Hi Bill,



Don't know if anyone has replied yet ...



It doesn't take long.  You need a suitable server set up - WAMP is easy to get up and running (I guess LAMP is too) if there is nothing else, and would take all of 20 minutes to get ready.



The WebPA install is pretty quick too.  Setting up a database and a suitable DBuser, running some SQL to build the tables, editing a config file, putting the files in the right place, setting up the administrator account.  Not long at all actually.  I haven't done the LDAP set up, but I haven't heard of any great problems with that.  Would you be using LDAP ?



The longest bit is putting the staff / students / modules onto the system.



Once it is working, this release (unlike some of the earlier ones if we are honest !  :-) has proved to be pretty trouble free.  The only things I've noticed are the modules being stripped off student data uploads (see assorted emails over the last couple of weeks) and the fact that editing user information through the admin interface messes up the passwords.  The first one has been pretty much dealt with by those recent emails (I guess everyone had just got used to it and kept on hacking the database !) and the other is fixed by just not doing it !



Couple of hours should see you all done and down the pub.



Can you get access to the back end on the server your self ?  That will make your life easier.



Matthew Allen

Swansea University





-----Original Message-----

From: WebPA Project [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill Williams

Sent: 10 December 2010 14:13

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Time for installation and troubleshooting WEBPA?



Hi all,



I am  keen to use WebPA  with our students here in Setubal, Portugal this semester but I am encountering reservations from those responsible for  work scheduling of our IT staff who are stonewalling because they say the process could be complicated and time-consuming and we are short staffed IT-wise just now.



I would really appreciate if you could give a rough figure of the number of hours it took your IT staff to install Web PA, get it running and do any initial trouble-shooting. I have downloaded the Briefing Paper for IT Administrators and other support docs and can talk the technicians through these and sort out any language issues where necessary.



TIA 



Bill