Antelope Enterprise
Antelope Enterprise v4 High Availability
Edition
Information in this document applies to the Antelope Enterprise v4 High Availability.
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Antelope Enterprise v4 High Availability
Table of Contents
About Antelope Enterprise v4 High Availability ... 2
Terms ... 2
Cluster ...2
Cluster Aware Application ...2
Failover ...2
Load Balancing ...2
Node ...2
Infrastructure and Networking ...3
Servers ...3
Workstation ...4
Clustering for Antelope Application Server with web engine and cluster aware backend processes ...5
Failover based clustering at Antelope Database Server using Microsoft SQL Server cluster services. ...6
Clustering for file based storage (Antelope Storage Server) using SAN storage with built-in clustering ...6
Configuration of Antelope Enterprise v4 on Microsoft Cluster ... 7
Antelope Application Server web engine (Active / Active mode or Active / Passive mode) ...7
Antelope Application Server backend processes (failover clustering) ...8
Resources ... 9
MS SQL Clusters ...9
MS IIS Cluster (Failover) ...9
MS IIS Cluster (Load Balancing) ...9
About Antelope Enterprise v4 High Availability
This document describes the Antelope Enterprise options and settings that support redundancy and high availability. See the following sections of specific information:
• Terms
• Overview of Antelope and High Availability
• Configuration of Antelope Enterprise v4 on Microsoft Cluster
Terms
You should understand these terms before proceeding in this documentation:
Cluster
More than one resource with exactly same configuration and requirements connected together as single resource to provide redundancy
Cluster Aware Application
Application with specific alert and process feature that once a node in a cluster is down, it will take corresponding action to avoid data and document lost by shifting the operations to another node in a cluster.
Failover
A cluster strategy that a node in cluster is down, all processes and operations will shift to another node.
Load Balancing
A cluster strategy that more than one node in a cluster are online to share massive operations to two or more nodes.
Node
Overview of Antelope and High Availability
It is a must to provide IT systems with maximum availability to users to avoid stopping critical business operations in enterprise. There are many risk factors that influence the availability of a multi-user, network based application. For IT professionals, to understand and examine all factors is the key to propose an optimal proposal for high availability.
Below lists some of the major factors that may happen for systems fail to operate. In summary, it can be categorized into three categories:-
• Infrastructure and Networking • Servers
• Workstations
Infrastructure and Networking
Area for failure Failure Reasons Suggested Resolution
Power supply The building power supply stops accidentally
Backup power supply or uninterrupted power supply is required
Internal network Failure of gateway, routers, hubs, cabling
Setup a backup network structure
Fire Electrical equipment may catch fire
that affects all computerized system
Non-destructive fire suppression systems are required
External network Failure of internet access or cross site network
Provide a redundant internet access vendors
Building Building of the enterprise is affected by natural or non-natural disasters
Setup a disaster recovery site in another location in the same city
Disaster within a geographical region
Natural or non-natural disasters happens within cities
Setup a disaster recovery site across cities or regions
Servers
Area for failure Failure Reasons Suggested Resolution
Server Hardware Any hardware component in a server such as CPU or memory or server local hard disk, motherboard, stop functioning
Provide a cluster environment instead of one server for the system
File Storage Failure of hard disk such as bad sectors, or whole hard disk broken
Setup RAID or even cluster SAN storage
of database system bugs
Software or services Failure of software or services from running because of system bugs
Software vendors should provide cluster supported applications
Install server-side alert application such that emails or sms messages provided to IT support once software malfunctions
Workstation
Area for failure Failure Reasons Suggested Resolution
Workstation Hardware Any hardware component in a workstation such as CPU or memory or server local hard disk,
motherboard, stop functioning
Prepare cold standby backup workstation
Workstation Software Software or operating system fails operate suddenly
Prepare OS level image ready to recover the whole workstation environment
Other devices Failure of operation for other devices such as scanners or printers
Provide enough backup devices
Antelope Enterprise is designed for large scale of operation. To ensure high availability, two major strategies are adopted:
Load balancing – spreading tasks across multiple servers.
Clustering – building in redundancy by implementing a failover strategy.
Antelope Enterprise is a cluster compatible application. It supports clustering at different levels, including • Clustering for Antelope Application Server with web engine and cluster aware backend processes. • Failover based clustering at Antelope Database Server using Microsoft SQL Server cluster services. • Clustering for file based storage (Antelope Storage Server) using SAN storage with built in clustering.
Antelope Enterprise architecture with cluster compatibility
Antelope Enterprise Application Server
Antelope Enterprise Database Server
Clustering for Antelope Application Server with web engine and cluster aware
backend processes
Antelope Application Server contains two major levels – web application engine and backend processes. Web application engine, which is based on Microsoft Internet Information Services, support load balance clustering. Antelope backend processes are running in Microsoft servers, support failover clustering. These two Antelope application levels are directly connected with Antelope Database server (MS SQL) and Antelope Storage server (clustered SAN storage), that means, all Antelope Server data are stored in MS SQL database server, while images and documents are stored in storage server with SAN devices.
It is realized that when connected with Antelope Database Server which supports failover clustering, switching from primary server to backup secondary server, is not instantaneous and may actually take several seconds or more. Before the secondary server takes control over the primary server, the Antelope Application Server backend processes will receive a message from secondary server and stop all operations. Antelope
Application Server will resume its actions until message received from backup server once online. During the down period, Antelope Application Server backend processes will be alert of the situation.
For Antelope Application Server web engine, the failover process is not transparent because all in-process information, such as database lookup, retrieval of indexes, open file actions, upload documents to Antelope Server, may become invalid during the failover.
Antelope Database Server
Clustered MS SQL Server
Antelope Storage Server
Clustered File Server
Antelope Application Server
- Load balance clustering web engine - failover clustering backend processes
Failover based clustering at Antelope Database Server using Microsoft SQL Server
cluster services.
All Antelope information, including folder structure, document indexes, user access permission are stored in the Antelope Database Server. Antelope Database Server supports MS SQL clustering by failover, that is, the secondary server acts as a hot standby server.
Clustering for file based storage (Antelope Storage Server) using SAN storage with
built-in clustering
Configuration of Antelope Enterprise v4 on Microsoft Cluster
Antelope Application Server web engine (Active / Active mode or Active / Passive
mode)
Antelope Application Server depends on Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) for setting the cluster, therefore to configure clustering, it relies on the Microsoft World Wide Web Publishing Services
This section divides into two sections, configure the Antelope Application Server web engine in Active / Passive mode (Failover), and configure the Antelope Application Server web engine in Active / Active mode (Load Balancing)
• Configure the Antelope Application Server web engine in Active / Passive mode (Failover) Step 1 – Application Server Installation
On all cluster’s nodes, install the Antelope Application Server web engine by selecting the Standard Install option in the installer. Follow the setup wizard and complete the process. Configure the output folder path and database path to clustered file storage server (Antelope Storage Server) and clustered database server (Antelope Database Server). Configure clustered file storage server is the same as configure local file storage, except that the path is set as \\<server>\<share folder name>. Read the installation guide of Antelope
Enterprise v4 on how to configure the Contentbase path and database path.
Step 2 – Configure IIS World Wide Web Publishing Service failover cluster
The failover cluster is configured based on Microsoft IIS World Wide Web Publishing Service. Follow below link on (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970759) on how to configure.
Step 3 –Bring the cluster group online
Right-click on the cluster group and select Bring online. Wait until the application server has started, then verify that you can access the system by pointing a web browser to :
http://[Virtual Server Name]/service.asmx
• Configure the Antelope Application Server web engine in Active / Active mode (Load Balancing)
Step 1 – Application Server Installation
Step 2 – Configure IIS World Wide Web Publishing Service load balancing cluster
The load balancing cluster is configured based on Microsoft IIS World Wide Web Publishing Service. Follow below link on (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj129390.aspx ) on how to configure.
Step 3 –Bring the cluster group online
Right-click on the cluster group and select Bring online. Wait until the application server has started, then verify that you can access the system by pointing a web browser to :
http://[Virtual Server Name]/service.asmx
Antelope Application Server backend processes (failover clustering)
Step 1 – Application Server Installation
On one of the cluster’s nodes, install the Antelope Application Server backend processes by selecting the
Standard Install option in the installer. Follow the setup wizard and complete the process of defining
templates in the system.
Step 2 – Connect the system over to a clustered external database for log (optional)
The system needs to be configured the log to use a clustered external database as the database will be shared between the instances of the application server. Follow the installation guide for how to connect to external database. The database may be hosted on another system, or inside a cluster.
Step 3 – Setup of 2nd Node
Repeat steps 1 and 2 on the second cluster node.
Step 4 – Decouple service management from the nodes
By default the Antelope Application Server backend processes is installed under the management of the node. It needs to be managed inside the cluster, so the service's start-up type should be set to manual. On each node navigate to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services locate all services names start with DMS. Stop the service and set its start-up type to Manual. Repeat this on both nodes.
Step 5 – Add Antelope Application Server service as a resource under the cluster group 1. Open the Failover Cluster Manager.
2. Right-click on the cluster group hosting the spooler service and select Add a resource -> 4 - Generic
Service.
3. In the new resource wizard, select all names start with DMS and click Next. 4. Click Next at Confirmation.
5. Click Finish at Summary.
6. Right click on the Octopus Server and click Properties. On the Antelope Application Server
7. Right click on the Antelope Application Server and click Bring this resource online
Step 6 – Bring the cluster group online
Right-click on the cluster group and select Bring online. Wait until the Antelope Application server has started, then verify that one of the nodes has Antelope Application Server running, while another node has Antelope Application Server stopped.
Resources
MS SQL Clusters
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231721.aspx
MS IIS Cluster (Failover)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970759
MS IIS Cluster (Load Balancing)
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