Advanced information
For new customers, Wordbee Beebox is a 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) application. This section of the documentation is retained for existing customers who have the application installed on a local server.
Software components
The Beebox software consists of these components
(1) A Windows service
The Beebox core functionality is hosted as a standard Windows service. The service name is "Wordbee Beebox Server": Binaries are copied to the install directory which can be selected during setup. The service account is set to "Local system". The service is configured to start automatically: Configuring the Beebox service.
(2) An administrator web site ("Admin UI")
A website that implements the Beebox administrator user interface: Binaries are copied to the install directory which can be selected during setup. By default the web site is installed to http://localhost:8089/
(3) A Restful API ("API")
The API is required to either connect content management systems or to programmatically control Beebox operations. Binaries are copied to the install directory which can be selected during setup. By default the API is part of the administrator UI and accessible at http://localhost:8089/api
System resources
The Beebox components communicate with each other and the outside world. For a Beebox installation to be operational, you need to make sure to authorize access to certain system resources.
Purpose | Resource usage |
Communication between Beebox UI / API and Beebox Windows service | TCP/IP port 8989 - No action required This port is used for inter-process communication on the server only (between the Beebox IIS Admin web site and the Beebox Windows service). You do not need to configure anything or open this port on the network. |
Communication between Beebox Windows service and Wordbee API | https://API.Wordbee-translator.com:32572 Make sure that the firewall does not block outbound connections to these addresses from the Beebox Windows service. Failure: The page to connect to Wordbee Translator will show an error message. |
Admin UI port number | HTTP port 8089 By default the administrative UI is installed to http://localhost:8089. You can change the port number after installation by changing the http binding from the IIS management console. Do not move the web site to a virtual directory though. Locations such as http://localhost/mybeebox are not supported. Failure: The browser will not be able to open the admin UI. Typically you will get an "unauthorized" or 404 message. |
API port number | HTTP port 8089 By default the administrative UI is installed to http://localhost:8089/api. You can change the port number after installation by changing the http binding from the IIS management console. Do not move the web site to a virtual directory though. Locations such as http://localhost/mybeebox/api are not supported. Failure: A CMS connector will not be able to establish a connection to the Beebox API. |
Beebox user files | File directory chosen during installation, such as c:\Beebox The Beebox Windows service must be given read/write/delete/create directory and file attribute change rights to this directory. The location is chosen at the end of the installation procedure. It stores various configuration files, temporary files, source and translated files. Failure: The Beebox Windows service will fail to start. The page to connect to Wordbee Translator will show an error message. |
Windows service account | Local machine, Network user, or other By default the Windows service is assigned the "Local machine" account. You may change this account as long as the resources listed here are not blocked. If the Beebox user files are a remote directory (share) then the local machine account will not have sufficient privileges by default. Makes sure that the selected service account has full access to the Beebox user files on the share. Configuring the Beebox service Failure: The Beebox Windows service will fail to start. The page to connect to Wordbee Translator will show an error message. |
Windows registry | {LOCAL MACHINE} > Software > Wordbee > Beebox The Beebox Windows service requires read and write access to this registry key, its values and sub keys. It is used to store installation parameters. Failure: The Beebox Windows service will fail to start. The page to connect to Wordbee Translator will show an error message. |
Admin UI access to API | Admin UI must have access to Beebox API The Admin UI is a Javascript heavy web application. It issues AJAX calls from the user's browser to the Beebox API. You must ensure that these AJAX calls are not blocked. The Admin UI connects to the API using the Beebox administrator credentials (credentials are never sent to the user's browser). If you enforce Windows Integrated Security on the Beebox web site, you enforce it for both the Admin UI as well as the API. This may cause problems. |
Microsoft Office files | Translation of Office binary formats If translation of Microsoft Office binary files (.doc, .xls, .ppt) is required, make sure that the Beebox Windows service account is given sufficient rights to run and automate Microsoft Word/Excel/Power point. Translation of .docx, .xlsx or .pptx files does not require Microsoft Office and is handled natively by the Beebox. Failure: Processing Office binary source files fails |
Indesign | Translation of Indesign binary formats If translation of Adobe Indesign binary files is required, make sure that Indesign is installed and the service account is given sufficient rights to run and automate Indesign. Translation of .idml files does not require installation of Indesign and is handled natively by the Beebox. Failure: Processing Indesign binary source files fails |
Machine translation | Machine translation system access Depending on the chosen machine translation (MT) system, the Beebox Windows service must be given the right to establish outbound connections to the MT system(s). Usually connections are http based. Failure: Machine translation fails when run from within the Beebox |
The following security settings may cause problems when using the Beebox:
- Firewall not configured: Make sure all inbound and outbound ports and connections listed above are authorised.
- IIS Integrated Security enabled: Do not enable Windows Integrated Security for the Beebox web site. The Beebox does not support it.
- Beebox service account too restricted: Make sure that when you assign a different account that this account has sufficient privileges to access the Beebox user files directory, to run Microsoft Office (if needed), to connect to the Internet. See table above for more information.
Whenever, the Beebox fails to start or function correctly, go to the Windows Event log and look up the error messages. Often, these messages may help understand if the problem is related to a security policy.