1. Before you go#

Authority for this chapter: docs/production-readiness/12_INSTALL_RUNBOOK.md (sections 2 and 3) and docs/production-readiness/RELEASE_PACKAGE_CONTRACT.md. This chapter restates their pre-visit checklist in plain language; where the runbook uses a term this chapter doesn't explain, that is the one to open.

Who does what#

Three groups of people share this job, and it helps to know which one you are before you start:

If any of these three hasn't done their part, stop and reschedule rather than improvise. A visit where the laptop isn't ready, or the settings template is missing, wastes everyone's time and usually causes a second visit anyway.

What to have in hand before you leave the office#

• The release package — a single .zip file, plus a small text file next to it with a name ending in .sha256.txt. That second file is a fingerprint of the .zip — see Checking the package is intact below for what it's for and how to use it. Do not build this .zip yourself and do not accept a folder someone copied by hand instead of the official package — the engineering team generates it with a specific tool that also writes the fingerprint file; a hand-copied folder skips that proof entirely.
• Know that the package now runs its own pre-flight check for you. A script called Preflight-Check.ps1 ships inside the package (you don't need to bring it separately). It is the very first thing you run once you're on site — see the "Step 0" callout at the top of 02-installing-ring.md — and it looks at the laptop and the network before you copy a single file, instead of finding out one problem at a time as later steps fail. It also writes a report file you can attach if you end up calling for help — see 05-when-something-goes-wrong.md.
• The filled-in settings template for this specific laptop. This is a short list of values — the plant's controller address, a name for this station, and so on — that the engineering team prepares per plant. You'll type these into a small settings file once you're on site (covered in 02-installing-ring.md). If any field on the template is blank, get it filled in before you travel; do not guess a controller address.
• The plant's logo image file, if the plant wants its own branding — one image file, typically supplied by the plant or by Ringwood's marketing team. If it isn't ready yet, Ring still works perfectly without it — see the note on Check 3 in chapter 4 for exactly what this file does and doesn't change in this build.
• The manuals PDF library, if the plant wants the in-app Help → Manuals Library populated — a folder of PDFs (roughly 100 MB) from engineering, on a USB drive. It is not bundled with the release package because of its size, so if you don't bring it, that screen shows "PDF library not installed on this PC" until a later visit copies it in — see chapter 4 for the copy step.
• The small piece of Microsoft software the laptop needs — called the "Visual C++ Redistributable" (x64). This is required for Ring to talk to the controller at all. Download it in advance in case the plant's internet is slow or filtered: search for "Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable x64" from Microsoft, or ask engineering for a copy on a USB drive.
• A phone number for the rollback contact — an engineer who can get into the plant's previous control software if your install has to be undone. You are extremely unlikely to need this call, but confirm the number works before you're standing in the plant needing it. See 05-when-something-goes-wrong.md for when this call is (and is not) the right move.

What the plant needs to have ready#

• A laptop running Windows 10 (version 1803 or newer) or Windows 11. Older Windows versions are not supported without extra software the runbook does not cover — if you find one, stop and call engineering.
• A network connection to the controller. The laptop needs a fixed (static) network address on the same network segment as the plant's controller — plant IT sets this up, typically before you arrive. Confirm it with ipconfig in a command window: you should see one address on that network, not several.
• An administrator login for the laptop, valid for your visit. You need it to install the Microsoft software above and to place files in the right folder. It does not need to stay in place after you're done — the application itself never needs administrator rights just to run.
• A printer, if the plant wants to print reports. Ring's own reports print through whatever printer Windows already knows about on that laptop — there is nothing Ring-specific to install for this, so it is not a blocking item for your visit.
• A screen of at least 1280×720 pixels. Ring's screens are laid out for a touchscreen at that size or larger; the pre-flight check in chapter 2 confirms this for you automatically, but it's worth knowing in advance — Ring's layout shrinks to fit a smaller window but never grows, so a small or heavily-scaled display makes labels harder to read from a metre away, which is exactly how an operator will be standing. If the laptop's Windows display scaling is set well above 100%, check with plant IT that this is still workable before you travel.

Checking the package is intact#

Before you copy a single file onto the plant laptop, prove that the package you're holding is the real one and that nothing in it was corrupted or swapped in transit. There are two separate checks — do both.

Check 1 — the ZIP file itself#

The .sha256.txt file that shipped beside the .zip holds a single long string of letters and numbers: a fingerprint of the exact .zip file. If even one byte of the .zip changed — a bad download, a corrupted USB copy — the fingerprint will not match. In a PowerShell window (search "PowerShell" in the Windows Start menu), run:

Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 -Path "C:\path\to\the\package.zip"

Compare the Hash value it prints against the text inside the .sha256.txt file. They must match, character for character. If they do not, do not use this package — re-download or re-copy it and check again; if it still doesn't match, call engineering rather than guessing.

Check 2 — every file inside the package#

The fingerprint above only proves the .zip itself arrived intact. The package also carries a second, deeper check: extract the .zip to a scratch folder first — not straight into C:\Ring\App\ — for example C:\Staging\Ring-Release. You'll copy the application out of this folder in chapter 2; this folder itself is not the install location, it's just where you check the package before you trust it. Once it's extracted there, a small checking program shipped inside that same folder compares every single file against a manifest listing exactly what should be there, with each file's exact size and fingerprint — catching a missing file, an extra file that shouldn't be there, or a single file that was quietly modified. Run it from that same PowerShell window, pointed at the folder you extracted to:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Staging\Ring-Release\Test-ReleasePackage.ps1 -PackageRoot C:\Staging\Ring-Release -RequireAuthenticode -ExpectedPublisher <the-approved-publisher-name-engineering-gave-you>

Note: Replace C:\Staging\Ring-Release with wherever you actually extracted the .zip, and <the-approved-publisher-name-engineering-gave-you> with the exact publisher name engineering told you to expect — it should be provided to you along with the package, not guessed. Ring.exe inside the package is the one file that carries an Authenticode signature; the manifest itself is just a hash list, not a signed document.

The check prints its result in the window. It fails loudly — with a clear error, not a quiet warning — if anything is missing, added, or changed, or if the application file inside isn't properly signed by the expected publisher.

Warning: Do not install a package that fails either check. Get a fresh copy from engineering and check again. Do not proceed "just this once" — this check exists specifically to catch a corrupted or tampered package before it reaches a live plant laptop.

Words you will hear on site#

This book keeps jargon to a minimum, but a few terms come up constantly once you're at the plant and are worth knowing before someone uses them on the phone:

• PLC / controller — the industrial computer that actually runs the glue-kitchen equipment. Ring watches it and (after a formal cutover) can command it; the PLC keeps running the plant either way.
• Heartbeat tag — one value Ring reads from the controller purely to prove the connection is alive. Reading it never changes anything on the controller.
• Path (port, slot) — where the controller's CPU sits inside its own rack, on the controller's internal network. Almost always 1,0 — the settings template will say otherwise if this plant is different.
• Tank roster — the mapping between the tank cards you see on screen and the actual tank positions in the controller's memory.
• Read-only mode — Ring's default safety state: it can watch the controller but cannot send it a single command. See What you are — and are not — responsible for.
• Cutover — the later, formally-approved event where Ringwood's own engineers turn read-only mode off. Never something you do on an install visit.
• LCP — Line Control PC: the plant's own name for the laptop or workstation you're installing Ring onto.
• RS-360 — the older Borland application Ring replaces. If a plant still runs it, that's the "legacy system" this book refers to.

Anything else you hear and don't recognize, the Operator Manual's glossary defines in plain language.

You are done with this chapter when…#

• You have the .zip package and its .sha256.txt fingerprint file, and Check 1 above passed.
• You have the filled-in settings template for this specific laptop, with no blank fields.
• You have confirmed the plant's laptop, network, and administrator access will be ready when you arrive.
• You have a working phone number for the rollback contact.

Next: 2. Installing Ring.