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Blackboard Integrator Resources

Learn how to install your integrator, troubleshoot common installation questions, and get frequently asked questions answered all in our available resources.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshoot common installation questions or issues when deploying this Adobe Connect building block. This article describes some of the most common problems encountered when deploying the Adobe Connect building block.

1. Network

Network issues are the most common.

  • Use the Test Connection button in the building block’s settings page. It’s the first place to check if Blackboard and Connect can talk to each other.
  • Check the route between the Blackboard application server and Adobe Connect. Are there firewall/load balancer rules that could be blocking connections?
  • Are all the Adobe Connect ports open?

2. LDAP

LDAP issues are very common. Before reporting issues, see the section on integrating with a directory service in the Migrating, Installing, and Configuring Adobe Connect 9.

  • If Adobe Connect is authenticating against LDAP, your Blackboard installation should be as well.
  • Make sure Connect and Blackboard are using the same LDAP server. Some customers have experienced issues because they used different servers that were not properly synchronized.
  • Check that the LDAP username attribute in the building block is configured to the same one set in Adobe Connect (commonly set to cn, sAMAccountName, uid).
  • If Connect is configured to automatically create accounts on a successful LDAP login, make sure the automatic account creation option in the building block is disabled.

3. SSL/TLS

Watch out for self-signed certificates and certificates from newer signing authorities. The Blackboard server JVM’s keystore often does not recognize them. If that’s the case, you will need to install the Certificate Authority certs in the Blackboard server’s JVM keystore.

4. Shared secret

  • Make sure the same shared secret value is configured in Adobe Connect (SHARED_SECRET_TRUSTED_LOGIN setting in the custom.ini file) and in the building block’s settings.
  • Make sure the Connect service was restarted after the shared secret was added or modified to custom.ini. Note that the SHARED_SECRET_TRUSTED_LOGIN setting value in Connect’s custom.ini may be hashed after restarting. Do not put the hashed value in the building block’s shared secret setting. You must enter it as plain text.

5. Non-LDAP (Connect database) authentication

For deployments that don’t use LDAP, a Connect administrator username and password must be set in the building block if you want the building block to automatically create Connect accounts when Blackboard users access it for the first time.

6. Email policy setting

  • This value should be the same in the building block and in Connect.
  • Make sure all Blackboard users have email, and that no two users have the same email address.

7. Meeting permissions

The building block can automatically create users but it does not automatically grant them host permissions. Host and presenter permissions can be assigned either adding the user to a meeting or in Connect, by adding the user to the meeting host group.

FAQs

Installation (for system administrators)

The Connection Status box is showing a “Connection Failed” message. What does it mean?

If this box shows any kind of error message, the Adobe Connect integration will not function. There are a number of possible causes for connection failure errors. It could mean the Adobe Connect server is down or that there is no network route between the Blackboard server and the Adobe Connect server. Make sure there are no firewall rules that could be blocking traffic.

The Connection Status box is showing an SSL handshake error. What does this mean?

Usually, this means that the SSL certificate installed in the Blackboard server’s keystore was not signed by recognized certificate authority (CA). This may be the case if you have a self-signed certificate or it was signed by a newer authority (for example, GoDaddy).  You will need to install the Certificate Authority certs in the Blackboard server’s JVM keystore.

The building block is installed and the connection looks good. The Connect course tool is enabled in courses, but when instructors or students click it, they get a login error message. How do I fix this?

Make sure your shared secrets set correctly in both Adobe Connect and Blackboard. (See the installation guide.) If that does not resolve the issue. Enable debugging in the building block and examine the debug log for clues. Contact MeetingOne customer service for further assistance.

The building block is set up to automatically create users in Connect, but instructors don’t have meeting host permissions. Is there a way to automatically grant meeting rights to instructors?

If you are using LDAP to provision users in Adobe Connect, you can create LDAP groups and map them to Connect groups that are subgroups of the Meeting Hosts group. See the Adobe Connect documentation for more info.

Post installation (for instructors and students)

I don’t see the Connect tool in my course. Where is it?

Check the course’s Tool Availability page. Make sure the Adobe Connect tool is enabled.

I see the Adobe Connect tool in the Tool Availability list, but it’s disabled and I can’t change it.

Your Blackboard system administrator needs to make it available. They can control it globally or they can allow instructors to enable it locally within individual courses. Consult your Blackboard system administrator to find out your institution’s policy with regards to who can control Adobe Connect course tool availability.

The Connect course tool is enabled, but when I click it, I get a login error message. How do I fix this?

Contact your Blackboard system administrator. (Sys admins: Are your shared secrets set correctly in Connect and Blackboard?

In the Connect course tool, I don’t see a way to create a meeting. How do I do that?

You need to be granted meeting host permission in Adobe Connect first. Instructors don’t get that permission automatically. Contact your Connect system administrator. Once you have permission, click the Connect course tool link again. You should now see a ‘New Meeting’ button in the meeting list page.

In the Connect course tool, it says “You do not have any active meetings” but I know have meetings in Connect. Where are they?

The Connect course tool only shows your meetings that are mapped to that course. The My Adobe Connect Meetings module shows all your upcoming meetings in all your courses.

We want to be able to create permanent meeting rooms, i.e., we don’t use start and end times. Can we do this?

Yes, your Blackboard system administrator must disable the ‘Show start date and duration settings when creating meetings’ setting in the building block.

We need to be able to edit the audio conferencing settings when we create meetings. How do we do this?

Your Blackboard system administrator must enable the ‘Edit meetings in Adobe Connect instead of in the Building Block’ setting in the building block. When this setting is enabled, users will be redirected to the Adobe Connect edit meetings page when they edit existing meetings in the building block.

Can I access meeting recordings from the Connect course tool?

Yes. Hover the mouse cursor over the meeting in the list of meetings and click ‘View Information’. Then click ‘Recordings’. You can view both forced and normal meeting recordings.

Can I view meeting reports from the Connect course tool?

Yes. Hover the mouse cursor over the meeting in the list of meetings and click ‘View Information’. Then click ‘Reports’. You can view the summary, the attendee report, and the session report.