It processes files received from the Server Manager. The Recognition Server allows you to connect several Processing Stations to one Server Manager in order to increase the processing speed and maximize the throughput. The Server Manager will evenly distribute the workload among the CPUs of the Processing Stations.

Verification Station

This is a client station which allows you to proofread the recognition results. The Verification Station automatically receives the recognized pages that must be verified from the Server Manager. You can connect several Verification Stations to one Server Manager to speed up the verification process.
Remote Administration Console
This is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap in that provides a common administration interface for configuration and monitoring Recognition Server.

COM based API

This API allows you to integrate Recognition Server with other applications in the local area network. The COM based API component should be installed on the computer on which the client application will run. It can also be distributed together with the client application. See more information about the distribution of the COM based API in the Open API Help file.

Insert the ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 CD ROM into the CD ROM drive. The installation program will launch automatically. Follow the installation program instructions. Click the Start button on the Taskbar and select Settings>Control Panel. Select the Add or Remove Programs item. Click the Add New Programs button.
If the installation program does not launch automatically:

1. 2. 3.

Follow the installation program instructions.
Selecting program components
You can select the program components you wish to install. By default the Server Manager, the Processing Station, the Verification Station and the Remote Administration Console components are marked for installation.
Note: If you select the Web Service component for installation, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft.NET Framework (including Microsift ASP.NET) must be already installed on your computer. Microsoft IIS can be installed as a Windows component via the Start>Settings>Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs window. When installing Microsoft IIS on Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, you must select the default IIS components and additionally the IIS 6 Management Compatibility>IIS 6 Management Console component for installation (this will start IISADMIN service). To install Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1, you may run dotnetfx.exe file from the DotNet folder on the Recognition Server 2.0 CD and follow the installation program instructions. When installing Microsoft.Net Framework, ASP.NET is copied on the computer but not installed. You should install it manually by running: C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\vX.X.XXX\aspnet_regiis.exe i (specify the appropriate version instead of vX.X.XXX). The Recognition Server Web Service may require very complex configuration, if it is installed on the same computer with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. It is not recommended to install them on the same computer.

Selecting a user account

The Server Manager and the Processing Station components of ABBYY Recognition Server are services. If you select at least one of these components, the program will ask you to select a user account under which the services will be run after installation. By default, the Local System account is selected.
You should select User account in the following cases: If the Server Manager and the Processing Stations will be installed on different computers in a workgroup network. If the Server Manager and the Processing Stations will be installed on different computers in a domain based network and the TCP/IP protocol will be used instead of Named Pipes (see details in the Connection protocols section). If the Input Folder (from which the images will be imported by Recognition Server) and the Output Folder and the Exception Folder (to which the documents will be published by Recognition Server) are located on a computer different from that on which the Server Manager is installed. In this case you should run the Server Manager and Processing Stations under a user account which has read/write access to these folders. If you are going to configure Recognition Server to save output documents to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. In this case you should run the Server Manager under a user account which has read/write access to the SharePoint Server libraries. If you are going to configure Recognition Server to import images from an Exchange Mailbox, send output documents by e mail, or send notifications to the administrator by e mail.

The user account, under which you choose to run the services, must meet the following requirements: In the case of a domain based network, it must be a domain user account. In the case of a workgroup network, this user account must be the Administrator or a member of the Power Users group with a non empty password. This user must have read/write access to the Input, Output, and Exceptions Folders of all workflows set up on the Server.
For example, you can create a special user account that will be used only by Recognition Server and grant all the necessary permissions to this account. Troubleshooting: After entering the username and password, the message No mapping between account names and security IDs was done appears. This means the username you have entered does not exist. You must enter an existing username in DOMAIN\username or COMPUTER\username format. After entering the username and password, the message Logon failure: unknown username or bad password. appears. This means you have entered an invalid password or username. Try entering the username and password again.
After entering the username and password, the message Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer appears. This means the system has failed to run the services under this account. This may happen if the user account you have entered does not have sufficient permissions to run the services. Make sure that the user account meets the requirements described above. If the still message appears, select the Local System account and restart the components under the user account manually after the installation (see the Restarting services under a user account section). After entering the username and password on Windows 2000, the message The required privilege is not held by the client appears. This means that the installer failed to check if the specified user has proper credentials. Select the Local System account and restart the components under the user account manually after the installation (see Restarting services under a user account section).
Specifying the path to the Server Manager

If the Verification Station component is selected for installation and the Server Manager component is not, the installation wizard will request the name of the computer on which the Server Manager is (or will be) installed. Enter the computers DNS name or its IP address.
This computer name will be stored in the Verification Stations registry key. When launched, the Verification Station will use it to connect to the Server Manager.
Installing ABBYY Recognition Server Components via the Command Line
You can install ABBYY Recognition Server components from the command line in silent mode. Run the setup.exe file from the installation CD ROM with the command line options described below. Option Default Value Description INSTALLDIR="<destination C:\Program Files\ABBYY Recognition The path to the folder where the ABBYY path>" Server 2.0\ Recognition Server will be installed. MODULES=<list of components> The list of components that you want to install. The modules must be separated by a comma (,). For example, MODULES=PStation,VStation,Server,Console,API, WebService.
PStation,VStation,Server,Console

System

The user account under which the services will be run after installation. The value of this option may be one of the following: System Local System account, User User account. In the latter case you need to specify SERVICELOGIN and SERVICEPASSWORD. The username under which the Server Manager and the Processing Station services will be run. The password corresponding to the username. The name of the computer on which the Server Manager is installed. This option is useful only if the Verification Station component is selected for installation and the Server Manager component is not. Indicates the beginning of the list of installation parameters. Silent mode. Use the /qb option if you want a progress bar to be displayed during the installation. No other dialog boxes will be displayed.
SERVICELOGIN SERVICEPASSWORD

SERVERLOCATION

Note: When you use silent mode, the /q option must precede the /v option, for example: setup.exe /q /v Examples setup.exe /q /v MODULES=API This command line will install (in silent mode) the COM based API component into the C:\Program Files\ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 folder. setup.exe /qb /v MODULES=VStation,PStation INSTALLDIR="D:\ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0" This command line will install (in silent mode) the Verification Station and the Processing Station components into D:\ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 folder. A progress bar will be displayed.

Installing ABBYY Recognition Server using Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS)
Microsoft Systems Management Server automates software deployment in a network and eliminates the need to go directly to the locations where the software is to be installed (computers, groups, or servers). Software deployment using SMS includes three stages: 1. Preparing ABBYY Recognition Server for automated installation (creating a socalled "unattended setup"). 2. Creating a deployment script (i.e. choosing installation parameters: computer names, time of installation, conditions for installation, etc.). 3. Installing the software on the specified computers using SMS in accordance with the installation parameters specified in the script.
An example of deploying ABBYY Recognition Server using SMS
1. Create an administrative installation point: Run the setup.exe file with the /a command line option from the ABBYY Recognition Server installation CD ROM: setup.exe /a Next during administrative installation, specify a shared network folder that can be accessed from any workstation on which you are planning to install the program (e.g. \\MyServer\Programs\RecognitionServerAdminSetup). Once the administrative installation point has been created, select the Packages item in the SMS Administrator Console.
In the Action menu, select New/Package.
In the Package Properties dialog box, enter the required package properties.

5. 6. 7.

Click the Data Source tab. Make sure that the This package contains source files box is not selected and click OK. In the package you have just created, select Programs.
In the Action menu, select New/Program.
On the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box: Enter a descriptive name of the program in the Name field. Type setup.exe /q in the Command line field. If you wish to change the set of components to be installed, or specify additional information for the installer, use the additional command line parameters (see the Installing ABBYY Recognition Server Components via the Command Line section for details). In the Start in field, enter the path to the administrative installation folder (e.g. \\server\RS2.0).

10. On the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box: Clear the User input required box. Select Run with administrative rights. Make sure that Runs with UNC name is selected.
11. Change the condition in the Program can run field if required and click OK. 12. You can also use the Distribute Software Wizard. To run the wizard, select All Tasks/Distribute Software on the Action menu and follow the instructions of the wizard.
Important! You cannot create Distribution Points.
Manual Registration of the SharePoint Connection Library
To communicate with Microsoft SharePoint Server, the Server Manager and the Remote Administration Console require Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 or higher to be installed. If Microsoft.NET Framework has not been installed on the computer prior to installing ABBYY Recognition Server, the SharePoint connection library will not be registered during the installation. In this case, prior to configuring Recognition Server to output documents to the SharePoint Server, you should install Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 or later and then register the SharePoint connection library manually: 1. Run dotnetfx.exe file from the DotNet folder on the Recognition Server 2.0 CD. Follow the installation program instructions. 2. After Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 is installed, to register the SharePoint connection library launch the file SPConnectorLibReg.exe, which can be found in the \Bin subfolder of ABBYY Recognition Server installation folder. 3. Close the Remote Administration Console component and run it again. Restart the Workflows which will be used for saving output files to SharePoint libraries.
Installing the Hardware Key Drivers
If you have a hardware protection key, the hardware key drivers must be installed on your computer before you can run ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0. In the case of a 32 bit system, the hardware key drivers are automatically installed on your computer during ABBYY Recognition Server installation. In the case of a 64 bit system, you should install the hardware key drivers manually by running the iKeyDrvr.exe file from the ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0\USB Drivers\64 folder on the Recognition Server 2.0 CD.
Protection Technology and License Activation
A special protection technology is used to protect ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 from illegal copying and distribution. This technology effectively excludes unauthorized use of ABBYY products by persons who have not signed a License Agreement with the software copyright owner. If your License Agreement allows you to install your copy of the software only on one PC, any additional installations of the same copy on other PCs will constitute a breach of the License Agreement as well as of the copyright law of the Russian Federation. The protection technology is implemented in the form of protection keys that control the number of copies and prevent installing one licensed copy on an unlimited number of computers. ABBYY Recognition Server will not run without a protection key. Two types of protection keys are available: Software key This is an activation file that should be obtained from the ABBYY server during an Activation process. Hardware key This is a USB dongle that contains the license parameters. In the case of a hardware protection key, activation is not required.

In the Register New Recognition Server dialog box, provide the name, description, and location (i.e. DNS name or IP address) of the Server Manager component. Click the Test Connection button to check the connection. If connection has been successfully established, the word "Connected" will appear next to the button. In the Authentication group, provide the correct authentication parameters.
Click OK. A node corresponding to the registered copy will appear in the ABBYY Recognition Servers node.
How to Register a New Processing Station
If the Server Manager and a Processing Station have been installed on different computers, you need to register the Processing Station in the Recognition Server. To register a new Processing Station: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select the ABBYY Recognition Servers\Recognition Server\Processing Stations node. (Register New Processing Station) on the toolbar or select the corresponding item on the shortcut Click menu. In the dialog box that opens, specify the name of the station and the name or IP of the computer on which the Processing Station is installed. Click the Test Connection button to check the connection to this computer. Click OK. The created Processing Station will be added to the Processing Stations node.
How to Create a New Workflow
To create a new workflow, select the Workflows node and either click (New Workflow) on the toolbar or select the corresponding item on the shortcut menu. You can also create new workflows by creating a copy of an existing workflow and changing its options. To create a copy of an existing workflow, select the Duplicate item on the shortcut menu of the workflow. In the Workflow Properties dialog box, specify the following: Input tab: o o o Workflow name which will be displayed in the Workflows node In the Get images from drop down list, select the type of the Input Folder The path to the Shared Folder, Exchange Mailbox Folder, or FTP server, the login and password to the FTP server (see How to Configure E mail Settings for more information about e mail configuration) Workflow activity, which can be scheduled (see How to Create a Schedule in ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 Help)
Process tab: o Recognition language(s) o Document separation method o Recognition mode Quality Control tab: o o Verification settings (see How to Configure Verification) Exceptions Folder into which the images that cannot be processed will be published
Output tab: o Output formats and their settings o Output destination and the file naming rule

On the Advanced tab of the Microsoft Exchange Server dialog box, click the Add button and enter the name of the mailbox you want to connect. After the setup is complete, verify that you can send and receive mail interactively. You can then close Microsoft Outlook.
Note: When configuring the workflow to monitor an Exchange Mailbox, you will be prompted to enter the path to the mailbox folder. To be able to navigate to the folder using the Browse for folder dialog box of the Remote Administration Console, you must first connect the desired mailbox in Microsoft Outlook on this computer. Alternatively, you can enter the name of the mailbox folder manually in the following format: Mailbox Username\Folder. For example: Mailbox Recognition Server\Inbox.
How to Configure Verification
ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 includes Verification Stations that allow you to check and correct the recognized text. The pages that require verification arrive to the Verification Station automatically after they are recognized. Detailed information about Verification Station operation can be found in the Verification Station Help. The verification settings in Recognition Server are specified for each workflow. For each Recognition Server workflow, you can select one of the following options: No verification all pages will be exported into the output document after recognition and will not be routed to a Verification Station. Verify all pages all pages will be queued for verification after they are recognized and before they are exported to an output file. Verify only pages on which uncertain characters exceed N% only pages recognized with low confidence will be queued for verification.
If you create a workflow with verification enabled, by default all users are allowed to verify pages from this workflow, which means that if there are some pages queued for verification, any user who runs a Verification Station will receive a page from the workflow. However, it is possible to restrict the verification permissions for a workflow, so that only a limited number of users (so called Verifiers) may verify pages from this workflow. To restrict the verification permissions for a workflow: 1. 2. 3. Select the workflow in the Workflows node and click corresponding item on the shortcut menu. (Properties) on the toolbar, or select the
In the Workflow Properties dialog box, navigate to the Quality Control tab and click the Assign Verifiers button. In the Assigned Verifiers dialog box, select the option Restrict access to this workflow for all users except the Verifiers listed below, and then select the desired verifiers from the list. If a username you need is not on the list, you should first add it to the list of Recognition Server Verifiers. Click OK and save the workflow properties.
To add a verifier to the Recognition Server: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the Users node click (Add User) or select the corresponding item on the shortcut menu. Enter the user name in DOMAIN\username or COMPUTER\username format. Select the Verifier option and then select the workflows this user should be allowed to verify. Select the option Allow the user to choose workflows on the Verification Station if you want the user to be able to select which workflows to verify. Click OK and then click the Refresh button. The new verifier will be added to the Users node.

Using the Verification Station in a workgroup network
If the Verification Station and the Server Manager are installed on different computers in a workgroup network, the following requirements should be met: The user account under which the Verification Station is run must be the Administrator or a member of the Power Users group with a non empty password. On the computer on which the Server Manager is installed, there must exist user accounts with the same usernames and passwords as those of the users who will run the Verification Station.
How to Configure Publishing Documents to a SharePoint Server
ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 supports publishing output files to Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Note: In order to be able to communicate with the SharePoint Server, the Server Manager and the Remote Administration Console require Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 or higher to be installed. If Microsoft.NET Framework has not been installed on the computer prior to installing ABBYY Recognition Server, the SharePoint connection library will not be registered during the installation. In this case you should install Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 or later and then register the SharePoint connection library manually. See Manual Registration of the SharePoint Connection Library for details. To be able to save output documents to a SharePoint Server library, the ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 Server Manager service must be run under a user account which has read/write access to the SharePoint Server library. If, during the installation, you chose to run the service under a Local System account, you should restart it under a user account (see Restarting Services under a user account section). To set up the publishing of documents to a SharePoint Server library: 1. Run the Remote Administration Console under a user account which has read/write access to the SharePoint Server library. 2. 3. Create a new workflow or modify an existing one (see How to Create a New Workflow). In the Output Format Settings dialog select Save output file in SharePoint library. Enter the URL of the SharePoint Server site (e.g. http://myportal/mysite/) and click Connect. The Remote Administration Console will try to connect to the specified site and download the list of document libraries and

Important! On all computers where ABBYY Recognition Server components are installed, the values of the Protocol, ServerPort1, ServerPort2, and StationPort keys must be identical. To change the protocol back to Named Pipes, you should: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Stop the Server Manager and all the Processing Station services using the Services (Start>Settings>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services). Specify "NamedPipe" as the value of the Protocol key. The values of the ports are ignored. Restart the Server Manager and all the Processing Station services using the Services, then close the Remote Administration Console component and run it again. Open the Processing Station Properties dialog box for each Processing Station in the Details pane of the Processing Stations node. Make sure that the current connection status is Connected. Click OK. Click the Refresh button on the toolbar of the Remote Administration Console.
Restarting services under a user account
If during the installation you chose to run the Server Manager and the Processing Station services under the Local System account, you may need to restart them under a user account later. See the Selecting a user account section for details. To restart the Server Manager under another user account: 1. 2. 3. 4. Open Services (Start>Settings>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services). Right click the ABBYY Recognition Server 2.0 Server Manager service and then click Properties. On the Log On tab, select This account and specify a user account.
Type the password for the user account in the Password box and in the Confirm password box and click OK. 5. Restart the Server Manager. The same actions must be performed to restart the Processing Station under another user account. After restarting the services do the following:

6. 7. 8.

Close the Remote Administration Console component and run it again. Open the Processing Station Properties dialog box for each Processing Station in the Details pane of the Processing Stations node. Make sure that the current connection status is Connected. Click OK. Click the Refresh button on the toolbar of the Remote Administration Console.
Running ABBYY Recognition Server on a computer without a network connection
If ABBYY Recognition Server does not work on a computer without a network connection, make sure that the computer's name was specified as "127.0.0.1" or "localhost" when registering the components. If your computer does not have a network connection, you cannot use its IP address or DNS name.

Troubleshooting

The Server Manager fails to establish a connection with the Processing Station installed on a different computer
Make sure that the Server Manager and the Processing Stations services are started and run under the same user account which has all the required permissions (see Selecting a user account). In the case of a workgroup network, make sure that this user is the Administrator or a member of the Power Users group and has a non empty password. If the Named Pipes protocol is used (default), make sure that port 445 is open on both computers. Make sure that the computer where the Processing Station is installed can be accessed from the computer where the Server Manager is installed, and vice versa. If not, make sure that the option File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is selected in the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box (Start>Control Panel>Network Connections>Local Area Connections>Properties) on both computers. The Windows firewall may be blocking the work of the services. In this case, add the services to the list of exceptions and allow them to be run: o On the computer where the Server Manager is installed, open Start>Control Panel>Network Connections>Local Area Connections>Properties>Advanced>Windows Firewall Settings>Exceptions>Add Program>Browse and select the file OCRServer.exe. On the computer where the Processing Station is installed, open Start>Control Panel>Network Connections>Local Area Connections>Properties>Advanced>Windows Firewall Settings>Exceptions>Add Program>Browse and select the file OCRStation.exe.

In the case of a workgroup network, make sure that the computers where the Server Manager and the Processing Station are installed belong to the same workgroup.
The Server Manager fails to establish a connection with the Verification Station or the Remote Administration Console installed on a different computer
If the workflow fails to get images from a folder located on the FTP server, make sure that the user account under which the Server Manager service is started has the rights to access the external network. See also Restarting services under a user account section. 1. In the case of a workgroup network, make sure that the user who runs the Verification Station (or the Remote Administration Console) is the Administrator or a member of the Power Users group and has a non empty password. Make sure that an account with the same username and password as those of the user who runs the Verification Station (or the Remote Administration Console) exists on the computer on which the Server Manager is installed. If the account does not exist, create it. 2. If Named Pipes protocol is used (default), make sure that the 445 port is opened on both computers. 3. Make sure that the computer where the Verification Station (or the Remote Administration Console) is installed can be accessed from the computer where the Server Manager is installed, and vice versa. If not, make sure that the "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" option is selected in the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box (Start>Control Panel>Network Connections>Local Area Connections>Properties) on both computers. 4. In the case of a workgroup network, make sure that the computers where the Server Manager and the Verification Station (or the Remote Administration Console) are installed belong to the same workgroup.
No connection with the external FTP server
If the workflow fails to get images from a folder located on the FTP server, make sure that the user account under which the Server Manager service is started has the rights to access the external network. See also Restarting services under a user account.
The workflow does not start with the following error message: Some of the working folders are inaccessible
Make sure that the folder exists. Make sure that the user account under which the Server Manager service is running has read/write permissions to this folder.
If the path contains a network drive (for example, X:\ Folder), change the path to the complete path to the folder, e.g. \\Computer\.\Folder.

When processing images, a Disk space is too low warning appears on the computer where the Server Manager is running
The Server Manager stores all the files queued for processing in its temporary files folder, the default path to which is <Installation folder>\Bin\RecognitionServer2Temp. If there is not enough disk space on the drive where the programs installation folder is located, you can change the path to the temporary folder and select another hard disk. The path can be changed in the Recognition Server Properties dialog box.
How to retrieve an image document that is being processed by ABBYY Recognition Server
You may want to retrieve an image file before ABBYY Recognition Server has finished processing it (for example, if a document is taking too long to process, or if a network connection error has occurred). The image can be retrieved from the Images subfolder of the Server Manager temporary files folder. The path to the Server Manager temporary files folder can be viewed and changed in the Recognition Server Properties dialog. The default path is <Installation folder>\Bin\RecognitionServer2Temp. The image is stored in this temporary files folder from the moment when it is taken from the Input Folder and until it is published to the Output Folder. The Job ID is attached to the beginning of the image file name.
Digits in brackets are appended to the names of output files
Job IDs may be appended to filenames in order to avoid a conflict of filenames in the Output Folder. To prevent this conflict, you must ensure that the names of output files are unique. For example, you can enable adding date and time to output file names in the Output Format Settings dialog box.
The Verification Station hangs at startup
If the address of a nonexistent computer is specified in the registry as the server location, the Verification Station may hang at startup. To prevent this, in the registry remove the following values: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ABBYY\RecognitionServer\2.0\DefaultServerLocation and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ABBYY\RecognitionServer\2.0\VerificatonStation\serverLocation, then restart the Verification Station.