Granta MI 2023 R1 Installation Guide

Ansys Granta MI 2023 R1
Granta MI Installation Guide

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Contents
1 About this document .................................................................................................. 5

2 System requirements ................................................................................................. 6
3 Deployment and installation planning ....................................................................... 7
3.1 Granta MI application server..................................................................................... 7
3.2 Compute server for Machine Learning and Material Calibration services................ 8
3.3 Database server ......................................................................................................... 8
3.4 License server ............................................................................................................ 9
3.5 Granta MI desktop clients ......................................................................................... 9
3.6 Choosing a deployment architecture ........................................................................ 9
3.7 Port requirements for Granta MI ............................................................................ 11
3.8 Authentication, authorization, and privileges ......................................................... 12
3.9 Required Windows accounts ................................................................................... 12
4 Granta MI Enterprise download package ................................................................ 14
4.1 Check that the download zip is not blocked ........................................................... 14
5 SQL Server setup ...................................................................................................... 15
5.1 Restoring Granta MI databases ............................................................................... 15
5.2 Database access management ................................................................................ 15
6 Installation prerequisites ......................................................................................... 17
7 Installing Granta MI server components ................................................................. 18
7.1 Key information checklist ........................................................................................ 18
7.2 Launch the Installation Manager............................................................................. 18
7.3 Install MI Settings Service........................................................................................ 19
7.4 Install MI Search Server ........................................................................................... 20
7.5 Install MI Server....................................................................................................... 20
7.6 Configure MI Server................................................................................................. 21
7.7 Install MI Service Layer ............................................................................................ 22
7.8 Install MI Viewer...................................................................................................... 23
7.9 Install One MI .......................................................................................................... 23
7.10 Install MI Data Flow ................................................................................................. 24
7.11 Install MI Admin and MI Toolbox client tools ......................................................... 25
7.12 Installing the MI Machine Learning and MI Ansys Material Calibration features ... 25
7.13 Installing Ansys MI Material Calibration ................................................................. 25
7.14 Installation log files.................................................................................................. 26
3
Release 2023 R1− © ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and
its subsidiaries and affiliates.
7.15 Installing Ansys MI Material Calibration and MI Machine Learning ....................... 26

8 Installing Windows client applications .................................................................... 27
8.1 Install MI Admin and MI Toolbox ............................................................................ 27
8.2 Install MI Data Flow Designer.................................................................................. 27
9 Adding databases to Granta MI............................................................................... 28
10 Verifying the installation .......................................................................................... 30
10.1 Checking the One MI application ............................................................................ 30
10.2 Checking the MI Viewer application........................................................................ 31
10.3 Checking the Service Layer ...................................................................................... 32
11 Upgrading Granta MI software ............................................................................... 33
11.1 Why should you upgrade?....................................................................................... 33
11.2 Upgrade considerations .......................................................................................... 33
11.3 Download the installation package ......................................................................... 34
11.4 Before you start ....................................................................................................... 35
11.5 Launch the Installation Manager............................................................................. 35
11.6 Upgrade the Settings Service .................................................................................. 36
11.7 Upgrade MI Search Server (Elasticsearch) .............................................................. 37
11.8 Upgrade MI Server .................................................................................................. 37
11.9 Upgrade the Service Layer....................................................................................... 38
11.10 Upgrade MI Viewer ................................................................................................. 38
11.11 Upgrade One MI ...................................................................................................... 38
11.12 Upgrade MI Dataflow (or MI Workflow) ................................................................. 39
11.13 Upgrade Granta MI desktop client applications...................................................... 39
11.14 Restart the Granta MI service ................................................................................. 39
12 Upgrading Granta MI databases ............................................................................. 40
12.1 Before you start ....................................................................................................... 40
12.2 Upgrading database schema ................................................................................... 40
13 User assistance......................................................................................................... 42
Appendix A. Troubleshooting .......................................................................................... 43
A.1 Backup files and installation log files ...................................................................... 43
A.2 ‘No Profiles Available’ in MI Viewer ........................................................................ 43
A.3 MI Viewer log files not being created ..................................................................... 43
A.4 Applications cannot be registered with Settings Service ........................................ 43
A.5 ‘Encountered error while searching for record lists’ in Explore.............................. 45
A.6 Can’t connect to configuration database ................................................................ 45
A.7 Web application home pages have disappeared after upgrading .......................... 45
4
1 About this document

This guide is written for system administrators or IT specialists who install enterprise software in your
organization and covers installing Ansys Granta MI 2023 R1 for the first time and also upgrading an
existing Granta MI installation.
It details how to perform a default, typical installation; at the end, you should have a production
Granta MI system up and running. The most common installation scenario is this:
• Granta MI is deployed on an application server running MI Server, the Elasticsearch search
engine, and Granta MI web applications hosted in IIS; see Section 3.6, Choosing a deployment
architecture.
• Data is stored in Microsoft SQL Server or Azure SQL Database.
• Where the Ansys Material Calibration or MI Machine Learning features are required, these
services are installed on separate “compute” servers for performance reasons.
• User authentication and authorization are both managed with Windows Active Directory.
Access to the system and user privileges within Granta MI are determined by membership of
Windows security groups that are mapped to Granta system roles (Admin, Grant, Power
User, Write, or Read); users authenticate to Granta MI applications using their normal
Windows Active Directory (AD) credentials.
If you want to use OIDC or MI User Manager (the Granta user management feature) for user
authentication/authorization instead of Windows AD, we recommend that you carry out a
default installation as described in this document, and then change the necessary
configuration settings afterwards; this is documented in the Granta MI Configuration Guide.
Your feedback
We welcome your feedback on this document; please email your comments and suggestions for
improvements to granta-docs@ansys.com.
5
2 System requirements
Detailed information about the software and hardware requirements for this release of Granta MI,
including required operating system and SQL Server platforms, can be found in the Granta MI System
Requirements document for this release. This document is included in the Granta MI software
download package and is also available online: see Section 13, User assistance.
The Installation Manager automatically checks that following software is present before any
Granta MI components can be installed on the application server:
• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). IIS is used to host the Granta MI websites. The
Installation Manager will attempt to install and configure IIS for you, if it is not already
installed.
• Microsoft .NET Framework. Your Granta MI application server requires .NET Framework
version 4.7.2. If your system has an older version of .NET Framework, you will be prompted
to upgrade before you can install any Granta MI components. Note that you may have to
restart the computer after installing this.
• ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle v6.0 or later is required for the MI Machine Learning and MI
Material Calibration features.
o MI Machine Learning: the Hosting Bundle must be installed on the Granta MI application
server and on the Machine Learning compute server
o MI Material Calibration: the Hosting Bundle must be installed on the material Calibration
compute server.
6
3 Deployment and installation planning

This section is intended for IT/operations specialists to use, in consultation with SQL Server
administrators, to coordinate and plan the pre-installation tasks. This includes making decisions
about servers, deployment topologies, SQL Server setup, user authentication, and more.
3.1 Granta MI application server

These Granta MI server components and web applications hosted in IIS are typically installed on the
same machine, referred to throughout this document as the Granta MI application server.
Component Description
MI Server Granta MI server application which runs as a Windows Service named

Granta MI Service.
MI Search Server Application that provides indexing and search functionality for data
stored in Granta MI. Runs as a Windows service called Elasticsearch
8.2.3 (ElasticsearchServiceForMI).
One MI Web application that provides a Granta MI ‘home page’ and a single,
streamlined workspace for Granta MI enterprise web applications
including Explore, Import, and Export apps.
Service Layer IIS application that provides an interface between MI Server and end-
user applications including One MI, MI Explore, and MI Data Flow.
Settings Service IIS application that provides centralized storage of integration and
configuration settings for interdependent Granta MI applications.
MI Viewer Standalone web application for browsing, querying, editing, comparing,

and exporting data, and for managing data and records in Granta MI.
MI Data Flow Web application that provides enterprise Granta MI workflow

management capabilities.
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3.2 Compute server for Machine Learning and Material Calibration

services
In production environments, we recommend that the Ansys Material Calibration and MI Machine
Learning services be installed on separate servers capable of running compute-intensive workloads,
and not on your Granta MI application server.
Component Description
Ansys Material Calibration Application for fitting material test data to hyperelastic material
models for use in simulation.
MI Machine Learning Provides process parameter optimization and data analysis for
additive manufacturing.
System requirements for MI Machine Learning and Ansys Material Calibration are covered in the
installation documentation for those products.
3.3 Database server

Granta MI databases are delivered as full SQL database backup files that include the database
schema and data. Two different formats of backup file are provided for each Granta MI database:
• .bac files, for Microsoft SQL Server
• .bacpac files, for Azure SQL Database
Database backup files for Granta MI must be installed (restored) on your Microsoft SQL Server
instance or Azure SQL Database by the SQL Database Administrator (DBA) in your organization. The
MIConfig database must be restored before installing the Granta MI software, as system
configuration settings will be written to it during installation.
The authentication method used for access to MI databases − Windows Authentication or SQL
authentication − is a matter of local IT policy, but it is important to understand which type of
authentication is being used before installing Granta MI, as you will be required to specify which
method MI Server will use to connect to the databases during installation; see Section 5 for further
information.
Note that SQL authentication must be used for access management in Azure SQL Database; Azure
Active Directory Authentication is not supported for Granta MI.
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3.4 License server

Ansys License Manager 2023 R1 is required to manage Monthly Active User (MAU) licensing for
Granta MI 2023 R1. Ansys License Manager is typically installed on a dedicated license server
machine, and you will need to enter the URL of your license server machine when you configure your
MI Server software, see Section 7.6.
Note: The license file you received from Ansys, Inc. which lists your licensed Granta MI
products must be added to Ansys License Manager through the Ansys License
Management Center before any Granta MI software or data can be used. See the Ansys,
Inc. License Management Guide for more information on installing and using the Ansys
License Management Center.
Customers who purchased a license of Granta MI, or renewed maintenance, before December 2019,
and who are still using the legacy Granta ‘named user’ licensing model, do not need Ansys License
Manager. These customers can still use their existing 16-character license key with 2023 R1 software
downloaded from the usual Granta MI Support site. Note, however, that this is the last Granta MI
release that supports the old ‘named user’ license model; for all future releases, any customers who
are currently using the legacy Granta named user licensing model will need to transition to the
Monthly Active User (MAU) licensing model, and start using Ansys License Manager. See the Granta
MI System Requirements document for more information.
3.5 Granta MI desktop clients

The following Granta MI client applications are included in the Granta MI installation package and
can be installed on Windows desktop machines via the MI Installation Manager.
Application Description
MI Admin Provides database design tools for Granta MI data administrators. May
be installed on the Granta MI application server and/or desktop clients.
MI Toolbox Provides bulk data management features. May be installed on the

Granta MI application server and/or desktop clients.
MI Data Flow Designer Tool for defining materials data management workflows and publishing
them to your MI Data Flow Server application.
3.6 Choosing a deployment architecture

Granta MI can be deployed in a variety of configurations, depending on your existing IT architecture
and the scale of your implementation. The most common configuration is where the core Granta MI
server software is installed on an application server, with separate database and license servers;
9
Ansys Material Calibration and MI Machine Learning services are installed on separate ‘compute’
servers capable of running compute-intensive workloads, and not on the MI application server.
Figure 1 Typical deployment of Granta MI
An existing Email server may be used to provide email notifications for MI Viewer, User Manager,
and MI Data Flow, if required.
10
3.6.1 Alternative deployment configurations

The most common installation scenario is the configuration described above with all core Granta MI
components, services, and web applications installed on the same machine. Alternative deployment
configurations are possible, however note the following requirements to ensure that the core Granta
MI components can communicate with each other:
• MI Search Server must be installed on the same machine as MI Server.
• Settings Service, Service Layer, One MI, MI Viewer, and MI Data Flow Server must all be
installed on the same machine.
Granta MI web applications installed on a separate web server

In a large enterprise deployment of Granta MI, or where other existing SQL Server applications and
web applications are installed on a separate web server, the following configuration is supported:
• Server 1: database server running SQL Server.
• Server 2: application server running MI Server and Search Server; the MI Admin and MI
Toolbox client tools may also be installed here, or on desktop PCs.
• Server 3: IIS web server hosting the Granta MI web applications (Service Layer, MI Viewer,
One MI, MI Settings Service, MI Data Flow).
Additional steps (not documented in this guide) will be required in this scenario to enable
communication between Granta MI services and applications running on different servers as
described above; you should contact Granta Technical Support for help If you need to deploy Granta
MI in this way.
Single-server configuration
In small deployments or for testing/evaluation purposes, where there is currently no SQL Server
installation or any other web application being run, a single-server configuration is also supported. In
this case, all of the following may be installed on the same machine:
• Microsoft SQL Server/SQL Server Express
• All Granta MI server applications, services, and web applications. Ansys Material Calibration
may also be installed.
3.7 Port requirements for Granta MI

Required ports are shown in Figure 1 on page 10. Refer to the Granta MI Configuration Guide for
information on how to change the ports used for the Elasticsearch and User Manager services.
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3.8 Authentication, authorization, and privileges

Granta MI supports four modes of user authentication and authorization:
• Windows Authentication / Windows authorization (default mode)
• Windows Authentication / User Manager authorization
• OpenID Connect authentication / User Manager authorization
• User Manager authentication / User Manager authorization
By default, Windows Active Directory is used for authentication and authorization of Granta MI
users. Alternative authentication/authorization options can be configured after initial installation, if
required; see the Granta MI Configuration Guide for detailed information on the required
configuration to support User Manager authentication/authorization.
When Windows is used for authentication and authorization of users in Granta MI:
• Users authenticate to Granta MI applications using their normal Windows Active Directory
(AD) credentials.
• A user’s access to the system, and their privileges within it, are determined by their
membership of specific Active Directory (AD) security groups that are mapped to fixed
Granta MI Read, Write, Power User, Grant, and Admin system security roles.
• Five local AD security groups are automatically created on the application server during
installation, MI_READ, MI_WRITE, MI_POWERUSER, MI_GRANT, MI_ADMIN, and these are
mapped to the 5 roles described above. Role/Group mappings can be changed after
installation, for example, to map additional domain groups to Granta MI roles.
• All Granta MI users must be placed in an AD group that corresponds to their role in Granta
MI. Higher roles include all the privileges of less privileged roles, and so users only need to be
added to one group.
For information about system and data security options for Granta MI, see the Granta MI Access
Control and Security Guide.
3.9 Required Windows accounts

The following accounts are used by Granta MI.
3.9.1 Granta MI Service User Account

This is a Windows Active Directory (AD) account under which the Granta MI service will run. The
account chosen for this will depend on whether Windows Authentication or SQL authentication is
used for SQL access management.
If using Windows Authentication for SQL access management

If your Microsoft SQL Server uses Windows Authentication, the Granta MI Service can run under any
suitable domain account.
You will need to enter the account credentials during MI Server installation.
12
As well as running the Granta MI service, this account will be also used by MI Server to connect to
SQL Server and access Granta MI databases there, and therefore it must map to a valid SQL Server
login with the db_owner database role on the MIConfig database and on all Granta MI reference
databases; see Section 5.2, Database access management.
If using SQL authentication for SQL access management

Where SQL authentication is used for access management on your Microsoft SQL Server or Azure SQL
Database, the Granta MI Service can run under the LocalSystem account on the application server.
3.9.2 Application Connection Account

This is an AD account that will be used by Granta MI applications to authenticate to the Granta MI
application server. It can be a local or domain account. You will need to enter the account credentials
during installation of MI Server.
• If using a domain account, the account must exist before installing MI Server.
• If using a local account, the account can be created for you during installation of the MI
Server component by the Granta MI Installation Manager.
3.9.3 Windows Groups

The installation process will create the following set of local AD user groups on the application
server: MI_ADMIN, MI_GRANT, MI_POWERUSER, MI_WRITE, MI_READ. These groups will be used
for Granta MI authorization roles where Windows AD is used for Granta MI authentication and
authorization, and all MI users must belong to one of these groups; see section 3.8.
Both the Granta MI Application Connection Account specified during installation and the account
used to run the Installation Manager installer will both be automatically added to the MI_ADMIN
group.
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4 Granta MI Enterprise download package

The Granta MI Enterprise download package contains:
• A spreadsheet manifest file.
• A folder with the software installation files:
o Granta MI Enterprise setup.exe installer program, and MSI files for each Granta MI
software component.
o A Databases folder containing the MIConfig and MIDataFlow configuration database
backup files (.bak for Microsoft SQL Server and .bacpac for Azure SQL Database).
o A Documentation folder containing the Granta MI Installation Guide (this document) and
Granta MI System Requirements.
• Ansys Granta materials data, supplied as SQL full database backup .bak/.bacpac files.
Note that use of Ansys Granta Materials data requires a license, and you should only extract
database backup files for licensed data. Refer to your Ansys license file to see your licensed
products, and then refer to the manifest file in the download package.
The same installation package can be used for new installations or to upgrade existing Granta MI
installations.
4.1 Check that the download zip is not blocked

Zip files downloaded from the Internet, including all files inside, may be “blocked” by the operating
system. This can also happen when copying zip files across a network. If the Ansys Granta MI
download package zip file is blocked, then running the extracted setup.exe program may cause the
Installation Manager to fail, or to install blocked DLLs.
Before starting installation, we recommend that you check the zip file you have downloaded and
make sure it is not blocked. To do this, look at the properties of the zip file and see whether an
Unblock button appears on the General tab in the file’s Properties dialog:
If the zip file is blocked, then you must unblock it before unzipping it again, and proceeding with the
installation. In some environments it may not be sufficient to unblock the zip file prior to unpacking;
if this is the case, you should try a non-Windows zip utility. Programs from 7-zip or WinRAR are
examples of such utilities.
14
5 SQL Server setup
5.1 Restoring Granta MI databases

Two different formats of backup file are provided for each Granta MI database:
• .bac files, for Microsoft SQL Server
• .bacpac files, for Azure SQL Database
The database backup files extracted from the Granta MI download package should be restored on
your SQL Server instance or Azure SQL Database by the SQL Database Administrator (DBA) in your
organization.
Database Description
MIConfig This is the primary configuration database for Granta MI, and stores
configuration data accessed by MI Server and the Settings Service.
It must be restored before installing the Granta MI software, as system
configuration settings will be written to it during installation.
MIDataflow This is the configuration database for MI Data Flow.

It can be restored before or after installation of the MI Data Flow server
component.
Materials The databases containing Granta MI materials reference data can be restored
databases before or after installing the Granta MI software. Note, however, that at least
one MI database needs to be available in your Granta MI system before you
can complete the installation verification steps outlined in Section 10.
5.2 Database access management

Depending on your installation topology and SQL access management mode, one or more SQL logins
are required to allow the MI Server, Settings Service, and MI Data Flow server to connect to your
Granta MI databases.
The SQL Database Administrator (DBA) in your organization will need to set up these logins before
the Settings Service and MI Server components are installed, because access to MIConfig is required
during installation.
Note:
• For Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Authentication or SQL authentication can be used.
• For Azure SQL Database, SQL authentication must be used; Azure Active Directory
Authentication is not supported.
15
5.2.1 Windows authentication

When using Windows Authentication with Microsoft SQL Server, ensure that the following SQL logins
and database users are configured for Granta MI.
Table 1 Required SQL Logins and database roles (Windows Authentication)
Application Account/SQL Login Database User Mapping
MI Server The Granta MI Service User account. db_owner on MIConfig

db_owner on all
Granta MI databases
MI Settings Where the MI Settings Service and SQL Server will be db_owner on MIConfig
Service running on different machines, add a login for the
Settings Service machine account. For example, if the
Settings Service is running on a machine called
serverABC, you would use this account:
DOMAIN\serverABC$
Where the MI Settings Service will be running on the
same machine as SQL Server (in an evaluation or test
environment, for example), add a login for the Network
Service account:
NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE
MI Data Flow Where MI Data Flow server and SQL Server will be db_owner on
running on different machines, add a login for the Data MIDataFlow
Flow server machine account. For example, if MI Data
Flow was installed on a machine called serverXYZ, you
would use this account: DOMAIN\serverXYZ$
Where MI Data Flow will be running on the same
machine as SQL Server (in an evaluation or test
environment, for example), add a login for this IIS
account:
IIS AppPool\MIDataFlowAppPool
5.2.2 SQL authentication
When using SQL authentication for SQL access management (users connect using username and
password), a SQL login should be created for use by the MI Server, Settings, and MI Data Flow
services, allowing them to access the MI databases. This login must be a member of the db_owner
fixed-database role on all Granta MI databases.
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6 Installation prerequisites
Use this list to ensure that all essential preparation tasks are completed before you begin installing
the Granta MI software.
Task See
1 Ensure that your Ansys license file has been added to Ansys License Section 3.4
Manager.
2 Review the Granta MI system requirements documentation to ensure Section 2

your system meets recommended hardware specification, and that
any prerequisite software is installed.
3 Confirm that the required ports are not blocked by your firewall. Section 3.7
4 Ensure that you have administrative access privileges on the

Granta MI server where the software will be installed.
5 Check that the download zip file is not blocked, as attempting to run Section 4.1
the setup.exe program extracted from a blocked zip file may result in
blocked DLLs being installed.
6 Ensure all essential database and login setup has been performed in Section 5
SQL Server or Azure SQL Database:
a. The MIConfig configuration database included in the product
download package is restored.
b. Logins for MI Server and the Settings Service have been
configured correctly.
17
7 Installing Granta MI server components

This section walks through a full, new installation of all core Granta MI components, based on a
typical deployment where the Granta MI software components are installed on an application server,
and Granta MI databases are installed on a separate database server.
If you are upgrading an existing Granta MI installation, please read Section 11 instead.
7.1 Key information checklist

Use this list to help you make a note of the key information that you will need during the installation.
Information you will need Your notes
Your Granta MI application server name
Your Ansys license server name
Your Granta MI Service User Account details
Your Granta MI Application Connection Account

details
The name of your SQL Server instance/Azure SQL

Database
SQL login details, if using SQL authentication
7.2 Launch the Installation Manager

The Granta MI Installation Manager guides you through the process of installing, upgrading and
uninstalling Granta MI software components. Components must be installed in the order in which
they are listed in Installation Manager; this is because some of the components depend on other
components being installed first.
1. Double-click on Setup.exe.
2. Click Next.
3. Click on I AGREE to accept the software license agreement.
18
7.3 Install MI Settings Service

A login for the Settings Service must be set up on your SQL Server instance/Azure SQL Database as
detailed in Section 5.2 before you install the Settings Service component.
1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click the Install MI Settings Service
option to launch the Setup Wizard and then click Next to begin.
1. On the IIS Configuration page, configure the following settings, then click Next to continue.
• Application Name: the default name is mi_settings.
• Website: by default, the IIS Default Web site is selected.
2. On the Destination Folder page, accept the default installation location
(C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mi_settings) or click Change and choose a new location. Click Next to
continue.
3. Click Install to install the Settings Service, then click Finish to exit the Setup wizard and
return to the Installation Manager.
4. On the Configure MI Settings Service page, click Next to launch the Settings Service
Configuration tool.
5. In the MI Settings Service Configuration tool, specify the settings that will enable the Settings
Service to access the MIConfig database in SQL Server:
• MI Settings Service URL: by default, this is http://localhost/mi_settings
• SQL Server: enter the name of the SQL Server instance or Azure SQL Database where the
primary Granta MI configuration database (MIConfig) is located.
• Connect using: choose how the Settings Service should authenticate to SQL Server (refer
to Section 5.2 for more information):
• Windows Authentication: this is the default option. Select this option if using
Microsoft SQL Server and Windows Authentication.
• SQL Server Authentication: select this option if using Azure SQL Database, or if using
Microsoft SQL Server and SQL authentication.
• Configuration database: choose the MIConfig database here. If MIConfig is not listed,
check that the necessary login has been set up correctly in SQL Server.
• Click Save and then Close to return to the Installation Manager.
6. On the Checking MI Settings Service page, click Next to verify the configuration settings you
just entered and complete the Settings Service installation.
• If the configuration is valid, you will be returned to the Install / Upgrade Granta MI
components page, ready to install the next component.
• If there are any problems with the Settings Service configuration, a warning will be
displayed. You should go back to the config tool and fix any issues before continuing
the installation, as other Granta MI components rely on the Settings Service running
during installation to register their location.
If the MI Settings Service is unavailable for some reason while installing other applications and they
are unable to register their location, then the registration can be done manually after installation as
described in Appendix A.4.
19
7.4 Install MI Search Server

1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click the Install MI Search Server
option to launch the Setup Wizard, and then click Next to begin.
2. On the Destination Folder page, either accept the default install location (C:\Program
Files\Granta\Granta MI\Elasticsearch\) or click Change and choose a new location. Click Next to
continue.
3. Click Install to install the search engine software, and then click Finish to exit the Setup
wizard and return to the Installation Manager.
4. On the Specify Elasticsearch path settings page, either accept the default locations for
Elasticsearch data (path.data) and logs (path.logs), or click Browse and choose a new
location. Click Next to complete the setup and close the wizard.
The Elasticsearch Windows service Elasticsearch 8.2.3 (ElasticsearchServiceForMI) will
automatically start.
7.5 Install MI Server

1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click the Install MI Server option.
2. On the Application Connection account credentials page, specify the user account which will
be used when Granta MI applications connect to MI Server, then click Next to continue.
3. On the Service User Account page, specify the user account under which the Granta MI
service will run; see Section 3.9.1 for details. This can be a local or domain account:
• If using a local account, enter the machine name explicitly e.g.
{machinename}\{username}; note that using a period as a shortcut for the machine
name here (e.g. .\adminuser4) will result in an error.
• Local System account should only be selected if SQL Server Authentication is being used.
Click Next to launch the Setup Wizard and then click Next to begin.
4. On the Destination Folder page, either accept the default install location (C:\Program
Files\Granta\Granta MI\Server\) or click Change and choose a new location. Click Next to
continue.
5. Click Install to install MI Server, and then click Finish to exit the Setup wizard.
The Granta MI application server Windows service (Granta MI Service) will be automatically
started
6. On the MI Server installation completed page, click Finish.
The MI Server Connection tool will now automatically open. You must complete some required
configuration steps here (see 7.6) before continuing with the Granta MI installation.
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7.6 Configure MI Server

After MI Server has been installed, the MI Server Connection tool will now automatically open; you
must carry out some mandatory configuration steps here before continuing with the installation.
7.6.1 Specify database connection settings (mandatory)

On the Database tab, specify the settings that will enable MI Server to access the Granta MI
configuration database:
1. SQL Server field: enter the name of the Microsoft SQL Server instance or Azure SQL Database
where the primary Granta MI configuration database (MIConfig) is located.
2. Connect using: choose how the MI Server service should authenticate to SQL Server:
• Windows Authentication: this is the default option. Select this option if using Microsoft
SQL Server and Windows Authentication.
• SQL Server Authentication: select this option if using Azure SQL Database, or if using
Microsoft SQL Server and SQL authentication.
3. Configuration database field: choose MIConfig here. If the database is not listed, check that
the necessary SQL login has been set up to allow MI Server to access the database.
7.6.2 MI Settings Service URL

On the MI Settings Service tab, ensure that the Settings Service URL is specified correctly (configured
when you installed the Settings Service component, see 7.3). You can click Test to ensure that MI
Server is able to contact the Settings Service at this URL.
7.6.3 Specify license server details (mandatory)

Click on the Licensing tab to specify your Ansys license server details:
1. Server 1 field: enter your Ansys License Manager machine hostname.
2. To specify redundant servers, select the Specify redundant servers option and enter the
hostname for the other two servers in the spaces available. The Server 1 machine will be the
master server.
Note that this step is not required if you are still using legacy Granta licensing (see Section 3.4).
7.6.4 Configure SSL certificates (mandatory)

Click on the Server API tab to configure use of SSL certificates to secure communication between the
MI Server application server and some Granta MI applications.
This certificate setup for Granta MI is mandatory, but it can be done after all of the Granta MI
software components are installed; see the Granta MI Configuration Guide for full details.
7.6.5 System security settings (optional)

Windows Active Directory is used for authentication and authorization of users in Granta MI by
default, and the System Security Mode will automatically be set to Windows Authentication /
Windows authorization on installation of Granta MI. To use the default security settings, you don’t
need to make any changes to the settings specified on the System Security Settings tab.
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• To use MI User Manager instead of Windows for user authentication and/or authorization in
your Granta MI system, select the relevant System Security Mode on the System Security
Settings tab and then carry out the required additional configuration to ensure MI
applications authenticate users correctly; this is covered in the Granta MI Configuration
Guide. This additional configuration to enable use of User Manager can be done after you
have finished installing the Granta MI software.
• For OpenID Connect authentication, refer to the separate document Enabling OpenID
Connect authentication for Granta MI.
Note: If you choose any option other than Windows Authentication / Windows
authorization during installation, you will need to restart the Granta MI service after you
have installed all of the Granta MI software components. This is necessary to ensure
that MI Server/User Manager reloads settings changed or added when the Service Layer,
One MI, and MI Data Flow components are installed.
7.6.6 Save changes and restart service

Click Save changes & restart service.
After this service restart, installation and setup of MI Server is complete. To verify the new
installation, check that the Granta MI Service is running in the Services Microsoft Management
Console (MMC) snap-in, for example:
You can now return to the MI Installation Manager and continue with the installation of the next
component, MI Service Layer.
7.7 Install MI Service Layer

1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Install MI Service Layer to launch
the Setup Wizard and then click Next to begin.
2. On the IIS Configuration page, review the settings and click Next to continue.
• Application Name: the default name is mi_servicelayer.
• Website: the IIS Default Web site is selected by default.
3. On the Destination Folder page, click Change to choose a different install location or just click
Next to use the default folder (C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mi_servicelayer\) and continue to the next
page.
4. Click Install to install the Service Layer.
5. Click Finish to exit the Setup wizard and return to the Installation Manager.
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7.8 Install MI Viewer

1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Install MI Viewer to launch the
Setup Wizard and then click Next to begin.
2. On the IIS Configuration page, review the settings and click Next to continue.
• Application Name: the default name is mi.
Next to use the default folder (C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mi) and continue to the next page.
4. Click Install to install the MI Viewer application, then click Finish to exit the Setup wizard and
Search Suggestions (autocomplete) functionality in MI Viewer will only be available after server and
client SSL certificates are configured, as documented in the Granta MI Configuration Guide; this can
be done after installing all the Granta MI components.
7.9 Install One MI

1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click the Install One MI option.
2. On the MI Service Layer for One MI page, if the Service Layer web application was installed
with the default name (mi_servicelayer) and location, you don’t need to do anything. If you
gave the Service Layer web application a different name or location when you installed it,
then enter that name here.
Click Next to launch the setup wizard, then click Next to continue.
3. On the IIS Configuration page, review the settings, then click Next to continue.
• Application Name: this is grantami by default
Next to use the default folder (C:\inetpub\wwwroot\grantami\) and continue to the next page.
5. Click Install to install the One MI application, then click Finish to exit the Setup wizard and
7.9.1 Additional, post-install configuration to enable the Favorites List feature

After One MI has installed, it is necessary to configure server and client SSL certificates before the
Favorites or Explore apps can be used; this will ensure that data in Favorite Lists is transmitted
securely between One MI and MI Server. Without this mandatory configuration, the Favorites List
feature will not work, and users will see errors on opening the One MI Explore and Favorites apps.
The required SSL setup is documented in the Granta MI Configuration Guide, and can be done after
installing all the Granta MI components.
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7.10 Install MI Data Flow

Note: MI Data Flow must be installed on the same machine as MI Viewer and One MI to
enable application integration features.
1. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click the Install MI Data Flow option
to launch the Setup Wizard and then click Next to begin.
2. On the IIS Configuration page, review the settings, then click Next to continue.
• Application Name: this is mi_dataflow by default
• Website: the IIS Default Web site will be selected by default.
3. On the Destination Folder page, either accept the default install location
(C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mi_dataflow\) or click Change and choose a new location. Click Next to
continue.
4. Click Install to install MI Data Flow, then click Finish to exit the Setup wizard and return to
the Installation Manager.
The MI Data Flow Configuration tool will open automatically after a few moments; you will need to
specify your SQL Server details here so that MI Data Flow can connect to its configuration database;
see below for details.
7.10.1 Additional post-install configuration for MI Data Flow

After MI Data Flow has installed, some additional configuration is required to ensure the Data Flow
server application can connect to the Data Flow configuration database in SQL Server. This is done in
the MI Data Flow Configuration tool as follows:
1. On the MI Integration Settings tab, check that the Settings Service URL is specified correctly;
use the Test button to check that the Settings Service can be contacted at this URL.
2. On the Database Connection tab, specify the Data Flow database connection settings:
Option Description
SQL Server name The name of the SQL Server instance or Azure SQL database
where the MI Data Flow configuration database is installed.
Database name The name of the Data Flow configuration database; by default,
MIDataFlow.
Authentication The method used to authenticate to SQL Server.
• Windows Authentication (default): By default, the
application pool identity MIDataFlowAppPool is used to
connect to the database.
• SQL Server Authentication: select this option if using Azure
SQL Database, or if using Microsoft SQL Server and SQL
authentication.
See Section 5.2 Database access management, for more
information.
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Option Description
Advanced Click Advanced to specify any additional SQL Server connection
parameters, delimited by a semicolon ( ; ). For example, to
increase the connection timeout to 120 seconds, and to specify
a machine to use as a SQL Server failover partner server where
database mirroring is enabled:
Failover Partner=MACHINENAME;Connect Timeout=120
3. On the Email Notifications tab, you can configure settings to allow workflow notification
emails to be generated; this is optional, and can be done later, if required, see the separate
document Granta MI Data Flow Configuration Guide for details.
4. Click OK to save the configuration settings and close the Data Flow Configuration tool.
7.11 Install MI Admin and MI Toolbox client tools

The MI Admin and MI Toolbox Windows client applications may be installed on the Granta MI
application server and/or on client desktop computers, allowing authorized users to use them
without requiring a login on the MI application server.
On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page in the Installation Manager, click Install MI
Admin or Install MI Toolbox and then follow the on-screen instructions in the Setup wizard.
7.12 Installing the MI Machine Learning and MI Ansys Material

Calibration features
If you plan to use the MI Machine Learning or MI Material Calibration features of Granta MI 2023 R1,
some additional software components will need to be installed on your Granta MI application server
and on compute servers capable of running compute-intensive workloads.
System requirements and installation instructions are documented separately in these documents:
• Ansys Material Calibration Installation and Configuration Guide
• MI Machine Learning Installation and Configuration Guide
7.13 Installing Ansys MI Material Calibration

The Ansys MI Material Calibration feature must be installed separately from the core Granta MI
software. If you plan to use these features, they should be installed on separate compute servers
capable of running compute-intensive workloads, and not on the Granta MI application server.
Compute server system requirements and installation instructions are covered in these separate
documents:
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7.14 Installation log files

Granta MI installation log files are created in your local Application Data folder:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Granta Design\MI\logs
This folder will contain log files for the Installation Manager and for each component installer.
7.15 Installing Ansys MI Material Calibration and MI Machine Learning

The Ansys MI Material Calibration and MI Machine Learning features are installed separately from
the core Granta MI software. If you plan to use these features, they should be installed on separate
compute servers capable of running compute-intensive workloads, and not on the Granta MI
application server.
Compute server system requirements and installation instructions are covered in these separate
documents:
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8 Installing Windows client applications
8.1 Install MI Admin and MI Toolbox

The MI Admin and MI Toolbox Windows client applications can be installed on client desktop
computers, allowing authorized users to make data and/or configuration changes to Granta MI
databases without requiring a login on the MI application server.
To install MI Admin and/or MI Toolbox on a desktop client:
1. Copy the Granta MI Enterprise download package to the computer and launch the
Installation Manager by double-clicking on Setup.exe.
2. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page in the Installation Manager, click the
Install MI Admin or Install MI Toolbox option, then follow the on-screen instructions in the
Setup wizard.
8.2 Install MI Data Flow Designer

MI Data Flow Designer is a Windows client application for developing Granta MI workflows, and
uploading/publishing them to the MI Data Flow server application running on your Granta MI
application server.
To install MI Data Flow Designer on a desktop client:
1. Copy the Granta MI Enterprise download package to the computer and launch the
Installation Manager by double-clicking on Setup.exe.
2. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click the Install MI Data Flow Designer
option to launch the Setup Wizard, and then click Next to begin.
3. On the Destination Folder: page, either accept the default install location (C:\Program
Files\Granta\Granta MI\Data Flow) or click Change and choose a new location. Click Next to
continue.
4. Click Install to run the MI Data Flow Designer application setup wizard. Click Finish at the
end.
5. Enter the URL of the MI Settings Service running on your MI application server, for example:
http://your_mi_server/mi_settings, and then click Test to ensure the service can be contacted
at this URL.
6. Click Save to save this URL in the Data Flow Designer configuration settings on this machine.
7. Click Close to exit the MI Installation Manager.
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9 Adding databases to Granta MI

After your new Granta MI software is installed, and your Ansys Granta databases have been set up
correctly in SQL Server, you need to add the databases to your Granta MI system. To do this, use MI
Server Manager, a client tool installed with MI Server on your Granta MI application server.
To run MI Server Manager, you need to be a member of the Admin Granta MI security role.
In a standard installation (with Windows authentication), the Admin role is mapped to the
MI_ADMIN local AD security group on the application server. As part of the installation process, the
installing user, as well as the MI Connection Account user, is added to this local MI_ADMIN group.
Other users who will be Granta MI Administrators should also be added to this group.
Note: After installing Granta MI for the first time, you will need to log out of the
application server and then log in again before you can launch MI Server Manager. This
is because the installation process creates the required new local groups, and your
identity needs to be refreshed to reflect membership of these groups.
To add a database to Granta MI

1. Start the MI Server Manager tool and log in using an account with Granta MI Administrator
privileges.
2. Select Databases in the left-hand pane and then click Add.
3. Database: choose a database from the list.
4. Key: you can use the suggested database key or enter a new one. This is used to uniquely
identify the database throughout the software and settings. The database key is not case-
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sensitive. It is recommended that the key name does not contain the ampersand '&'
character, or any other character that requires special URL encoding for a web browser.
5. To make the database read-only, select the check box; users will not be able to edit any data.
6. Click Save.
7. If the database you selected has a schema that is not compatible with your current Granta MI
software version (for example, it is an existing database and not a new 2023 R1 database),
you will be prompted to upgrade the database schema at the same time as adding it to your
2023 R1 Granta MI system.
The database will begin loading and its status will change to Loading in the Databases list. It
will become available to Granta MI applications when loading has completed. You can add
further databases while loading is in progress.
Loading a new database may take several minutes while the full text index is created.
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10 Verifying the installation

You must be an authenticated Granta MI user to perform the following checks on the installed
components.
Ensure that you have added at least one database to your Granta MI system as described in the
previous section before attempting any of the verification activities below.
10.1 Checking the One MI application

Open the Granta MI (One MI) home page by entering the application URL in a browser:
http://your.server.name/grantami
The default home page will be shown, for example:
Click on the ‘MI’ logo in the top left corner to see the menu of available apps.
Note that errors will be displayed in the Explore and Favorites apps until the mandatory post-install
SSL certificate configuration described in the Granta MI Configuration Guide has been completed.
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10.2 Checking the MI Viewer application

Open the standalone MI Viewer application from the application server Start menu, or by entering
this URL in a browser:
http://your.server.name/mi
You can use localhost in the URL instead of a fully-specified server name if testing on the application
server.
Note that, when opening MI Viewer for the first time after first installing the software, the
application will take a few moments to load.
You should see the MI Viewer application interface, with the databases and tables available for
selection on the left of the window, and the home page of the selected database or Profile shown in
the main page. For example, here, you can see MI Viewer with the MI Training database selected:
Try expanding a Table in the Contents tab and opening some datasheets.
If you see a message saying No Profiles Available, try the troubleshooting tips in Appendix A.2.
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10.3 Checking the Service Layer

Open the MI Service Layer application by entering this URL in a browser:
http://your.server.name/mi_servicelayer
You should see the Service Layer home page, where you can see some status information. Check in
the Status panel that both the MI connection status and the MI Settings Service status are shown as
“good” (as shown below):
(Note that your installation may have a different Service Layer build version number from this
example.)
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11 Upgrading Granta MI software

Read this section if you are upgrading to release 2023 R1 from an earlier version of Granta MI.
11.1 Why should you upgrade?

Ansys releases a new major version of the Granta MI software every 6 months. Each release delivers
new features, bug fixes, and improvements to quality, performance, and usability. All Granta MI
releases are distributed as a full product installation package and are installed in the same way
whether you are installing the product for the first time or upgrading an existing installation. All
Granta MI releases are cumulative, that is, they include all changes, enhancements, and bug fixes
released to date in previous releases.
Upgrading the Granta MI software does not make any changes to the data stored in your Granta MI
databases.
11.2 Upgrade considerations

11.2.1 Preserving/restoring customized settings
The Installation Manager backs up existing Granta MI software components before upgrading them.
However, not all application configuration settings are preserved through an upgrade, and in some
cases, settings may need to restored/reset manually after upgrade, for example:
• One MI application settings stored in the Settings Service: see Section 11.6.
• Customized MI Viewer application (system) home page files: see Section 11.10.
11.2.2 Migrating users from legacy applications

Customers on older releases of Granta MI who are still using the standalone Remote Import and MI
Explore web applications should note that these applications are now superseded by new, integrated
Import and Explore apps accessed via the Granta MI (One MI) web application. We encourage
customers to migrate users to the newer, integrated One MI apps as soon as practical.
Note that these legacy standalone applications will not be updated or automatically uninstalled when
you upgrade to a new Granta MI release.
Remote Import standalone app

This application is now deprecated and should be uninstalled manually using the operating system
uninstall/remove program feature.
MI Explore standalone app

The decision on whether to uninstall your MI Explore software depends on whether you are currently
using the application to provide search/selection functionality in MI BoM Analyzer.
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If you are not using MI BoM Analyzer, you should uninstall your standalone MI Explore application as
soon as practical.
If you are using MI BoM Analyzer, and you have configured it to allow users to apply materials and
other schema types from MI Explore into a BoM, do not uninstall your standalone MI Explore
application. The new, integrated Explore app is not currently compatible with MI BoM Analyzer. Your
MI BoM Analyzer users can continue to benefit from the search capability provided by the legacy MI
Explore application until full compatibility between MI BoM Analyzer and the integrated One MI
Explore app is supported. The integrated One MI Explore app can still be used for more general
material property search and plotting activities, as it provides additional functionality and full
integration with the other One MI apps.
11.2.3 Upgrading MI:Workflow

Note: MI Data Flow is the new name for MI:Workflow
Customers currently using MI:Workflow 1.x

MI:Workflow v1 is no longer supported. Customers who are still using MI:Workflow v1 should
migrate to the latest version of MI Data Flow as soon as possible following the instructions provided
in Section 7. Migrating from MI:Workflow v1, in the MI Data Flow Configuration Guide.
Customers currently using MI Workflow 2

If you are using the MI:Workflow software included in Granta MI versions 12 – 2021 R1, when you
upgrade to Granta MI 2023 R1, the existing MI:Workflow software on your system will be
uninstalled, and the new MI Data Flow software will be installed to replace it:
• Your existing MI:Workflow server website will be upgraded to the new version but its name
will not be changed (the website will remain mi_workflow_2).
• All your existing published and in-flight workflows will continue to work; you don’t need to
upgrade any of them.
• A new Application Pool MIDataFlowAppPool will be created in IIS. (You may need to add a
login for this IIS account in SQL Server; see Section 5.2.1 for details.)
• A new, integrated MI Data Flow Manager app replaces the old MI:Workflow Manager
standalone web application. Authorized users can access this app from within One MI, either
via the application menu, or directly, by entering the web app URL in a browser as follows:
http://your.server.name/grantami/#/dataflow
• The new MI Data Flow Designer desktop tool replaces the old MI:Workflow Designer tool.
This is a name change only; all functionality is the same.
11.3 Download the installation package

The same installation package can be used for new installations or to upgrade existing Granta MI
installations; see Section 4.
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11.4 Before you start

The Installation Manager will attempt to back up existing Granta MI components before uninstalling
the old software and installing the new version. Backup files made by the Installation Manager are
written to:
%ProgramData%\Granta\GRANTA MI\Backup\{application{\{version}\{dateandtime}
You should ensure that sufficient disk space is available on the application server before upgrading
Granta MI.
Use this list to ensure you have the key information that will be required during the upgrade.
Information you will need Your notes

Your Granta MI application server name
Your Ansys License Manager server name (if you

are upgrading from Legacy Granta licensing
mode)
Your Granta MI Service User Account details
Your Granta MI Application Connection Account

details
Your SQL database server details
SQL login details, if using SQL authentication
11.5 Launch the Installation Manager

The Granta MI Installation Manager guides you through the upgrade process.
1. Double-click on Setup.exe.
2. Check that the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components option is selected, then click Next.
3. Click on I AGREE to accept the software license agreement.
If Setup.exe fails to start, or starts with errors, check that the downloaded installation package zip file
is not blocked, as described in Section 4.1.
Existing Granta MI components must be upgraded in the order in which they are listed
in Installation Manager. This is because some of the components depend on other
components being installed first.
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11.6 Upgrade the Settings Service

On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Upgrade MI Settings Service and then
click Next to perform the upgrade.
The Installation Manager will automatically back up your current settings to disk before uninstalling
the old Settings Service component and installing the new one. Settings are backed up in the
following location on your Granta MI application server:
%ProgramData%\Granta\GRANTA MI\Backup\Settings
11.6.1 One MI application configuration settings

A number of different One MI application configuration settings are stored as JSON settings in the
Settings Service. When you upgrade the Settings Service, these settings will all be reset to their
default values.
Where these settings have been modified in your Granta MI system, for example, to set application
preferences or to provide custom menus or home pages for your organization, you will need to
restore them after the Settings Service upgrade; see Section 11.6.3.
Table 2 One MI settings that will be reset on upgrade
Setting Use
settings.app-preferences.json Defines application-level preferences for the Granta MI

home page and for integrated One MI Granta MI
applications.
settings.one-mi.json Defines the apps menu in the One MI application.
settings.preferences.json Defines global integration settings and preferences that

apply across all of the integrated One MI applications.
11.6.2 One MI home page definitions

In the Granta MI 2023 R1 release, the way that One MI home pages are defined has changed. Home
pages are now defined in a single JSON setting, settings.home-page-config.json. The following
settings previously used to define One MI home pages in earlier releases are now obsolete:
• settings.home-page-grid-items.json
• settings.home-page-grid-templates.json
• settings.home-page-user-groups.json
When you upgrade the Settings Service to 2023 R1, these 3 existing old-format settings will not be
removed or modified in any way. However, they will no longer be used. If you want to keep using
your existing custom One MI home pages after upgrading to 2023 R1, you must use the home page
upgrade wizard to transfer the home page definitions to the new settings.home-page-config.json
setting, and convert them to the new format. This wizard can be accessed from a link on the default
2023 R1 One MI home page. For information on how to define new-style home pages, look in the
Help for the One MI home page.
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11.6.3 Restoring One MI settings from backup

Two JSON settings backup files are created when the Settings Service is upgraded, a plain text file
and a JSON backup which is a text file in object format. Data from the JSON backup cannot be copied
and pasted into the Settings app without additional JSON formatting and so we recommend you copy
the settings backup data from the plain text backup file, as this can be easily pasted into the key
value field in the Settings app.
Settings in the plain text backup file are stored in the following format:
::SETTING
KEY:keyname
TYPE:keytype
VALUE:keyvalue
For example:
::SETTING
KEY:settings.one-mi.json
TYPE:JSON
VALUE:{ ... }
To restore a JSON setting from the upgrade backup:

1. On the application server, navigate to the backup folder C:\ProgramData\Granta\GRANTA
MI\Backup\Settings
2. Open the text format backup file in a text editor.
3. Locate the setting key, and copy the value.
4. In the MI Settings app, double-click on the key name to edit it.
5. Paste the copied value into the Value field, overwriting the default content.
6. Save the change.
11.7 Upgrade MI Search Server (Elasticsearch)

On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Upgrade MI Search Server and then click
Next to perform the upgrade. The new Elasticsearch Windows service will automatically be started.
11.8 Upgrade MI Server

On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Upgrade MI Server, and then click Next
to perform the upgrade.
The existing MI Server installation folder is backed up, MI Server is uninstalled, the new version is
installed, and the Granta MI service is restarted.
Your existing Granta MI configuration database (MIConfig) will be automatically upgraded, if
necessary, to make it compatible with the new software version. After the software upgrade is
complete, you will need to upgrade your existing Granta MI materials databases using the MI Server
Manager tool; see Section 12, Upgrading Granta MI databases.
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If you are upgrading to an Ansys FlexNet-licensed version of Granta MI from a previous version with
Granta legacy licensing, you must specify your Ansys License Manager server details after upgrading
MI Server as described in Section 7.6.2. If you are already using Granta MI with Ansys FlexNet license
management, this step is not necessary.
11.9 Upgrade the Service Layer

On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Upgrade MI Service Layer and then click
Next to perform the upgrade.
The existing Service Layer application folder (e.g. C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mi_servicelayer) is backed up,
the application is uninstalled, and then the new version is installed.
11.10 Upgrade MI Viewer
Note that if you have customized MI Viewer application (system) home page files, these
will not be preserved through an upgrade. You should make sure that you make a copy
of any custom home page files in the MI Viewer application root folder, e.g.
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mi\homepage.aspx before upgrading, and then copy them back into
this folder after completing the upgrade. (Database and profile home pages are stored
in the database, not on disk, and so will be automatically retrieved after upgrade.)
On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Upgrade MI Viewer and then click Next
to perform the upgrade. The existing MI Viewer application is backed up, the application is
uninstalled, and then the new version is installed.
11.11 Upgrade One MI

On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, click Upgrade One MI.
The existing One MI application folder (e.g. C:\inetpub\wwwroot\grantami) is backed up, the
application is uninstalled, and then the new version is installed.
Note that One MI home page and apps menu definitions are stored in the Settings Service, and not in
the One MI application folder. All your existing home page and apps menu definitions will be
replaced by the default 2023 R1 definitions when the Settings Service is upgraded. To restore your
custom home pages and menus, you must restore the JSON configurations from backup as described
in Section 11.6.
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11.12 Upgrade MI Dataflow (or MI Workflow)

MI Data Flow is the new name for MI Workflow.
If you are upgrading from Granta MI release 2021 R1 or earlier, the upgrade will replace your existing
MI Workflow server software with new MI Data Flow server software. Before you start to upgrade,
read Section 11.2.3.
To upgrade from MI Workflow to MI Data Flow: on the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components
page, click Upgrade MI:Workflow, and then follow the installation instructions in Section 7.10.
To upgrade your existing MI Data Flow software, on the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components
page, click Upgrade MI Data Flow. The existing MI Data Flow application folder (e.g.
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mi_dataflow) is backed up, the application is uninstalled, and then the new
version is installed.
11.13 Upgrade Granta MI desktop client applications

To upgrade Granta MI desktop client tools:
1. Copy the 2023 R1 Granta MI installation package to the desktop machine.
2. Launch the 2023 R1 Installation Manager.
3. On the Install / Upgrade Granta MI components page, select the upgrade option.
The existing application is backed up, the application is uninstalled, and then the new version is
installed.
11.14 Restart the Granta MI service

If MI User Manager is being used for user authentication and/or authorization in your Granta MI
system, you must restart the Granta MI service after you have upgraded all of the Granta MI
software components.
This is necessary to ensure that MI Server/User Manager reloads settings changed or added when
the Service Layer, One MI, and MI Data Flow components are upgraded.
If you are using Windows for user authentication and authorization (this is the default System
Security mode, Windows Authentication / Windows authorization), then a service restart is not
required after upgrading your Granta MI software.
39
12 Upgrading Granta MI databases

After upgrading to a new Granta MI software version, all your existing Ansys Granta materials
databases will need to be upgraded to make the database schemas compatible with the current
Granta MI software version; this only modifies the database schema, and no changes are made to
the data content as a result of a database schema upgrade.
Note: Databases that have been upgraded to a newer version of Granta MI cannot then
be used with older Granta MI versions, so be careful if databases for multiple versions of
Granta MI are shared on one SQL Server instance or Azure SQL Database.
Databases that require a schema upgrade will be flagged on the Databases page of MI Server
Manager with the status Must Upgrade:
Ansys Granta materials databases are often enhanced with revised content when a new major
version of Granta MI is released. If you have not extended your existing Ansys Granta databases with
your own data that you want to keep, you may wish to consider replacing them with the new version
of the database, rather than upgrading them.
12.1 Before you start

Ensure that your Ansys Granta MI databases are backed up in Microsoft SQL Server/Azure SQL
Database before proceeding with a database upgrade. This will require a SQL login with sysadmin
privileges.
12.2 Upgrading database schema

1. Ensure you have made a database backup (see above).
2. Open the MI Server Manager tool (Start > All Programs > Granta MI > MI Server Manager)
and connect to MI Server as a user with administrative privileges for the Granta MI system
(that is, a user who is a member of the MI Admin security role).
3. In MI Server Manager, click Databases in the left pane.
Databases with status Must Upgrade should be upgraded (see screenshot above).
40
4. Select the database(s) and click Upgrade Schema. You can select multiple databases in the
same SQL Server instance or Azure SQL Database.
If the upgrade is successful, the database will begin loading into the Granta MI system (and its status
will change to Loading) in the Databases list. A new database index will be automatically created,
which may take several minutes. The database will not become available to Granta MI client
applications until loading and indexing has completed.
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13 User assistance
User assistance for Granta MI can be accessed in a number of different ways.
Help for application users
Procedural information on how to use the software can be accessed from the Help menu of
each application or tool.
Reference documentation installed on your Granta MI application server
Reference documentation for Granta MI, aimed at IT Administrators, Granta MI System
Admins and Data Admins is installed in a Documentation folder on the MI Server host server
during product installation, typically C:\Program Files\Granta\GRANTA
MI\Server\Documentation
Reference documentation installed with MI Viewer

Reference documentation for Granta MI is also copied to a Documentation folder in the MI
Viewer web site during installation, and can be accessed from the MI Viewer Help menu.
Online resources
Reference documentation for Granta MI can be downloaded from:
• The Product Documentation page on the Ansys Download site.
• The Ansys Learning Hub
• The Ansys Help site
Access to these sites requires an Ansys ID.
42
Appendix A. Troubleshooting
A.1 Backup files and installation log files
When Installation Manger upgrades an earlier installation of Granta MI, it backs up configuration
files, uninstalls earlier versions, and installs the new version. Application backup files are written to:
%ProgramData%\Granta\GRANTA MI\Backup\application\version\dateandtime
Installation Manager writes log files to your local application data folder:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Granta Design\MI\logs
A.2 ‘No Profiles Available’ in MI Viewer

The message ‘No Profiles Available’ on opening the MI Viewer application indicates that no Granta
MI databases can be accessed. Ensure that:
• The required databases exist in SQL Server; see Section 5.1.
• The Granta MI database connection account has a db_owner role in all Granta databases in
SQL Server; see Section 5.2.
• The databases in SQL Server have been added to the Granta MI system in MI Server
Manager; see Section 9.
• In an upgraded Granta MI system, the databases have had schema upgrades to make them
compatible with the new software; see Section 12.
A.3 MI Viewer log files not being created

MI Viewer log files are written to a logs subfolder under the web application root folder, e.g.:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mi\App_Data\logs\MIViewer.log
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mi\App_Data\logs\Sessions.log
If these log files have not been created, check that the MIViewer_AppPool IIS user has full access to
this folder.
A.4 Applications cannot be registered with Settings Service

By default, the locations of Granta MI applications are registered with the Settings Service during
installation. If an application cannot be automatically registered, you will be prompted to enter the
application URL and the Settings Service URL manually during installation. If it is still not possible to
register the application, there may be a problem with the Settings Service. Please try the following
troubleshooting tips:
1. Check the Settings Service is running by browsing to
http://your.server.name/mi_settings/v1/connections/ping
If the Settings Service is running, you will get a 200 response with some JSON containing any
errors that have been detected.
2. Restart the Settings Service by recycling the MISettingsService_AppPool app pool in IIS.
43
3. Uninstall and re-install the component that failed to register.

If the steps above do not resolve the application registration problem, you can manually register
application locations in the Settings Service as described below.
Editing settings in the Settings tool

If automatic registration is not successful, the required information can be specified in the Settings
app. The required keys and values for registering Granta MI applications are:
Application Key Example
MI Viewer Default.Viewer.InternalAddress http://your.server.name/mi
Service Layer Default.ServiceLayer.InternalAddress http://your.server.name/mi_servicelayer
One MI Default.OneMi.InternalAddress http://your.server.name/grantami
Data Flow Default.Workflow.InternalAddress http://your.server.name/mi_dataflow
Procedure:
1. Open the Settings app in your browser. For example:
http://your.server.name/grantami/#/settings
2. If the key already exists, double-click to edit the value as shown above, substituting the name
of your application server.
3. If the key does not exist, add it:
a. On the toolbar, click New.
b. Click Yes, and then choose Text as the type:
c. Enter the relevant key and value as shown above.

d. Repeat for all missing web addresses.
4. Save your changes.
44
A.5 ‘Encountered error while searching for record lists’ in Explore

An ‘Encountered error while searching for record lists’ error on opening the Explore app indicates
that required post-installation SSL certificate configuration to enable Favorites Lists has not been
completed.
See the Granta MI Configuration Guide for details of the necessary configuration.
A.6 Can’t connect to configuration database

By default, the Granta MI service runs under the MI Service User Account specified during installation
(see 3.9.1), but it is possible to run the Service under the LocalSystem user account instead. If you
choose to do this, you may find that Granta MI is unable to connect to the MIConfig database with
Windows Authentication in SQL Server 2012 R2 or later. This is because LocalSystem (NT
AUTHORITY\SYSTEM) is not automatically provisioned in the sysadmin fixed server role, as was the
case in earlier SQL Server versions. A number of workarounds for this are available:
• Grant the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM user in SQL Server sysadmin privileges, or
• Run the Granta MI Service as a domain user with datareader/datawrite privileges in
SQL Server, or
• Add NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM to the db_owner role for the MIConfig database.
A.7 Web application home pages have disappeared after upgrading

If you have custom home pages for the Granta MI (One MI) web application and/or the MI Viewer
web application, these must be restored from backup after a Granta MI upgrade.
• One MI home pages: see 11.6
• MI Viewer home pages: see Section 11.10
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1 About this document .................................................................................................. 5

7.15 Installing Ansys MI Material Calibration and MI Machine Learning ....................... 26

1 About this document

3 Deployment and installation planning

3.1 Granta MI application server

MI Server Granta MI server application which runs as a Windows Service named

MI Viewer Standalone web application for browsing, querying, editing, comparing,

MI Data Flow Web application that provides enterprise Granta MI workflow

3.2 Compute server for Machine Learning and Material Calibration

3.3 Database server

3.4 License server

3.5 Granta MI desktop clients

MI Toolbox Provides bulk data management features. May be installed on the

3.6 Choosing a deployment architecture

3.6.1 Alternative deployment configurations

Granta MI web applications installed on a separate web server

3.7 Port requirements for Granta MI

3.8 Authentication, authorization, and privileges

3.9 Required Windows accounts

3.9.1 Granta MI Service User Account

If using Windows Authentication for SQL access management

If using SQL authentication for SQL access management

3.9.2 Application Connection Account

3.9.3 Windows Groups

4 Granta MI Enterprise download package

4.1 Check that the download zip is not blocked

5 SQL Server setup

5.1 Restoring Granta MI databases

MIDataflow This is the configuration database for MI Data Flow.

5.2 Database access management

5.2.1 Windows authentication

Application Account/SQL Login Database User Mapping

MI Server The Granta MI Service User account. db_owner on MIConfig

5.2.2 SQL authentication

2 Review the Granta MI system requirements documentation to ensure Section 2

4 Ensure that you have administrative access privileges on the

7 Installing Granta MI server components

7.1 Key information checklist

Information you will need Your notes

Your Granta MI application server name

Your Ansys license server name

Your Granta MI Service User Account details

Your Granta MI Application Connection Account

The name of your SQL Server instance/Azure SQL

SQL login details, if using SQL authentication

7.2 Launch the Installation Manager

7.3 Install MI Settings Service

7.4 Install MI Search Server

7.5 Install MI Server

7.6 Configure MI Server

7.6.1 Specify database connection settings (mandatory)

7.6.2 MI Settings Service URL

7.6.3 Specify license server details (mandatory)

7.6.4 Configure SSL certificates (mandatory)

7.6.5 System security settings (optional)

7.6.6 Save changes and restart service

7.7 Install MI Service Layer

7.8 Install MI Viewer

7.9 Install One MI

7.9.1 Additional, post-install configuration to enable the Favorites List feature