MicroStation (Various): Installing Multiple Versions of MicroStation/InRoads/Map

We are often required to have multiple versions of Microstation and InRoads active on our workstations.  I am looking for a detailed workflow on proper installation procedures.  If a such a workflow does not exist, I would like to create one.  Can you assist?

In a big company, the users have lost most of the control of the installation process, and it is getting to a point where we need a written procedure to supply to the IT department, in an attempt to have a smooth installation.  For example, say a user has newer PowerInRoads version installed already, but needs to have Microstation XM and InRoads XM installed.  After requesting installation from IT, the IT rep tends to install just the requested software version, without regard to installation order by release date and the need to reinstall the existing software.  In the end, the software doesn't work correctly.

Can you help me with understanding:

  • when installation order matters and when it doesn't
  • how existing Microstation/InRoads/Map program versions are affected by installs of other versions
  • which versions can and cannot exist simultaneously on the same workstation
  • what about the workstation should be assessed before installation of anything

Are there other things to be considered?

Are there training topics that exist that I could review?

Thanks.

Parents
  • Please take a look at the following articles for information:

    http://communities.bentley.com/products/road___site_design/w/road_and_site_design__wiki/7451.order-of-installation-for-inroadsmicrostation

    http://communities.bentley.com/products/road___site_design/w/road_and_site_design__wiki/27633.can-multiple-civil-products-be-installed-on-the-same-machine



  • Thank you Jacquelyn.

    The first article, Order of Installation for InRoads/MicroStation, states the order of installation should be Prerequisities, Microstation and then InRoads. 

    • How would installation of Map fit into this workflow? 
    • If you were installing multiple versions of Microstation and Inroads, would the order be
    • Either OLDmicrostation, OLDinroads, NEWmicrostation, NEWinroads
    • Or OLDmicrostation, NEWmicrostation, OLDinroads, NEWinroads

    The second article, Can Multiple Civil Products be Installed on the Same Machine?, discusses layered products, giving GEOPAK running on top of Microstation as an example. 

    • Is there a list of possible layered products available?  If not, can you give more common examples?

  • Map is delivered with the civil products, so there is no reason to install both Map and InRoads. A single InRoads/GEOPAK/MX installation will also install Map. If you are installing Map only, you would follow the same order: Prerequisites, MicroStation, Map.

    You should not install multiple MicroStation versions. You should have only one MicroStation on a single workstation. The exception is MicroStation CONNECT. You can have MicroStation CONNECT and one older MicroStation version installed on the same machine.

    If you have both an old and a new version of InRoads/GEOPAK/MX to be installed, the order does not matter.

    The layered civil products are InRoads, GEOPAK, and MX. There are many more examples such as Rail Track, Map, Descartes, MineCycle Designer, etc. "Layered" simply means any application that is not standalone and runs as a vertical application on top of MicroStation.



  • Let's dig into this further with an example scenario.

    • I already have Microstation XM, InRoads SS3, and Map SS2 installed
    • Client 1 requires the XM versions of Microstation and InRoads be used.
    • Client 2 requires the SS2 versions of Microstation and InRoads be used.
    • I require Map SS3 because it produces less errors than Map SS2.

    In this scenario, what one version of Microstation should be installed?

    Let's say the answer is Microstation SS2.  Would this be an appropriate installation order?  Do the existing installations need to be removed first?

    • Prerequisites
    • Microstation SS2
    • Map SS3
    • InRoads XM
    • InRoads SS2

    When I produce files for Client 1 with Microstation SS2 / InRoads XM, do they have any trouble working with those files in Microstation XM / InRoads XM?

  • InRoads XM requires MicroStation XM. That is one of the few exceptions where you can have two versions of MicroStation installed. So, in your example, the order would be:

    Prerequisites
    MicroStation XM
    InRoads XM
    MicroStation SS2
    Map SS3
    InRoads SS2



Reply Children
  • Thank you. There is one aspect of this I would like to clarify. In past installations throughout our office, we have had problems resulting from installing older versions after newer versions, (i.e. XM after V8i). Problems vary from the programs shutting down shortly after startup to never loading at all. In past conversations with another representative of Bentley we have been told the installation order is vital because there is an issue stemming from the XML versions in the prerequisites.

    Has this XML version issue been corrected in the packaged prerequisite files? Is that why installation order no longer matters?
  • Power products are not as restricted on multiple versions per PC. We have installed Power InRoads and Power Survey Ss2 and Ss4 and even share workspaces (with certain considerations) once installed.

    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996