This guide explains how to install and set up the Ninox On-Premises server

Before you begin

Before you start the installation, make sure your system meets Windows Server requirements.

Installation and setup

Follow these steps to install and configure the Ninox On-Premises server:

1. Download the Ninox server

Go to the Ninox Downloads page to download the latest version of the Ninox server installer.

ℹ️ Note: To quickly find the latest version of the Ninox server, sort files by date using the Modified column.

2. Install the Ninox server

Open the downloaded Ninox server installer (.exe) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

ℹ️ For version 3.15.5 and later

To enable correct PDF thumbnail generation, install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package.

This is a one-time prerequisite. If you've already deployed the server, installing the package will immediately improve your PDF preview experience.

3. Access the server

After installation, open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. If a custom host or port was configured, use the specified address instead.

4. Log in to the server

Log in using the following default credentials:

• Username: root
• Password: root

5. Change default credentials

For security, update the default username and password:

• In the Ninox interface, go to Settings > Collaborators.
• Select the root account.
• Replace the default credentials with your email address and a secure password.
• Click Save to apply the changes.

6. Download the license file

Use the link provided in your email to download your Ninox On-Premises license file (.license).

7. Upload your Ninox license

• Go to Settings > Subscriptions.
• Click Upload Ninox license and select the downloaded .license file.
• Click Save and restart to apply the license.

ℹ️ Note: If you encounter an error while uploading the license file in the Ninox interface, you can manually apply the license by placing the file in the Ninox installation directory.

1. Navigate to the Ninox installation folder, located at [Installation Drive]\ProgramFiles\Ninox (For example, This PC\Windows (C:)\ProgramFiles\Ninox).
2. Copy the .license file into this folder.

After placing the file:

1. Open the Windows Task Manager.
2. Go to the Services tab.
3. Locate the service named Ninox, right-click it, and select Restart.

8. Complete the setup

Once the server restarts, your Ninox On-Premises server is ready for use.

Additional help

If you want to create backups on your server and copy the data from individual databases or entire workspaces to your backup devices using system tools such as rsync or rsnapshot, the answers to the following questions may be helpful:

Can Ninox continue to run during the copying process?
Yes.

What does the recovery process look like?
Data can be recovered at the database, team, UMS, and server configuration levels. This means that you can recover a database with a different ID or overwrite the current database.

Is any data other than the data from ../db/accounts/<Workspace ID>/db/<Database ID>/* required?
We recommend backing up the entire Ninox data folder, including the ums.json file. In addition, the server-config.json file from the Ninox installation folder should be backed up.

How can inconsistencies be prevented, given that the synchronisation process takes some time?
With rsnapshot, copying/backing up at the file level, there is theoretically a possibility of inconsistencies if this is done using live data. So far, this has not occurred.

Based on your RPO, you can create backups during low/no activity on the server.
The best scenario would be to stop the process and create a backup according to your RPO or create a snapshot such as an lvm snapshot and back it up.
This way, there is no possibility of inconsistencies.

If you have questions or need additional assistance with your Ninox Private Cloud On-Premises, contact our support team.