Interact Intranet Version 7 Technical Requirements August 2014 2014 Interact
Definitions... 3 Licenses... 3 On-Premise... 3 Cloud... 3 Pulic Cloud... 3 Private Cloud... 3 Perpetual... 3 Self-Hosted... 3 Interact... 3 Overview... 4 Deployment Options... 4 On-Premise... 4 Self-Hosted... 4 Public Cloud... 4 Private Cloud... 4 Users and Licensing... 4 Server Requirements (for On-Premise or Self Hosted)... 5 Web Application Server Requirements... 6 Hardware Requirements... 6 Operating System... 6 Additional Operating System Components... 6 Active Directory... 6 Database Server Requirements... 7 Hardware Requirements... 7 Operating System... 7 Microsoft SQL Server Edition... 7 Client Requirements... 8 Desktop Requirements... 8 Thin Client Requirements... 8 Mobile Requirements... 8 External Access... 9 VPN Connection... 9 Direct Connection... 9 Backup Requirements and Considerations... 10 Web Application Server... 10 Database Server... 10 Backup Requirements and Considerations... 11 Minimum Requirements and Support... 11
Definitions The following terms are used throughout the document. Please see an explanation of these terms below. Licenses Meaning named users accounts in Interact. On-Premise Meaning hosted on a customers servers. Cloud Meaning the cloud environment services provided by Interact. Public Cloud Meaning the public cloud service provided by Interact. Private Cloud Meaning a private cloud service provided by Interact. Perpetual A licensing model where the Interact software is purchased. Self-Hosted Meaning hosted on a customers servers. See On-Premise. Interact Meaning Interact Intranet software.
Overview This document provides the technical requirements for Interact. You will find information about hardware and software prerequisites. You will also find information about customising Interact for security and for business needs. Deployment Options Interact can be deployed in one of the following ways: On-Premise Installed and run on your servers. Hosting Interact within a corporate network allows the infrastructure, access and security to be managed internally, typically supported by an internal IT team. Internal deployments allow for greater integration with existing infrastructure and other services such as Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange. Self-Hosted Installed and run on dedicated servers with an external hosting company, managed by the customer. External self-hosting of Interact using an external hosting provider removes the requirement to expand existing infrastructure and reduces the need for dedicated IT resource to support the project. Please note: Microsoft Azure is unsuitable for hosting implementations of Interact. Public Cloud Hosted and managed by Interact on a shared multi-tenanted public cloud platform. Private Cloud Hosted and managed by Interact on a private cloud platform. Users and Licensing Interact use a per-seat licencing model where each named user has a licence. If a user leaves the organisation, the licence is freed up for reuse.
Server Requirements (for On-Premise or Self Hosted) Interact is installed on the Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server platforms. For up to 500 users, Interact can be installed with both the Web Application and Database on one server. For over 500 users, Interact requires separate servers for the Web Application and the Database. In all cases, dedicated hardware must be used. i.e. Interact should not be installed on servers where other applications are also used. Physical or Virtual server technologies can be used (VMWare or Microsoft Hyper-V). The servers running Interact should have a reliable network connection with a minimum bandwidth of 1 Mbps and a latency maximum of 350ms. If your environment does not meet these criteria, then you should carefully consider the implications before deploying Interact. Considerations should include larger hardware than recommended here, improving your network reliability and bandwidth, and the use of multiple servers running Interact. Please note at least one server will be dedicated to Interact. Please choose the appropriate configurations on the following pages for Web Application Server and Database Server based on your user band.
Web Application Server Requirements Hardware Requirements Configuration CPU HD Memory 0 to 500 users 2.66Ghz+ Quad Core 200GB 8GB 500 to 2,000 users 2.66Ghz+ Quad Core 100GB 8GB 2,000 to 5,000 users 2.80Ghz+ Hex Core 100GB 12GB 5,000 to 10,000 users 2.80Ghz+ Hex Core 100GB 16GB 10,000 to 20,000 users 2.80Ghz+ Hex Core 100GB 32GB *Note: The Interact Database can optionally be installed on the Web Application Server therefore just using one server for Interact for the 0-500 user band only. In that scenario, the single server must match the requirements for both the Interact Web Application Server and Interact Database Server. The initial installation of Interact is approximately 2GB, and Hard Drive recommendations are for the overall server and its software, and adequate space for growth. Operating System The following operating systems are supported for the Web Application Server: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) The Interact Web Application should be installed on its own dedicated drive separate to the Operating System and Page File (e.g. OS on C:, Interact on D:). The latest service packs are recommended. Any anti-virus software must be configured to not scan the Interact application folder, as this will impede performance for your users. Additional Operating System Components IIS And ASP.NET 7.5 or 8.NET Framework 4.5 Active Directory Interact optionally synchronises and allows for user authentication with Active Directory. In this scenario the Interact Web Application Server must be installed on the same Windows Domain as the Active Directory Domain Controller. If using more than one domain, all domains must have a two-way trust between them.
Database Server Requirements Hardware Requirements Configuration CPU HD Memory 500 to 2,000 users 2.66Ghz+ Quad Core 100GB 8GB 2,000 to 5,000 users 2.80Ghz+ Hex Core 100GB 12GB 5,000 to 10,000 users 2.80Ghz+ Hex Core 100GB 16GB 10,000 to 20,000 users 2.80Ghz+ Hex Core 100GB 32GB *Note: The Interact Database can optionally be installed on the Web Application Server therefore just using one server for Interact for the 0-500 user band only. Please see the Web Application Server Requirements. Operating System The following operating systems are supported for the Web Application Server: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) The Interact Database and Transaction Log Files should be installed on its own dedicated drive separate to the Operating System and Page File. A drive should also be reserved for SQL Backups (e.g. OS on C:, SQL Database files on D:, SQL Backup on E:). The Default language of the server must be the same as the setup for the Interact Web Application Server. The latest service packs are recommended. Microsoft SQL Server Edition The following Microsoft SQL Server editions are supported for the Database Server: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Standard Edition or Data Centre) Interact is incompatible with Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition. Microsoft SQL Server must be installed with SQL Server Authentication or Mixed Mode Authentication. The latest service packs are recommended.
Client Requirements Desktop Requirements Interact works with most modern web browsers supported by a minimum processor of 2Ghz and 2GB RAM. Note that if you need to use the Content Editor features such as cut and paste, script access to the Clipboard should not be disabled. Minimum screen resolution: 1024 x 768. Results may vary if you use zoom to adjust your view to levels other than 100%. Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, 9, 10 and 11* Apple Safari 4, 5 and 6 (Mac only) Mozilla Firefox** Google Chrome** * For Interact Explorer 8 and higher, compatibility mode with earlier versions is not supported ** The Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers are released frequently. Interact makes every effort to test and support the latest version. Please note, Interact will not support newly releases browsers unless stated above. Thin Client Requirements Interact works in Citrix environments using one of the above supported browsers. It is necessary to ensure that equivalent resources to the desktop requirements above are provisioned to the XenServer/XenDesktop. Mobile Requirements Interact is a responsive web application that will optimize the users experience based upon the device they are using. Therefore this adaptive technology will support the default web browser on most smart phones and tablets devices such as ios (iphone, ipad), Android and Blackberry.
External Access Internal On-Premise deployments of Interact can be configured to provide remote access from outside the firewall via two methods: VPN Connection A remote computer can connect to the intranet by connecting to the corporate network by a VPN connection. The communications are secured using the VPN connection and the session has all the functionality of an internal user and is often the most simplest to implement as usually the VPN system is already in place for access to other internal systems. Corporate Network Remote Computer Corporate Firewall VPN Server Interact Intranet Application Tier Interact Intranet Data Tier Direct Connection A remote computer can connect to the intranet using a standard internet connection where webtraffic is directed to the Interact Web Application server through the corporate firewall. Corporate Network Remote Computer Corporate Firewall Interact Intranet Application Tier Interact Intranet Data Tier For security reasons, a security certificate (SSL) must be installed on the Interact Web Application Server to ensure all communications are encrypted. Port 443 will need to be enabled from the corporate firewall to the application server. The SSL certificate must be installed on the Interact Web Application Server and not a proxy. Additionally, if using Windows Authentication with your intranet, Port 636 (LDAPS) will need to be enabled from the corporate firewall to the Active Directory. The Active Directory server will need to have an SSL certificate installed to enable Microsoft Fastbind technology. This is to allow your users to login to the intranet externally using their Windows username and password. Embedded links to content and systems (e.g. SharePoint), which live within the corporate network, will generally be unavailable when accessing Interact in this mode.
Backup Requirements and Considerations Interact stores your data on both the file system on the Web Application Server and two databases on the Database server. You can perform server and database backups manually, and you can also schedule automatic backups by using any existing backup solutions you have and also SQL Server maintenance plans. To restore your Interact deployment in its entirety if a failure were to occur, please create backups for each location where data is stored. Creating backups is a key aspect of protecting your Interact deployment against loss. The following list summarises what you must back up for each tier. When you deploy Interact, keep a record of the accounts that have been created, and any computer names, passwords, and setup options that you choose. Always keep a copy of all recovery materials, documents, and database and transaction log backups at an offsite location. Web Application Server There is typically a folder called INTERACT that you must back up periodically which is used to store the application, documents, and other files. We recommend backing this up regularly, and additionally when each Service Release that is applied to the application. Database Server The Interact Database Server includes two SQL Server databases. You can perform database backups manually or automatically by using maintenance plans that run at a specific time or at specific intervals. When you backup and restore a database, you must back up the data onto media, for example, tapes and disks. Your backup plan should include provisions for managing media, such as: A tracking and management plan for storing and recycling backup sets. A schedule for overwriting backup media. In a multi-server environment, a decision to use either centralized or distributed backups. A way of tracking the useful life of media. A procedure to minimize the effects of the loss of a backup set or backup media, for example, a tape. A decision to store backup sets onsite or offsite, and an analysis of how this might affect recovery time. To safeguard against a disaster, such as a fire, keep duplicates of your server backups in a different location from the location of the servers. This will help protect you against the loss of critical data. As a best practice, keep three copies of the backup media, and keep at least one copy offsite in a properly controlled environment.
Backup Requirements and Considerations Interact stores your data on both the file system on the Web Application Server and two databases on the Database server. Minimum Requirements and Support The above requirements are Interact s recommended minimum requires for Interact. Please note, should your environment not meet the minimum specifications and issues arise due to this in the futre, then it may be a case that you will be asked to upgrade your environment as the first response.