Step 2: Plugin setup from scratch

1. Under the \config folder, locate the file named configurationParameters.xml and open it in a file editor.
2. In the xml structure, under StagerBDCModel specify the following values which are needed for this operation:
   • stagingRepositoryUrl: The host port where the STageR is running
   • sharePointServiceUrl: The host port where the SharePoint Central Administration is running
   • searchServiceApplicationName: The name of the search service application within SharePoint
   • stagerFolderPath: The path to the root directory of STageR
3. Open SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator and go to the \scripts folder.

4. Run the following script for the corresponding SharePoint version.  This will install the root assembly of the BDC Plugin.  Once installed and crawls have been performed further updates will be explained in the corresponding section.

   .\DeployStagerPlugin_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployStagerPlugin_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployStagerPlugin_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

5. If all went well it should present the following:         
6. For every SharePoint search node in the farm, go to the \resources folder and double-click on the file StagerBDCConnector.reg.  This will add the versioning information to the registry for the current version of the Business Logic Assembly.

7. Run the following script for the corresponding SharePoint version.  This will install the business logic assemblies of the BDC Plugin. 

   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml 
   
   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

8. If all went well it should show the following:     
9. After installing the Business Logic solution jump to Step 3 to install the model and content source.

Step 2.a.: Upgrade from 1.X versions

Once the BDC model has been created in SharePoint, it is wired to the version of the root assembly, therefore any attempt to update the model with a different version will cause the content source to run a full crawl the next time regardless of the crawl type that was selected and ultimately deleting all content that was previously crawled by the content source.

After trying several solutions, the one that would best address the issue was to separate the root assembly from the actual business logic through reflection.  The upgrade consists on overwriting the root assembly with the one provided in the new deployment zip file and then deploying the business logic.

1. Locate the deployment configuration and scripts used for the old version of the plugin.
2. Execute the SharePoint Management Shell with administrator rights (PowerShell)
3. Go to the \scripts folder and run the following to uninstall only the SharePoint solution:

   
   

   .\RemoveStagerPlugin_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveStagerPlugin_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveStagerPlugin_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

   Important

   Sometimes SharePoint doesn't remove the solution after running the script.  It is a good practice to check under SharePoint's Central Administration → Manage Farm Solutions and if the solution is still there, remove it manually from the UI. See Manual Removal below.
4. Download and unzip the corresponding deployment zip file into a folder.  Here is the one for version 1.0.6.1 and here is the one for 1.0.6.2.
5. Under the new folder, go to the \config folder and update the configurationParamenters.xml file with the settings from the old file.  Version 1.0.6.0 doesn't have the <contentSource> property, please provide a value.
6. Go to the \scripts folder and run the following to install and deploy the new root assembly (with the old version number):

   
   

   .\DeployStagerPlugin_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployStagerPlugin_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployStagerPlugin_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

7. For every SharePoint search node in the farm, go to the \resources folder and double-click on the file StagerBDCConnector.reg.  This will add the versioning information to the registry for the current version of the Business Logic Assembly.
8. Go back to the \scripts folder and run the following.  This will install the business logic assemblies of the BDC Plugin:

   
   

   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

9. If all went well it should show this:   
10. Since this is an upgrade you don't need to create models and content sources, they will use the new version.  Also the Content Processing Module should already be in place.

Step 2.b.: Upgrade from 2.X versions

Upgrades from version 2.X are easier since they only require removing the previous Business Logic components and then installing the new ones, and updating the registry settings.

1. Locate the deployment configuration and scripts used for the previous version of the plugin.
2. Execute the SharePoint Management Shell with administrator rights (PowerShell)

3. Go to the \scripts folder and run the following to uninstall only the SharePoint solution: 

   .\RemoveBDCBusinessLogic_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveBDCBusinessLogic_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveBDCBusinessLogic_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

   Important

   Sometimes SharePoint doesn't remove the solution after running the script.  It is a good practice to check under SharePoint's Central Administration → Manage Farm Solutions and if the solution is still there, remove it manually from the UI. See Manual Removal below.
4. Unzip the new deployment zip file into a folder
5. Under the new folder, go to the \config folder and update the configurationParamenters.xml file with the settings from the old file.
6. For every SharePoint search node in the farm, go to the \resources folder and double-click on the file StagerBDCConnector.reg.  This will update the versioning information to the registry for the current version of the Business Logic Assembly.
7. Go back to the \scripts folder and run the following for the corresponding SharePoint version.  This will install the business logic assemblies of the BDC Plugin:

   
   

   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\DeployBDCBusinessLogic_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

8. If all went well it should show this:   
9. Since this is an upgrade you don't need to create models and content sources, they will use the new version.  Also the Content Processing Module should already be in place.

Step 3: Model and Content Source Setup

1. Under the \config folder, locate the file named configurationParameters.xml (the one you modified in the previous step) and create a copy of it.
2. Modify the following fields in the new copy:
   • contentSourceName: The name of the content source that will appear under Search Service Application in SharePoint
   • storageUnitName: The name of the Storage Unit within STageR from which the content will be extracted
   • storageUnitScope: The scope within the Storage Unit. The value of 'publisher' is recommended. 
   • maxBatchesToProcess: The maximum number of batches processed by the plugin per execution
   • batchSize: The maximum number of documents per batch processed
   • certPath: The path to the .p12 or .pfx file if SSL is needed. If not, leave the field empty.
   • certPassword:  The password to the .p12/.pfx file if SSL is needed. If not, leave the field empty.
   • claimsIssuer:  The issuer of the access claims. Accepted values are 'public' for no issuer, 'aspire' to use the Aspire Group Expansion or 'windows'.
   • useFullName:  Specifies if claims should use full name (domain/name) when sent to the group expander
3. Open the SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator and go to the \scripts folder.

4. Run the following script for the corresponding SharePoint version:

   .\DeployModel_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\<the file name of the new xml>
   
   .\DeployModel_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\<the file name of the new xml>
   
   .\DeployModel_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\<the file name of the new xml>

5. If all went well, it should present the following:

Step 4: Content Processing Module setup

1. Under the \config folder, locate the file named configurationParameters.xml and open it in a file editor.
2. In the xml structure, under StagerBDCModel specify the following values:
   • stagerFolderPath: The local path to the root directory of STageR
3. Open SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator and go to the \scripts folder.

4. Run the following:

   .\DeployContentProcessingModule.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\<the file name of the new xml>

5. No error should appear if all went well.

Step 4a: Manual Setup

This applies for non-Windows operating systems.

1. Copy the SharePointBCSMapping.js file to STageR's \process_modules directory.

2. From a REST client run the following command:

   http://<host:port>/admin/setContentProcessingModules/<Storage Unit Name>
   
   {"modules" : {"<Storage Scope Name>":[{"module" : "SharePointBCSMapping"}]}}

Step 5: Schedule the Content Source Crawls

1. Go to SharePoint Central Admin > Manage Service Applications > Search Service Application (the name specified in the configuration) > Content Sources
2. Locate the content source you configured in the previous step.
3. From the drop-down, you can trigger crawls directly. To schedule automatic crawls, select Edit.
4. In the new page, scroll down to Crawl Schedules and set the schedule as needed.

Uninstallation

In order to remove the StageR BDC Plugin, there are two options: manual and automatic removal 

Manual Removal

Step 1:  Remove Content Source

1. Go to SharePoint Central Admin > Manage Service Applications > Search Service Application (the name specified in the configuration) > Content Sources
2. Locate the content source you want to remove.
3. From the drop-down, select Delete and confirm.

Step 2: Remove Model

1. Go to SharePoint Central Admin > Manage Service Applications > Business Data Connectivity Service
2. From the top drop-down, select BDC Models.
3. Select the model you want to remove. (Its name should be similar to the content source's name.)
4. Click Delete and confirm.

Automatic Removal

Step 1: Remove Content Source and Model

1. Open SharePoint Management Shell as administrator.

   A machine and farm administrator user is needed for this.
2. Go to the Deploy\scripts directory.

3. Run the following:

   .\RemoveModelAndContentSource.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\<The Content Source configuration>.xml

   Make sure the configuration file you specified is the same one you used when creating the content source you want to remove.
4. Both the content source and model should have been removed.

Step 2: Remove Plugin

1. Open SharePoint Management Shell as administrator.

   A machine and farm administrator user is needed for this.
2. Go to the Deploy\scripts directory.

3. Run the following script for the corresponding SharePoint version:  

   .\RemoveStagerPlugin_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveStagerPlugin_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveStagerPlugin_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

4. Run the following script for the correspondint SharePoint version:

   .\RemoveBDCBusinessLogic_2013.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveBDCBusinessLogic_2016.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml
   
   .\RemoveBDCBusinessLogic_2019.ps1 -configurationFilePath ..\config\configurationParameters.xml

5. The farm solution should have been removed. 

Custom Content Configuration

The plugin uses the content processing capability of STageR to normalize the content that is stored in STageR, but the structure and data may be different depending on the source.
The content is processed by SharePointBCSMapping.js after the file is in the STageR's processing_modules directory and the storage unit has been configured to use it. For more information, go Configure Storage Unit.
The SharePointBCSMapping.js file can be modified to add, rename, update or delete fields that will be uploaded to SharePoint.  However, the following fields are expected by the BDC connector and therefore cannot be changed:

• action
• docId
• name
• claims_issuer
• use_full_name
• author
• last_modified
• title
• description
• url
• text
• acls

Security Pre-Trimmer Installation