epages Flex Technical White Paper e-commerce. now plug & play. epages.com

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1 epages Flex Technical White Paper epages.com e-commerce. now plug & play.

2 The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice at any time. This document and all of its parts are protected by copyright. All rights, including those of duplication, reproduction, translation, microfilming, storage on electronic media and processing in electronic form are expressly reserved. This publication and any accompanying document materials may not be reproduced in whole, without the prior written permission of epages GmbH. All corporations, products, and trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners. Copyright 2011 epages Software GmbH. All rights reserved. Should you have questions or suggestions about our products, please contact us at the following address: epages GmbH Pilatuspool Hamburg Tel.: +49 (0) 40 / Fax: +49 (0) 40 / info@epages.com Hamburg, November 2011

3 Table of contents Introduction... 3 General... 3 Further epages documentation... 3 System Architecture... 4 epages Flex Component Overview... 6 Provider Tasks... 6 API calls to configure epages on the (virtual) machine... 7 How to configure epages on the machines and prerequisites... 8 epages Component Overview... 9 Hardware requirements Possible configurations Backup and Security Hot backup Full backup Features of epages Flex Open Web Services for 3 rd party integrations Change resources on demand (virtual machine only) Self-determined updates epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 2

4 Introduction General This document gives an overview about the epages Flex system architecture and the requirements for specific hardware configurations. Further epages documentation There are further documents dealing with the epages Flex and the epages software in general: [1] epages 6 Technical Whitepaper [2] epages 6 Web Services Whitepaper [3] Short Description epages Flex Provider Web Service [4] Service Level Agreement for epages Application Management for epages Flex [5] epages 6 Featurelist epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 3

5 System Architecture epages Flex is an epages installation with standard functionality running on virtual or dedicated servers. It is independent from the virtual environment as well as independent from the OS (Windows or Linux) and can therefore be integrated into an existing environment. The following information is the same for a setup with virtual machines (multiple shops per physical server) and dedicated machines (one shop per physical server). In the following section, this is simply named machine and can be both, a virtual or dedicated machine. System Architecture for a setup with virtual machines (multiple shops per physical server) epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 4

6 System architecture for a setup with one dedicated server per shop To setup an epages Flex installation, a central site database server is needed. This can be a virtual or dedicated server. The site database server is the gateway between the provider and the Flex installation and has the following tasks: - Manage all Flex installations in the providers environment - Send requests to the FlexServer(s) to: - Setup an epages installation - Configure the epages installation - Create a new shop - Change the configuration of an existing shop (available epages resources, etc.) - Ability to dock onto an existing provisioning system The site database server provides Web Services to configure the epages Flex installation. For more information regarding the Flex specific Web Services, see [1] Short Description epages Flex Provider Web Service Apart from the central site database server, one or more FlexServers are needed to run the actual shop(s). This can either be a dedicated server or a virtual machine. The FlexServer does the following: - epages is installed on this server - The store database of the shop is located on this server - Includes all content of the shop system (shop filesystem, application server, database, webserver) - A specific number of application servers are running on this server - It is also possible that other applications apart from epages can run on this server ( for example management software for the machine. Please note that enough free resources will be needed for any additional applications.) epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 5

7 epages Flex Component Overview Provider Tasks Management of (virtual) machines Create machines - The provider creates a machine on the FlexServer - A machine template with epages pre-installed is used (this template is created following consultation with the provider) - After creation, the machine is configured by the provider with all settings and software (for example: IP-address, user accounts, features, certificates, tools, etc.) - The machine hardware like memory, CPU usage, etc. is configured by the provider Edit / manage machines - The machine hardware like memory, CPU usage, etc. is managed / changed by the provider epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 6

8 API calls to configure epages on the (virtual) machine Configuration of epages on the machines Configure machines After creating the machine, the provider calls an API function located on the site database server to configure epages on the virtual machine. - The site database server calls the epages configuration server on the (virtual) machine and configures epages for the first time - The password for the configuration server is changed - The Web Service password for the store is changed - Security token, epages IP-address and epages domain settings are changed - The epages service is started Reconfigure machines After changing the (virtual) machine hardware, the provider calls the API function on the site database server to reconfigure epages. - The epages configuration server changes the epages configuration files and restarts the epages service 2B.Web Service request to create an epages shop After creating and configuring epages on the machine, a Web Service call from the site database server to the epages installation is started. - A shop with the set parameters like shoptype, shopname, shorturl, etc. is created on the store database File share for central patch handling Every (virtual) machine has access to a patch repository, located on the site database server, for central patch handling. - New patch has to be deployed to this repository epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 7

9 - On every machine, a scheduler searches for new patches on this patch repository and the patch process is triggered - The merchant receives a notice about the new patch and can trigger the patch installation from their MBO How to configure epages on the machines and prerequisites FlexServer: - Installed functions for creating / managing machines - A machine template must exist Machine template: - Provider configured template with all tools, settings, etc. - Installed epages software with all required cartridges, configuration server, settings, scheduler, etc. - Opened firewall port for the epages configuration server Site database server: - Installed epages (only site database is used) - Installed Flex provider cartridge - Installed Flex Cartridge - Patch repository for patches for all virtual machines - Adapted configuration files to recognise all flex configuration types and global parameters to configure and reconfigure machines - All API calls by the provider are made to this server epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 8

10 epages Component Overview The component overview of a single epages installation (i.e. one physical or virtual machine): Web Server, Web Adapter, Request Router and Message Center One physical or virtual machine (i.e. one single epages installation) - Web Adapters are Web Server extensions, handling incoming web requests - Request routers keep a list of free app servers - Message Center propagates cache updates Application Server - When an Application Server receives a request from a web adapter, it will retrieve the required information from the database and compile the HTML page Database Server - When the database server receives a request from an Application Server, it takes the requested information from the database tables and returns it to the Application Server This is identical to the architecture of a regular epages 6 system. For more information regarding the epages system architecture see [1] epages 6 Technical Whitepaper epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 9

11 Hardware requirements The minimal hardware requirements for the FlexServer (with one shop) are as follows: CPU RAM Disc space 2 physical CPUs 8 GB 30 GB Minimal hardware requirements for one FlexServer including the site database server and one shop These minimal requirements should be used for testing purposes only and not for a live environment! Please note that in the example above the site database server runs on the same physical server as the FlexServer. The minimal requirements for one virtual machine are the following: - 1 physical CPU - 2 GB RAM The site database server can be a virtual or dedicated server and needs at least: CPUs - 1 GB RAM - 10 GB disc space The FlexServer needs at least 20 GB disc space. Possible configurations Here are three example packages for a shop. In a virtual environment, this would be the resources of one virtual machine. Package Minimal Medium Maximal CPU(HT) 1 1 CPU(HT) 1 2 CPUs(HT) 1 4 CPUs(HT) 1 RAM 2 GB 4 GB 8 GB Three example packages for a shop 1 HT = Hyper threading epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 10

12 The table below provides three example hardware setups for a FlexServer. The number of shops that can run on the server depends on what package one wants to use (i.e. the resources one wants to assign to each shop). Server Minimal Optimal Maximal Available Cores 16 Cores 4(C) 2(CPUs) 2(HT) 2 32 Cores 8(C) 2(CPUs) 2(HT) 2 64 Cores 8(C) 4(CPUs) 2(HT) 2 RAM 32 GB 64 GB 128 GB Three example hardware setups for a FlexServer It is not recommended to use the minimal setup in a working environment. Backup and Security Every shop needs its own domain as well as its own SSL certificate. The merchant has no root access and can neither edit the epages templates nor CSS files. Since epages Flex integrates into an existing environment, the provider is responsible for backups. Below you will find two possible backup concepts, a full backup and a hot backup. The detailed setup and functionality depends on the used virtualization software. Hot backup A hot backup, also called a dynamic backup, is a backup performed on data even though it is actively accessible to users and may currently be in use. The main advantage of a hot backup is the fact, that it does not require a downtime. It can also be done incrementally, as and when it is needed. In order to use this backup method, multiple servers are required, preferably with the same hardware. Modern virtualization software like Parallels Bare Metal allows one to distribute the virtual machines across several physical servers. Therefore, if one server is not available, the virtualization software automatically swaps the virtual machines from that server to another one. The hot backup is the recommended backup method for an epages Flex setup. Full backup A full backup is a complete backup of the (virtual) machine. Depending on the size of the machine, this may take a couple of hours. We suggest that a snapshot is taken before a new patch gets applied, and that incremental backups are made every six hours, in addition to one 2 C = Core, HT = Hyper threading epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 11

13 full backup once a day. Please note that it may take a full day before a backup is online to replace a broken system (this depends on the actual setup and the software and hardware used). Features of epages Flex All features from the epages Base product are available in the epages Flex at no additional cost. Please refer to [1] epages 6 Featurelist for more information about these features. There are no limitations to the default features in the epages Flex. In addition to the default features, the epages Flex provides the following features: Open Web Services for 3 rd party integrations Every shop has Web Services enabled by default. This means that it is possible to connect to any 3 rd party integration like an ERP system. Please refer to [2] epages 6 Web Services Whitepaper for more information regarding Web Services. Change resources on demand (virtual machine only) The merchant can request more resources for their virtual machine and the provider can configure the virtual machine accordingly on the fly. This offers the possibility to utilise more resources during peak times like Christmas. Please note that this is only possible if the FlexServer running the virtual machine has enough free resources available. Self-determined updates As soon as a new patch gets deployed by epages, the merchant gets a notification in their back office and can trigger the update. The advantages are faster updates (compared to the epages Base product) and more flexibility for the merchant they are deciding when their shop gets an update. Please note that a new update is only available after epages Application Management has released it. The epages Flex installation is always a standard installation. This means that there are no provider specific customizations made to the epages software. epages Flex Technical Whitepaper Page 12

14 Headquarters epages GmbH Pilatuspool Hamburg Germany phone fax info@epages.com Jena epages GmbH Leutragraben Jena Germany phone fax info@epages.com London epages Software Ltd. Linen Hall Regent Street London, W1B5 United Kingdom phone info@epages.co.uk Barcelona epages Southern Europe S.L. Entenza , 3 o 2 o Barcelona Spain phone info@epages.es epages.com 2011 epages GmbH. All rights reserved. All company, product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.