Exact Synergy Enterprise Deployment User Guide
Product Update 245 Exact Synergy Enterprise Deployment
Despite the continued efforts of Exact to ensure that the information in this document is as complete and up-to-date as possible, Exact cannot warrant the correctness and/or completeness and/or specific applicability of the published and/or requested information in this document. Exact shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, lost profits or for business interruption arising out of the use of this document. The extraction and use of information from this document remains at all times completely within the user s own risk. No part of this document may be reproduced, published and/or transmitted in any form or in any way, electronically, in print, in photocopy, on microfilm or by any other means, without the prior written consent of the Exact Group B.V. Exact Group B.V., 2010. All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. II
Exact Globe Financials Introduction Please provide texts. Sample texts: To continue our commitment to satisfy customer demands, we are introducing this Implementation Manual. Software implementation is often associated with a high degree of uncertainty and a significant impact on the daily operations of a company. It is our hope that this manual will assist in alleviating the uncertainties and revealing the expectations of the implementers and customers by providing detailed descriptions on installation and other configuration topics. This manual is not intended to replace the need for proper Exact Synergy Enterprise training; but rather it should be used as a reference after the user or implementer has been trained on Exact Synergy Enterprise. In addition to the manual, we will continue to provide updated documents on the software that will be made available online via the customer and reseller portals. To stay current, we still recommend that implementers and users check for the latest developments and documentation changes regularly via the appropriate portals. While each implementation is unique, it is our hope that the manual will provide ongoing support in a single-document reference. We have endeavored to ensure that the information and content provided is as current as possible. We are dedicated to helping you improve your return on investment by taking full advantage of Exact Synergy Enterprise and/or other Exact products. We hope that you will find the Implementation Manual useful and we welcome any feedback you may have. III
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Exact Globe Financials Contents Introduction III Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Purpose and scope 1.2 Overview 3 3 3 Chapter 2: The Logical Model of Exact Synergy Enterprise 2.1 Stand alone or consolidated scenario 2.2 XML Connectivity 2.3 Service Connectivity 7 7 8 8 Chapter 3: The Technical Concept of Exact Synergy Enterprise 3.1 The basic concept 3.2 Physical tiers 3.3 Components 3.4 The modular structure of Exact 11 11 12 13 14 Chapter 4: Technical Infrastructure 4.1 Software Platform 4.2 Hardware and Software Requirements and Constraints 4.3 The Security Model 4.4 Installation and System Management 17 17 18 27 29 Chapter 5: Scalability, Availibility and Performance 5.1 Scalability 5.2 Availability 5.3 Performance 33 33 35 38 V
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Chapter 1 Introduction
Introduction 1.1 Purpose and scope 1.2 Overview 2
Chapter 1 Introduction 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose and scope This document describes the deployment of Exact Synergy Enterprise from a technical point of view. Its primary aim is to supply ICT executives with the information they need to decide on the deployment of Exact Synergy Enterprise within the existing IT landscape and in line with corporate ICT strategies. 1.2 Overview Chapter 2, The Logical Model of Exact Synergy Enterprise, explains the basic concept behind Exact Synergy Enterprise and connectivity options. Chapter 3, The Technical Concept, explains the basic concepts of the architecture of Exact Synergy from a technical perspective. Chapter 4, Technical Infrastructure, deals with the technical infrastructure, including the hardware and software platforms and requirements, as well as an overview of the security model. Chapter 5, Scalability, Availability and Performance, discusses a number of topics that are closely interrelated and also related to the technical infrastructure: the possibility to scale the system to any number of users or user requests, to make sure the system is available at all times and to safeguard its performance. 3
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Chapter 2 The Logical Model of Exact Synergy Enterprise
The Logical Model of Exact Synergy Enterprise 2.1 Stand alone or consolidated scenario 2.2 XML Connectivity 2.3 Service Connectivity 6
Chapter 2 The Logical Model of Exact Synergy Enterprise 2. The Logical Model Of Exact Synergy Enterprise Exact Synergy Enterprise can be deployed as a stand-alone product. The software will be installed on a web server and for data storage a database server is needed. More specific information and requirements will be discussed later on. Exact Synergy Enterprise also has various connectivity options which allow Exact Synergy Enterprise to communicate and exchange with various back office product lines and other network resources like a mail server and domain controller. 2.1 Stand alone or consolidated scenario Exact Synergy Enterprise makes use of one central database where all information and data is stored. In the first example we only have Exact Synergy Enterprise available and therefore one or more separate databases. This is called a stand-alone scenario. 7
When you make use of several separate back office administrations (for example two for the Netherlands and one for the UK) and next to this you use Exact Synergy Enterprise you can use Exact Synergy Enterprise to consolidate data into Exact Synergy Enterprise from the various back office administrations. Data transfer takes place automatically via XML. This is called a consolidated scenario, a picture is shown below: 2.2 XML Connectivity When making use of back office administrations data between the various databases can be transferred via XML. The Exact back office product lines make use of the same XML schema, so no additional mappings need to be made. Some examples of Exact back office product lines: Exact Globe Macola ES Exact Financials Every type of (master) data can be replicated as a separate job, which gives maximum control on where to maintain data. Also connectivity with other network resources can be established. Some examples: Connectivity with an e-mail server to sent e-mails directly from Exact Synergy Enterprise Connectivity with a domain controller to automatically create user accounts in the Active Directory when creating a new resource in Exact Synergy Enterprise Connectivity with reporting tools in order to generate real-time reports out of the Exact Synergy Enterprise database 2.3 Service Connectivity On top of the more traditional Exact XML exchange technology, Exact Synergy Enterprise also offers Windows Communication Foundation services (includes web services). Making use of these services makes it easier to connect to third parties and middleware. 8
Chapter 3 The Technical Concept of Exact Synergy Enterprise
The Technical Concept of Exact Synergy Enterprise 3.1 The basic concept 3.2 Physical tiers 3.3 Components 3.4 The modular structure of Exact 10
Chapter 3 The Technical Concept of Exact Synergy Enterprise 3. The Technical Concept Of Exact Synergy Enterprise 3.1 The basic concept Exact Synergy Enterprise is a browser-based application that works in conjunction with traditional ERP applications. It offers a platform for online communication and collaboration through which it facilitates sharing information among all resources in and around an organization. It covers areas such as HRM, CRM and logistics, and facilitates document, workflow, and project management. Employees, customers, suppliers, and partners are provided with real-time access to information stored in a central database. This enables them to have a single source of the truth for all information. It boosts efficiency and extends the life cycle of existing business software investments. From a graphical point of view the picture looks as follows: 11
3.2 Physical tiers The physical implementation of the architecture of Exact Synergy Enterprise (simple configuration) is displayed in the following figure: The web/application server (left) and the database server (right) are completely separate and can be scaled individually (see Scalability for details). Exact Synergy Enterprise does not require a client installation. The system is fully web based and can be accessed using standard browser functionality. To achieve this, web browser functionality is used for interaction between the user and the system, while the logic that defines the appearance of screens and handles user requests runs on the application server. 12
Chapter 3 The Technical Concept of Exact Synergy Enterprise 3.3 Components 3.3.1 Presentation The presentation of Exact Synergy Enterprise is hard coded in the software. A user is able to manage settings allowed by an Administrator. The settings will be stored in the SQL database so the software looks the same everywhere. It is possible to customize the presentation further according to your needs, but this will involve adjusting system files (aspx). 3.3.2 Authentication Authentication in Exact Synergy Enterprise is based on the integrated authentication from Windows. In the Exact database a user account is created which must be exactly the same name as the Windows account. User opens Internet Explorer en types the URL of the Exact Synergy Enterprise environment. The web server asks for authentication (as set at virtual directory level) and either reject or accept the request. If the request is accepted a connection will be established via a special SQL user BACO. This user does not have any rights to modify data directly on the SQL database. Further on database level a check is done if the user is allowed to access Exact Synergy Enterprise. If not, an error message is returned. Otherwise Exact Synergy Enterprise will be started. 3.3.3 Authorization The authorization uses a data logic component to read role-based information from the database. Without rights users have basic functionality available. 3.3.4 Data Access For Exact Synergy Enterprise a special configuration file is available which contains information about the location of the specific databases. When moving databases this file needs to be adjusted. 13
3.4 The modular structure of Exact Exact Synergy Enterprise by default is deployed with modules. Exact Synergy Enterprise consists of the following modules: HRM CRM Document Management Workflow Management Project Logistics Financials Next to the default modules, modules can be added. These additional modules are developed with the SDK (Software Development Kit) in order to make the modules completely compatible with the default suite. Also specific Custom Solutions can be integrated with the SDK. 14
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure
Technical Infrastructure 4.1 Software Platform 4.2 Hardware and Software Requirements and Constraints 4.3 The Security Model 4.4 Installation and System Management 16
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure 4. Technical Infrastructure This chapter describes the hardware and software platforms on which Exact Synergy Enterprise is based and the system requirements. 4.1 Software Platform This section lists a number of features of the platform underlying Exact Synergy Enterprise: Exact Synergy Enterprise is Windows based: Exact Synergy Enterprise is completely designed to work with Microsoft Windows. Both server and client will need Microsoft Windows in order to work correctly. Exact Synergy Enterprise runs on SQL Server: Microsoft SQL Server is used for data storage of Exact Synergy Enterprise Exact Synergy Enterprise is web based: Exact Synergy Enterprise is installed on a web server and can be accessed by every client running a Microsoft Windows operating system, Internet Explorer 6 or higher. Therefore no additional software needs to be installed on the clients Exact Synergy Enterprise uses IIS: Exact Synergy Enterprise runs on Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and makes use of the standard security features that are available in IIS. Exact Synergy Enterprise uses XML: XML is used for communication between products and the Framework, and also for communication between external applications and Exact Synergy Enterprise. Exact Synergy Enterprise uses Services: Exact Synergy Enterprise comes with Windows Communication Foundation services support but need to be enabled. The Services can be used for communication with other external applications but are also used as basis for communication between Exact Globe and Exact Synergy Enterprise. 17
4.2 Hardware and Software Requirements and Constraints Hardware requirements depend on several factors and therefore can only be given in general terms. Specific details depend on: The amount of data to be processed The information required from the system The performance required Specific hardware requirements will be determined during the information analysis that is done in early stages of a implementation project. 4.2.1 Server requirements Working with Exact Synergy Enterprise requires the following servers: Web/application server Database server (storage server) Mail server Domain controller Firewall Optionally, an additional server for scheduling background processes and a Microsoft SQL Reporting Services In a typical environments most of the background processes run during the day. These processes can run from about every 5 minutes till once a day. Replication processes (when exchanging data between Exact Synergy Enterprise and back office administrations) will take place after working time. In this case no separate server is needed for the background processes. 4.2.2 Minimum requirements Exact Software is highly scalable and will run on a wide range of hardware configurations. Any configuration will contain the components described in the paragraph. 18
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure 4.2.3 General requirements Exact Synergy Enterprise: Workstation: Minimum system requirements Recommended system requirements Operating system Microsoft Windows 2000 Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft Windows Vista Microsoft Windows 7 Microsoft Windows 7 Web browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 Applications Microsoft Office XP Microsoft Office 2007 Microsoft Office 2003 Microsoft Office 2007 Microsoft Office 2010 Monitor Minimum screen resolution 1024x768 Screen resolution 1280x1024 Server: Operating system (web server and database server) Minimum system requirements Microsoft Windows 2003 Server (IIS 6) Including.NET Framework 3.5 Recommended system requirements Microsoft Windows 2003 Server (IIS 6) Including.NET Framework 3.5 Database system Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (all versions) Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (all versions) Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with latest service packs applied Reporting Services - Microsoft Reporting Services Applications (web server) Microsoft Office XP Microsoft Office 2003 Microsoft Office 2007 Microsoft Office 2007 Please note: Regularly backup the administrations/databases and store the backup on a different media device (not the machine where the Microsoft SQL Server is installed); Perform regular database maintenance; To update the software via the internet an internet connection is needed; Use scalable hardware; The system requirements are based on the usage of Exact Synergy Enterprise only, if other applications are used on the same machines the requirements should be increased; Every new service pack is supported automatically by Exact, unless explicitly announced otherwise; The use of Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 on one server is not supported. 19
4.2.3.1 Server hardware requirements for 1-50 connections The application is installed as a program on the IIS web server and all data is stored in an SQL database, which is stored on a Microsoft SQL Database Server. Both the IIS web server and the SQL database can be installed on the same machine in a small Exact Synergy Enterprise implementation of up to 50 concurrent connections. Single server setup: Minimum system requirements Recommended system requirements Processor 1x Pentium IV 3.4 GHz 2x Dual Core Intel Xeon 2.4 GHz Memory 1 GB 4 GB Hard disk IDE 30 GB 2x SCSI 72 GB (RAID 5) 4.2.3.2 Server hardware requirements for 51-150 connections When more connections are required or the use of a large database is expected, the IIS web server should be installed on a single separate machine (suitable for up to 150 connections). This results in a setup with an application server (IIS + Exact e-synergy) and a separate database server (SQL). Note that the client only communicates with the application server (IIS). Dual server setup (Web server): Minimum system requirements Recommended system requirements Processor 1x Pentium IV 3.4 GHz 2x Dual Core Intel Xeon 2.4 GHz Memory 1 GB 2 GB Hard disk IDE 6 GB 2x SCSI 18 GB (RAID 5) Dual server setup (Database server): Minimum system requirements Recommended system requirements Processor 1x Pentium IV 3.4 GHz 2x Dual Core Intel Xeon 2.4 GHz Memory 1 GB 2 GB Hard disk SCSI 50 GB 5x SCSI 72 GB (RAID 5) 20
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure 4.2.3.3 Server hardware requirements for 151-500 connections When dealing with even more concurrent connections, the workload of the application server can be divided over several application servers. This results in a more reliable situation with better performance. A dedicated piece of hardware, known as the load balancer, can divide all traffic among several (up to 50 or more concurrent connections) application servers that connect to the same database server to store and retrieve data. A general guideline is that each web/application server can handle 300 concurrent connections. Multi server setup (Multiple web servers): Minimum system requirements Recommended system requirements Processor 1x Pentium IV 3.4 GHz 2x Dual Core Intel Xeon 2.4 GHz Memory 1 GB 4 GB Hard disk IDE 6 GB 2x SCSI 18 GB (RAID 1) Multi server setup (Database server): Minimum system requirements Recommended system requirements Processor 1x Pentium IV 3.4 GHz 2x Dual Core Intel Xeon 2.4 GHz Memory 1 GB 4 GB Hard disk SCSI 80 GB 5x SCSI 72 GB (RAID 5) Load balancer: Example:requirements Foundry Server Iron Load Balancer 8 ports Windows Network Load Balancing 21
4.2.3.4 Storage Example:requirements Foundry Server Iron Load Balancer Interface SCSI Fibre Channel RAID RAID level 10 Storage system Small systems: internal storage (disks installed in database server) Medium to large systems: external storage cabinet (SAN or System Area Network) Disks High speed disks (15.000 RPM) 4.2.3.5 Disk Throughput For adequate performance a minimum disk throughput capacity is required for each of the volumes used. The disk throughput requirements depend on several factors. Some factors that influence the disk throughput for a volume are: The number of spindles The size of the blocks written to disk The number of threads A tool is available that can be used to measure the throughput of each volume for specific block sizes and numbers of threads. This tool is called SQLIO and is supplied by Microsoft. The tool will return two values: the number of IOs per second, and the number of Mb s per second. These two values describe the throughput of the volume. 4.2.3.6 Network In general, a 100 Mb network is sufficient for communication between the various servers and workstations. In specific situations, for instance when multiple storage servers are used or when Exact Synergy Enterprise shares network capacity with other applications that generate much network traffic, a 1 GB network may be advisable. For communication between workstations and the application server a LAN, WAN or WLAN connection such as ISDN or ADSL can be used. 22
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure 4.2.3.7 Additional server recommendations With Exact Synergy Enterprise the use of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or higher is mandatory. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is a relational database management system. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is based on the Structured Query Language (SQL). Exact Software has an agreement with Microsoft concerning the user licenses of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Each customer that uses Exact Synergy Enterprise is entitled to a limited license of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Depending on the number of users in the multi-user license of Exact Synergy Enterprise, you are entitled to a certain version. In case Exact Synergy Enterprise is not the only product that is connect to the Microsoft SQL Server 2005, it is not possible to use the license supplied by Exact Software for the other products. In that case Microsoft SQL Server 2005 licenses need to be purchased. Exact Software supports Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, Microsoft SQL Server 2 5 Workgroup Edition, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. Feature Express Edition Workgroup Edition Standard Edition Enterprise Edition # of CPU 1 2 4 No limit Max. RAM 1 GB 3 GB OS limited Os limited Max. DB size 4 GB No limit No limit No limit 64-bit support WOW* WOW Yes Yes SQL Profiler No No Yes Yes SQL Management Studio Limited Yes Yes Yes SQL Agent Scheduling No Yes Yes Yes SQL Reporting Services Yes Yes Yes Yes DB Tuning Advisor No No Yes Yes Import / Export No Yes Yes Yes * Windows on Windows (WOW) means running the 32-bit Edition of SQL in a isolated part of the memory on the 64-bit operating system. Exact software supports all mentioned database engines of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and higher, as long as latest service packs are applied. 23
4.2.3.8 Microsoft SQL Reporting Services Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Component Requirement Internet software Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later Internet Information Services (IIS) IIS 5.0 or later.net Framework ASP.NET 2.0 Hard Disk Space 120 MB (Reporting Services and Report Manager) 32-Bit Processor type Pentium III-compatible processor or higher Processor speed Minimum: 600 MHz Recommended: 1 GHz or higher Memory (RAM) 64-bit Processor type Processor speed Memory (RAM) Minimum: 512 MB Recommended: 1 GB or more Maximum: Operating system maximum IA64 minimum: Itanium processor or higher x64 minimum: AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium IV with EM64T support IA64/x64 minimum: 1 GHz IA64/x64 recommended: 1 GHz or more IA64/x64 minimum: 512 MB IA64/x64 recommended: 1 GB or more IA64 maximum: 32 TB x64 maximum: Operating system maximum Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506(sql.90).aspx 24
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Component Internet software.net Framework Hard Disk Space 32-Bit Processor type Processor speed Memory (RAM) 64-bit Processor type Processor speed Memory (RAM) Requirement Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later ASP.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 120 MB (Reporting Services and Report Manager) Pentium III-compatible processor or higher Minimum: 1 GHz Recommended: 2 GHz or higher Minimum: 512 MB Recommended: 2.048 GB or more Maximum: Operating system maximum IA64 minimum: Itanium processor or higher x64 minimum: AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium IV with EM64T support IA64 recommended: 1 GHz or more x64 minimum: 1.4 GHz x64 recommended: 2 GHz or more Minimum: 512 MB Recommended: 2.048 GB or more Maximum: Operating system maximum Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506(sql.100).aspx#eeia64 25
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services Component Internet software.net Framework Hard Disk Space 32-Bit Processor type Processor speed Memory (RAM) 64-bit Processor type Processor speed Memory (RAM) Requirement Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later ASP.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 304 MB (Reporting Services and Report Manager) Pentium III-compatible processor or higher Minimum: 1 GHz Recommended: 2 GHz or higher Minimum: 1 GB Recommended: 4 GB or more Maximum: Operating system maximum IA64 minimum: Itanium processor or higher x64 minimum: AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium IV with EM64T support IA64 recommended: 1 GHz or more x64 minimum: 1.4 GHz x64 recommended: 2 GHz or more Minimum: 1 GB Recommended: 4 GB or more Maximum: Operating system maximum Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506.aspx#eeia64 4.2.3.9 Things that are not needed Next to the required components the following is not needed Exact Synergy Enterprise: Local installation of the Internet Information Services (IIS) Local installation of MS SQL Server Local installation of the Exact Synergy Enterprise software 26
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure 4.2.4 Compatibility with other Software and Hardware No issues are known with the compatibility of Exact Synergy Enterprise with other software products or hardware components. As Exact Synergy Enterprise runs on IIS and all data are stored using SQL Server, no problems are expected with products that support the Microsoft platform. 4.2.5 Update Strategy Whenever Microsoft releases a service pack or patch for a Microsoft product used (the Windows operating system, IIS or SQL Server), Exact Synergy Enterprise will be tested against this service pack or patch within 6 months of the update being available and if required, an update of Exact Software will be released. In this manner, Exact product development will always stay within 6 months of host operating system and database product changes. 4.3 The Security Model 4.3.1 Hardware Security Exact Synergy Enterprise The Exact Synergy Enterprise program is an Internet based front-office application which is installed on a Web server (Internet Information Server 5/6 alias IIS). Data is stored in a SQL 2000/2005 database which resides on a separate Database server. A number of strict security policies on various levels should be taken to protect both the application software and data against malicious acts. Total system security includes various types of safety measures, each with their own characteristics and demands for maintenance. The necessary security policies are not limited to the Exact Synergy Enterprise application alone; the integrity of all elements of the entire system must be assured. The most basic and most important measurement is to prevent undesired traffic being able to access the 27
intranet. This can be done by using a firewall separating the internal network from the potentially dangerous internet. The firewall is configured to only allow traffic that needs access to the intranet or even better to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The DMZ is a part of the network that is neither part of the intranet nor of the internet. For Exact Synergy Enterprise port 80 (HTTP) or 443 (HTTPS) need to be opened on the firewall. Normally an unencrypted protocol version for data traffic is used; HTTP. In order to enhance security the encrypted version of this protocol is used; HTTPS. This encrypted version of the protocol makes sure all traffic between the Client PC and the Web server (IIS) is encrypted. HTTPS uses the Public Key Encryption method as provided by Verisign and other certified key issuers. The Exact Synergy Enterprise application that is installed on the Web server (IIS) contains no data. The actual data is stored to and retrieved from the MS SQL Server via a direct SQL client connection (ODBC). When the network is configured to use a DMZ, only the Web server (IIS) is allowed to access this SQL server, again by the use of a firewall. 4.3.2 Software Security Exact Synergy Enterprise The IIS server contains the Exact Synergy Enterprise program as the Internet based application; only web access is permitted (HTTP(S) port 80,443). Primary access verification takes place using Microsoft NT domain security. This domain contains users which have been created within the Exact Synergy Enterprise program to ensure that correct access verification can take place. Anonymous web site users can be restricted to access only specific information by using the Exact Synergy Enterprise security level public (security level 0). Each individual database can only be accessed by users who have been specified within that database. The SQL server is protected against unauthorized access by use of a firewall. Only direct access from the Web server (IIS) to the SQL database server using SQL client traffic protocol is allowed (TCP/IP port 1433). The information within the Exact Synergy Enterprise database is secured with an application security control system. All users are granted a security level in the Resource maintenance system of e-synergy. Each user can only access information with a security level equal to- or lower than its own level. In addition to the security level, any user can also be a member of one or more functional roles which grants this user extra rights in a specific part of the Exact Synergy Enterprise program. 28
Chapter 4 Technical Infrastructure 4.4 Installation and System Management A Setup program (ProductUpdater) is supplied for Exact Synergy Enterprise. The installation can be run with minimal interaction with the operator, but manual configuration is required after installation. Also the installation of updates and upgrades can with minimal attendance, but must be initiated by a user. The products can be installed, managed and updated via the server/workstation on which the software is physically installed. Also Windows Terminal Services can be used to take over a server in order to perform an update. Exact Synergy Enterprise can be installed on any fixed drive and in any directory. 4.4.1 Configuration Settings After installing the following settings need to be configured in order to work with the software. Configuration of the virtual directory for Exact Synergy Enterprise Configuration of the baco.cfg (database configuration file) When performing a fresh install the system will automatically come up with a create new database option and the settings above do not have to be configured manually. All further system administration information is stored in a SQL Server database.4.4.2 Database Settings The ProductUpdater creates the required databases and tables with property settings that guarantee optimal co-operation between Exact Synergy Enterprise and the SQL Server. Any update or upgrade of Exact Synergy Enterprise will contain scripts to update existing databases so that data will remain valid and usable. 29
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Chapter 5 Scalability, Availibility and Performance
Scalability, Availibility and Performance 5.1 Scalability 5.2 Availability 5.3 Performance 32
Chapter 5 Scalability, Availibility and Performance 5. Scalability, Availibility and Performance 5.1 Scalability Scaling refers to adding hardware resources to increase the system s capacity and performance. When resources (such as processors and memory) are added to a single server, this is called scaling up. When servers are added to handle increasing workloads, this is called scaling out. The Exact Synergy Enterprise application server and the database server can be scaled independently, thanks to the three-tier architecture. The paragraphs below describe the scaling methods that are available for each server. 5.1.1 Application Server As a web-based application, Exact Synergy Enterprise is able to work well in a distributed environment and it can be scaled out across multiple servers that together form a cluster, that is, a group of servers or nodes linked together in such a way that they can be treated as one large system. To make sure the servers work together in an efficient way, load balancing can be used. Load balancing not only boosts the system s capacity and performance, but also its availability. In fact, as multiple application servers are needed only in very large Exact Synergy Enterprise installations, the main reason to implement load balancing in most Exact Synergy Enterprise systems will be to increase availability. Therefore, load balancing is discussed in that context (see Load balancing). The application can be scaled out as follows: Components that lock resources for a relatively long time (complex computational components or database update components) can be moved to a different server Components handling data transfers from the database to the user interface are kept on the web server (or web server farm). 33
5.1.2 Database Server Generally speaking, a database server is best suited to the scale-up model, running on a single server that is made as large as necessary. For instance, using the current 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, a system can grow to 512 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 64 processors, which is large enough to support any conceivable Exact Software database. Microsoft SQL Server also supports a scaling-out method called federated servers or distributed partitioned views. This involves splitting database tables across a group of servers (or federation ). In this way, a database can grow to any size without needing a Windows Datacenter solution, although this method makes management, including backup and restore, and operation of the overall environment more complex. Exact Synergy Enterprise can be customized to support distributed partitioned views. 5.1.2.1 Storage Solutions Exact supports any data storage solution that is supported by Microsoft SQL Server. In practice this ranges from SCSI disks installed in the database server to SAN solutions where the database server is linked to a storage cabinet over a Fibre Channel connection. In this manner, the database can grow to any size. Using external storage also improves availability (see Use external storage). 5.1.3 Reporting Services Adding a separate Microsoft Reporting Services Server can improve performance when reporting activities increase. Scaling out is also supported in the Enterprise version of Microsoft Reporting Services. Refer to the Microsoft SQL Reporting Services 34
Chapter 5 Scalability, Availibility and Performance 5.2 Availability 5.2.1 Load balancing Load balancing means that servers are linked together in such a way that they share the workload. The processing that needs to be done is distributed over the systems. On the application server, Exact Synergy Enterprise supports Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server), which uses the Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB) Services of Microsoft Windows to distribute client requests across multiple servers within a cluster. As an alternative, Microsoft Application Center can be used, which also provides integration with Windows Network Load Balancing. This technology not only increases the system s capacity and performance, but also improves the system s availability by automatically detecting the failure of a server and repartitioning client traffic among the remaining servers. Microsoft SQL Server does not support load balancing; therefore, Windows Network Load Balancing cannot be used on the database server. 5.2.2 Failover Clustering The goal of clustering is to minimize the amount of downtime in case of hardware failures and to maximize the availability of the files stored in the cluster. A cluster is not meant to increase performance. As a result of this an important part of clustering is failover support. Since a cluster consists of multiple nodes, there is always a risk that a node fails. Just like in a non clustered environment, where your server might crash due to hardware failures. In that case the other node(s) will take over within seconds and the downtime is minimized. This we call a failover. In case a failover occurs, the SQL Server and its related services will go offline for a short moment and come back online again automatically. For this period of time the connection between applications and SQL Server (in this case) is lost. In order for an application to be able to continue without being restarted it needs to be able to automatically reconnect if the connection is lost. No matter if an application can automatically reconnect (like the Query analyser) or not, in case a failover occurs, all changes that are part of an open transaction are lost. A failover only has influence on open transactions and because the transaction fails, SQL Server will automatically rollback the transaction (undo the changes). This means that all changes that are being made within the transaction are lost. A failover has no consequences for committed transactions or transactions for which a rollback occurred, before the failover occurred. Exact Synergy Enterprise can be installed in a clustered environment, but it is not capable of handling a failover. Exact Synergy Enterprise needs a constant, stable connection to the SQL Server and any interruption in this connection will lead to Exact Synergy Enterprise losing the connection. In Exact Synergy Enterprise you will notice this by menu paths and buttons not to respond any more or by message like Communication link failure. This means you have to close Exact Synergy Enterprise and start it again in order to continue working. 35
5.2.3 Storage Strategies Exact software advises the use of a RAID system (Redundant Array of Independent Disks). In a RAID system multiple hard disks are used for sharing and replicating date over all disks. Depending on the selected RADI system, the data integrity and the performance will increase compared to using one disk. The purpose of fault tolerance is the most important, with this data can be rebuild if one of the disks crashes. RAID - 0: very good disk performance, but no fault tolerance; RAID - 1: also known as disk mirroring. A RAID 1 consists of at least two disks and duplicates the data over the disks. Read performance has increased, because the system can read from two disks at the same time. Write performance is equal to that of one disk. RAID 1 supplies good performance and fault tolerance in a multi-user system; RAID - 5: A RAID 5 configuration uses at least 3 disks which stripes data and parity over the disks. High read performance because all disks can be read at the same time. When one of the disks is damaged, a new disk can be inserted and the missing data can be constructed from the data on the other disks and the parity; RAID -10: This is a mix of RAID 0 (Performance) and RAID 1 (Fault tolerance). This will give you a fast and save disk system. Disadvantage is that you need at least 4 disks, where half of it is lost to store data. Exact Synergy Enterprise will in general perform better in combination with RAID 5 or RAID 10, since most actions relate to reading data. For faster disk performance Exact Software recommends to use 15k RPM disks in stead of 10k RPM disks. Disk system # Disks Fault tolerance Advantage Disadvantage Recommendation Single hard disk 1 No Cheap Slow in a disk intensive environment RAID 0 2 No Fast reading No fault tolerance and writing RAID 1 2 Yes Fast reading and writing Takes 50% of the total disk space RAID 5 3 Yes Fast reading Takes one disk of free disk space RAID 10 4 Yes Fast reading and writing Expensive and takes one disk of free disk space Small business Not advisable Small/medium business Medium/large business Large business 5.2.3.1 Use External Storage Using external storage (SAN) rather than storage tied to a single machine improves availability: if the server fails, another server can quickly be deployed to access the same external storage. Shared access to storage is required when failover clustering is used. An additional advantage of external storage is that it provides better scalability (see Storage solutions). 36
Chapter 5 Scalability, Availibility and Performance 5.2.4 Backup A reliable backup of the system helps to recover the system quickly in case of failure. However, from the perspective of availability it is also important that such a backup can be made without stopping or pausing the program. 5.2.5 Disaster Recovery Disaster recovery deals with the question how to prevent and recover from unplanned downtime. The causes of unplanned downtime can range from hardware failures or power outages to a total site disaster. A disaster recovery plan should include both a procedure to maintain an offsite backup of the system, and a procedure to activate this backup in case of a catastrophe. A disaster recovery plan should also address the question of how much downtime and how much data loss is acceptable. Planned courses of action should be in accordance with the needs. A limiting factor may be the amount of money your organization is willing to spend on a disaster recovery solution. Backing up your servers and databases to restore them in case of disaster is a relatively cheap and reliable disaster recovery approach, but downtime may be unacceptably long. To reduce downtime, you can use standby servers and/or standby storage, and make sure these are continuously updated with the latest backups. For your databases, the best approach is to automate this continuous restore process by setting up Log Shipping. Log Shipping is a feature of Microsoft SQL Server, which is an automated backup and restore of transaction logs using standby storage. In this way you can minimize downtime and data loss in case of Backup/restore, standby servers and storage, and log shipping can provide disaster recovery in case a complete site is lost. Clustering options such as load balancing (for the application server) and failover clustering (for the database server) do not provide recovery in case of a total site disaster, but do increase availability on the primary location. For a complete disaster recovery solution, use clustering only if combined with other approaches. Transactional replication may sometimes be considered instead of log shipping because it provides very low latency, but has some functional restrictions and is labour intensive. Data copy methods that can only copy the complete set of data and are not aware of database changes, such as DTS, Bulk Copy, snapshot replication and disk replication are not suitable options for maintaining standby copies of your database. The reason is that the size of the Exact databases makes it impossible to create a complete copy of all data at sufficiently frequent intervals. Although good disaster recovery scenarios can be set up using functionality that is available in Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 and Microsoft SQL Server, it may be possible to facilitate tasks or enhance functionality by using third-party solutions, e.g. software provided with your server or storage hardware. For instance, all major storage suppliers and some software providers have solutions available to synchronize data on disks located at different sites by replicating IO operations on the disk device level. This is called disk synchronization. Disk synchronization can be combined with remote failover clustering of the database servers to provide a reliable but expensive high-end disaster recovery solution. 37
5.3 Performance Performance is closely related to scalability. A condition for a system to perform well is that it is correctly scaled. The performance of the database server will largely depend on IO capacity. The performance of the application server mainly depends on CPU power and especially the available RAM. Another condition for a system to perform well is that the application itself handles user requests efficiently. For this reason, the database model and queries have been optimized. Because of the large amounts of data that are imported into the Exact databases every day, the disk throughput capacity can become a bottleneck. See Disk Throughput for more information on the throughput capacity requirements. 38
Chapter 5 Scalability, Availibility and Performance 39
Despite the continued efforts of Exact to ensure that the information in this document is as complete and up-to-date as possible, Exact cannot warrant the correctness and/or completeness and/or specific applicability of the published and/or requested information in this document. Exact Group B.V., 2010. All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. *PDC760101EN014* PDC760101EN014.245