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Set Up Connectivity

On this page:

Introduction

This section describes the different kinds of setup and configuration that is required to connect to PASI directly from PowerSchool. Connectivity setup is divided into the following steps:

  • Request, install, export, and import the Alberta Education digital certificates for PASI.
  • Test connectivity between PASI and PowerSchool.

Server Configurations

Server Array Configuration

PASI Direct Connect works with single server and server array configurations along with load balancer, just like the regular Alberta provincial reporting software.

When using server array with or without load balancer:

  • Request the Digital Certificates from the Task Master only.
  • Install, export, and import the Digital Certificates from the Task Master only.
  • Perform all the setup on the Task Master until connectivity between PowerSchool and PASI is established successfully.

Although this is not required for setting up connectivity, all nodes must be able to access the Alberta PASI Web Service URL for data synchronization.

All the log files are located on the network share in the PASI folder.

For details on setting up a server array configuration, please refer to the Server Array Configuration section in the PowerSchool Installation Guide located on PowerSource.

Hosted Server Configuration

PASI Direct Connect works just like the regular Alberta Provincial Reporting software for hosted server configurations.

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Request and Install Digital Certificates from PASI

Digital certificates are required from Alberta Education Ministry to set up electronic data interchange (EDI) between PASI and PowerSchool.

  • Client Certificate (Key Store)
  • Root Authority Certificate (Trust Store)
  • Issuing Authority Certificate (Trust Store)

  • You must have full administrative access to the Windows computer on which you are going to request and install the Alberta Education Certificates.
  • You must install the certificates on the same computer and user account from which you sent the request for the Alberta Education Client Certificate.

The process to set up PASI digital certificates in PowerSchool allows you to install and update Alberta PASI certificates. The steps are as follows:

  1. Request and download the Alberta Education digital certificates from the PASI Readiness team.
  2. Install the three certificates into the Windows Certificate Manager.
  3. Export the Alberta Client Certificate Key only.
  4. Install/Update certificates using new Certificate Management under PASI Configuration.
  5. Test connectivity between PowerSchool and PASI.

Alberta provides documentation for requesting and installing certificates. Refer to the Alberta Education - Client Certificate Request and Registration Guide and the Alberta Education - Client Certificate Installation Guide for more information.

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Request Alberta Education Client Certificate

Follow the steps below to request the Alberta Education Client Certificate.

  1. Open your browser and go to the Alberta Certificate Registration page: https://extranet.education.alberta.ca/ae.CertificateRequest.
  2. Click the Generate Certificate Request button. The Generate Certificate Request page appears.
  3. Enter the appropriate information into the fields on the page.
  4. Click the Generate CertReq.exe Request File button to download and save the CertRequest.inf file.
  5. Open the Windows Command Prompt to the directory where you saved the CertRequest.inf file.
  6. Run the following command in the Windows Command Prompt: Certreq.exe –New CertRequest.inf CertRequestOutput.txt. This will create a CertRequestOutput.txt file in the same location where you saved the CertRequest.inf file.
  7. Open the CertRequestOutput.txt file in a text editor and copy all of the text in the file.
  8. Return to the Alberta Generate CertReq.exe Request File page and click Cancel to return to the Alberta Certificate Registration page.
  9. Under Schools and Authorities, click Submit. The School Authority Certificate Request page appears.
  10. Enter the appropriate information into the fields on the page. Paste the text from the CertRequestOutput.txt file into the Certificate Text field.
    • To find the Application Version and Application Build Number, go to the PowerSchool Sign In page and click on the version number. (The version number is located after the date and time in the lower left corner.) The Server Details screen will appear. Use Version for the Version Number field and the number portion of the State/Provincial Content for the Application Build Number field.
  11. Click Submit. A confirmation email is sent to the email address that you provided on the request form. The PASI Readiness Team will then review your request. Once the PASI Readiness Team approves, they will email you the certificate. This email contains a certificate file with the file name certificate.txt.

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Download and Install the Alberta Education Root Authority and Alberta Education Issuing Authority Certificates

Follow the steps below to download and install the root authority and issuing authority certificates

All three certificates must be installed at the same time. Follow these steps after you have received the Alberta Education Client Certificate.
  1. Open an Internet browser.
  2. Access the Alberta Certificate Registration page: https://extranet.education.alberta.ca/Ae.CertificateRequest/.
  3. Under Download the CA Certificates, click Download. A new page appears with links for two additional certificates.
  4. Under Alberta Education Root Authority Certificate:
    1. Click Download. A File Download dialog appears.
    2. Click Open. The Certificate dialog appears.
      • A Security dialog may appear. Click Allow to trust the website.
    3. Click Install Certificate. The Certificate Import Wizard appears.
    4. Click Next. The next step in the Certificate Import Wizard appears.
    5. Select Place all certificates in the following store.
    6. Click Browse. The Select Certificate Store dialog appears.
    7. Select Trusted Root Certification Authorities.
    8. Click OK.
    9. Click Next. The final step in the Certificate Import Wizard appears.
    10. Click Finish. A security warning may appear. Click Yes to continue. A message should appear indicating that the import was successful.
  5. Under Alberta Education Issuing Authority Certificate:
    1. Click Download. A File Download dialog appears.
    2. Click Open. The Certificate dialog appears.
      • A Security dialog may appear. Click Allow to trust the website.
    3. Click Install Certificate. The Certificate Import Wizard appears.
    4. Click Next. The next step in the Certificate Import Wizard appears.
    5. Select Place all certificates in the following store.
    6. Click Browse. The Select Certificate Store dialog appears.
    7. Select Intermediate Certification Authorities.
    8. Click OK.
    9. Click Next. The final step in the Certificate Import Wizard appears.
    10. Click Finish. A security warning may appear. Click Yes to continue. A message should appear indicating that the import was successful.

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Install the Alberta Education Client Certificate on Windows

Follow these steps from the Alberta Client Certificate Installation Guide to install the client certificate. If the installation fails, an error message occurs. Refer to the Troubleshooting Alberta Education Client Certificate Installation on Windows section for more information. The installation will not return a message if it was successful.

You can only perform these steps once.
  1. Using the computer, you requested the certificate from, save the attachment to C:\Certificate.txt.
  2. Click Start > Run.
  3. Type cmd
  4. Press <Enter>.
  5. Type *CD *
  6. Press <Enter>.
  7. Type Certreq –Accept Certificate.txt.
  8. Press <Enter>.


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Export Alberta Education Client Certificate Key

Use the following steps to export the client certificate.

  1. Open Manage User Certificates
  2. On the Certificates dialog, click the Personal tab.
  3. Select SA:[school authority] where [school authority] is the name of your school authority.
  4. Right click the certificate and select All Tasks.
  5. Click Export…
  6. On the Certificate Export Wizard dialog, click Next.
  7. Under Export Private Key, select Yes, export the private key.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Under Export File Format, select Personal Information Exchange –PKCS #12 (.PFX).
  10. Select the following checkboxes:
    • Include all certificates in the certification path if possible
    • Export all extended properties
  11. Click Next.
  12. Under Password, enter a new password for the certificate. Re-enter your new password.
    • Use a simple password without any special characters.
  13. Click Next.
  14. Under File to Export, click Browse. In the Save As window, select a file location and save the file with the following file name: AlbertaClientCertificateKey.
  15. Click Save.
  16. Click Next.
  17. On the Completing the Certificate Export Wizard dialog, click Finish. The file is saved to your hard drive.

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Install/Update Certificates in PowerSchool

The Certificate Management function under PASI Configuration provides an easy way to install, update, and view the status of your Alberta PASI certificates. If the installation fails, an error message occurs. Refer to the Troubleshooting Alberta Client Certificate Key Import section for more information.

To install and update certificates follow these steps:

  1. In PowerSchool, go to Certificate Management under PASI Configuration.
  2. Under Install/Update Alberta Base 64 Certificates, click Install/Update. This installs the following certificates directly from Alberta Education Ministry website:
    • AlbertaIntermediateCertificate
    • AlbertaRootCertificate
  3. Under Install/Update Alberta Client Certificate Key, browse to the exported Alberta Client Certificate Key, enter the password, and then click Install/Update.

Validity of PASI Digital Certificates

All digital certificates that are issued by Alberta Education Ministry for PASI Direct Connect have definite validity.

Certificate

Validity

Alberta Client Certificate Key

This certificate is valid for 14 months from the date of issue. It has to be renewed on time.

Valid certificate is required for connectivity. If the certificate is expired, then connectivity is lost.

Alberta Intermediate Certificate

This certificate is usually valid for 3 years from the date of issue. Valid certificate is required for importing the AlbertaClientCertificate Key.

Alberta Root Certificate

This certificate is usually valid for 25 years from the date of issue. Valid certificate is required for importing the AlbertaClientCertificate Key.

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Renew PASI Digital Certificates

The process to renew the PASI digital certificates is as follows:

  1. Delete all of the certificates from PowerSchool and the Windows Certificate Manager. Refer to Deleting Certificates from Windows using Internet Explorer for more information.
  2. Request a new Alberta Education digital certificate from the PASI Readiness team and install them into the Windows Certificate Manager. Refer to Request Alberta Education Root Authority Certificate.
  3. Download and install the PASI digital certificates. Refer to Download and Install the Alberta Education Root Authority and Alberta Education Issuing Authority Certificates for more information.
  4. Export Alberta Education digital certificates from Internet Explorer. Refer to Export Alberta Client Certificate Key for more information.
  5. Install/Update Certificates using Certificate Management under PASI Configuration. Refer to Install/Update Certificates in PowerSchool for more information.
  6. Test the connectivity between PowerSchool and PASI. Refer to Test Connectivity for more information.

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Deleting Certificates from Windows using Internet Explorer

Use the following steps to delete the certificates from the Window Certificate Manager using Internet Explorer:

  1. Within Internet Explorer, click Tools.
  2. From the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
  3. On the Internet Options dialog, click the Content tab.
  4. On the Content tab, click the Certificates button.
  5. On the Certificates dialog, click the Personal tab.
  6. Select SA:[school authority] where [school authority] is the name of your school authority.
  7. Click Remove, and then click Yes to confirm the delete operation.
  8. On the Intermediate Certification Authorities tab, select the Alberta Education Issuing Authority certificate, and remove it.
  9. On the Trusted Root Certification Authorities tab, select the Alberta Education Root Authority certificate, and remove it.
  10. Click Close to close the Certificates dialog.

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Disabling PASI Direct Connect

Disabling PASI Direct Connect must be done only under unavoidable circumstances and only on Production servers.

Although it is not desired, PASI Direct Connect functionality can be temporarily disabled for maintenance purposes, if required.

Follow these steps to disable the PASI Direct Connect plugin:

  1. Turn off Regular Synchronization and Hash Synchronization. Refer to the Set Up Data Synchronization section for more information.
  2. On the start page, click System under the main menu. The System Administrator page appears.
  3. Click System Settings. The System Settings page appears.
  4. Click Plugin Management Configuration. The Plugin Management Dashboard page appears with PASI Direct Connect under Installed Plugins.
  5. Uncheck the box under Enable/Disable to disable PASI. Click Yes on the Disable Plugin dialog.

Important: PASI Direct Connect functionality must always be disabled on Test servers.

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Test Connectivity

Follow these steps to test the connectivity with PASI.

First time users will need to contact the PASI Readiness team to activate the Alberta Education Digital Certificates by sending an email to PASI.Readiness@gov.ab.ca.
  1. On the start page, click System under the main menu. The System Administrator page appears.
  2. Click System Settings. The System Settings page appears.
  3. Click Plugin Management Configuration. The Plugin Management Dashboard page appears with PASI Direct Connect under Installed Plugins.
  4. Click the PASI Direct Connect link under Name. The PASI Direct Connect Setup page appears with the Plugin Version under the General Information section.

  5. Click Alberta PASI Web Service under Functions. The Alberta PASI Web Service Setup page appears. Ensure that following information is set up correctly:

    Field

    Description

    Name

    PASI_CLIENT_WS is the name of the PASI Core web service.

    This is set by default and must not be changed unless it is blank.

    Alberta PASI Web Service URL

    https://cc.education.alberta.ca/PASI/2020/PASIService.svc is the PASI Production Web Service URL.

    This is set by default and must not be changed unless it is blank. 2020 in the URL indicates that the PASI Web service endpoint is set to 2020's version. This is mandated by the PASI Readiness team.

    PowerSchool Private Key and Public Key Certificate Name

    Choose the AlbertaClientCertificateKey.

  6. Click Save or Cancel and return to the PASI Direct Connect Setup page.
  7. Click Additional PASI Settings. The PASI Configuration page appears.
  8. Click Test Connectivity. This makes an immediate request to PASI Core using the HelloWorld service to test connectivity. The following response indicates success. "This is a response from the HelloWorld service. Your connection to PASI Core is successful!"
If you receive the following message, your connectivity is successful; however, if you are a first time user you need to activate your Alberta Education Digital Certificates with the PASI Readiness prior to connecting to PASI. "Access Denied. The client certificate being used has been disabled."

If the connectivity fails, refer to the Troubleshooting Connectivity Failures section for more information.

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