Multiple Cloud Server instances

In certain scenarios, it may be useful to operate multiple Cloud Server instances in the organization:

• To operate a second Vertec instance, for example, for a test installation.
• To allocate more resources to the same instance. The exact procedure is described below.

Multiple Cloud Servers for the same Vertec instance

Several Cloud Server instances can run for one Vertec instance. This is recommended when working with large amounts of data and/or many users and the Cloud Server needs to be relieved.

On a second Cloud Server instance:

• The XML server, the Vertec Phone App or the task scheduler can run, for example.  
• The same services are provided, but the load on the Cloud Server is distributed, for example via different URLs or through load balancing.

Setting parameters correctly

If several Cloud Servers are used for the same Vertec instance, you must ensure that the various different settings in the [Cloud Server] section of the Vertec.ini file are set correctly:

Notif server

The Notif must be active on exactly one server (Notif Server=True) and must, under no circumstances, be activated more than once. At the same time, the [Indexing] section must refer to the same Notif server on all Cloud Servers to synchronize the sessions of the different servers:

Indexing (full-text search)

The indexing server is responsible for indexing the data for the full-text search. This must be done by just one Vertec Cloud Server (Indexing Server=True) and may, under no circumstances, be activated more than once.

For all Vertec Cloud Servers, the [Indexing] section must refer to the same host and port so that everyone connects to the same indexing server. Also, with Vertec Cloud Servers that are not responsible for indexing, Use Session Connection = False must be entered so that the sessions connect to the Vertec Cloud Server, which has Indexing Server = True configured.

Task scheduler

The task scheduler controls whether scheduled tasks are executed and is True if nothing is specified. However, when operating several Cloud Servers, you must make sure that the task scheduler is active on only one Cloud Server (Task Scheduler=True) and inactive on the other Cloud Server (Task Scheduler=False).

XML server

The Xml server can run on several Cloud Servers. To relieve the load on an XML server, the resources can be controlled with a second Cloud Server: It is possible to put a Cloud Server on the internet, on which the Vertec Phone App runs, and to operate another Cloud Server via LAN, on which the Vertec Cloud App and Vertec Web App run.

UISync server

The UIsync server can run on several Cloud Servers. The interface of the Vertec Cloud App and Vertec Web App is controlled via the UISync server. If it is switched off, it is not possible to work with these clients. This ensures that, for example, in the case of a second Cloud Server instance, which is placed on the internet, only the Vertec Phone App is available, so as to minimize the risk of attacks.

Vertec Phone App

The Vertec Phone App can run on several Cloud Servers. For security reasons (for example, if a Vertec Cloud Server is located in a DMZ), it is possible to run the Vertec Phone App only on certain Cloud Servers and to restrict other services.

Load balancing

With a large number of users, many cloud clients are served at the same time. To ensure good performance, several Cloud Servers can be operated and the users distributed among them. But how do the different users, or clients, reach the different Cloud Servers?

There are basically two ways to do this:

1. Each Cloud Server is addressed individually via its own URL, i.e. vertec1.kunde.com and vertec2.kunde.com. The client installation (for the Cloud App and Phone App) or the URL (for the Web App) must be different for the different end devices.
2. A load balancing system is used. This distributes the clients among several Cloud Servers. Various web server systems, such as Microsoft’s IIS, support this system. It is mandatory to work with sticky sessions, whereby all requests that belong to the same session are forwarded to the same server. For example, round robin is a suitable method in which incoming server requests are managed by the load balancer in a queue and distributed to the servers connected in series.

Installing another service

You can install a second Cloud Server as follows:
Vertec.CloudServer.exe /install <servicename> <servicedisplay>

• <servicename> is an alternate service name (should not contain spaces and special characters; for VertecServer.exe also not a period).
• <servicedisplay> is optional and repeats the displayed name of the service (can contain spaces etc., but must be enclosed in ").

The easiest way is to create a link to Vertec.CloudServer.exe and enter the parameters under Eigenschaften > Ziel.

Example:

Vertec.CloudServer.exe /install Vertec.CloudServer2 "Vertec.CloudServer 2 (Abteilung B)"

This can only be done with elevated rights. Even if you are an administrator, the task (or cmd.exe) must be started as an administrator for this to work.

To uninstall a specific service, the service name must be passed, for example:

Vertec.CloudServer.exe /uninstall Vertec.CloudServer2

After installing/uninstalling the service, a message appears that the service was successfully installed/uninstalled. To suppress this, you can perform the installation/uninstallation with the parameter /SILENT.

Vertec.CloudServer.exe /INSTALL /SILENT