Nuance SafeCom Smart Printing Solution Design Guide

Transcription

1 Nuance SafeCom Smart Printing Solution Design Guide D November 2012

2 Trademarks: Nuance, the Nuance logo, SafeCom, SafeCom Go, SafeCom P:Go, SafeCom epay and the SafeCom logo are trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners. Nuance Communications, Inc. cannot be held responsible for any technical or typographical errors and reserves the right to make changes to products and documentation without prior notification. Third Party Software: This software may contain third party software which requires notices and/or additional terms and conditions. Such required third party software notices and/or additional terms and conditions are located in the SafeCom Third Party Notice document. Patent: Nuance Communications, Inc. has received the following British patent GB B, US patent US 6,952,780 B2 and Europe EU EP Copyright Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved Nuance Communications, Inc. Lautrupvang 12 DK-2750 Ballerup Denmark Phone: Web: safecom.eu D

3 Table of contents 1 Introduction Audience SafeCom Smart Printing Pull Print and Push Print Scalable and resilient master and slave design SafeCom product philosophy Additional documentation About this manual Document history Solution components Introduction Components overview Database component SafeCom components SafeCom Pay components SafeCom APIs SafeCom Service and other services UML component diagrams SafeCom server and Pull Print SafeCom server and SQL server details License structure Server features Devices Device features Multiserver concept Introduction Multi server overview SafeCom master server SQL master server SafeCom slave server SafeCom home server Print server What happens if servers or network connections are down? Offline and online tracking Service availability Introduction What is service availability? Questions on service availability Device resilience with Pull Print Failover server concept Direct print as an alternative Disable access control on MFPs Money server is down Tracking server is down Device SLA Server SLA Clustering Virtualization SQL database mirroring Backup process Disaster recovery Design guidelines D

4 5.1 Introduction Locally stored versus server stored documents When to store documents locally? When to store documents on server? Comparison and sizing Concurrent connections, 32-bit versus 64-bit Branch concept Sample bandwidth calculation SafeCom Print Client installation Client requirements Server requirements Print from other systems Database Introduction The four databases Database tables Tables in sccore Tables in scevent Tables in scpurse Tables in sctracking SQL replication SQL users and rights Domain user Scripts to manually create the databases Tracking solutions Pay solutions Event database Transaction log files Database backup Database restore Service management Introduction Clearly define responsibilities and procedures Management with SafeCom Administrator Administrator rights Import of users Management of devices Audit of changes eporting with SafeCom eports Self-service by users Maintenance and updates Windows event log Trace facilities for troubleshooting Security Introduction Encryption Encryption of security sensitive fields Log in at the device with Windows Authentication Import of users Network and firewall Devices Introduction Device integration methods SafeCom Go SafeCom Go/SafeCom Device Server SafeCom Go/SafeCom Controller D

5 9.2.4 SafeCom Controller SafeCom Device Server D

6 1 Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 Audience This manual is intended for IT professionals involved in designing SafeCom Smart Printing solutions. 1.2 SafeCom Smart Printing SafeCom Smart Printing is a comprehensive product line that can help organizations save costs, optimize their print solution and benefit the environment. The customer base includes the world s largest bank, universities, hospitals and corporate businesses conscious about staying ahead in an ever more competitive world. 1.3 Pull Print and Push Print The SafeCom product offers two methods of printing: Pull Print Documents follow users to their choice of printer. Users log in at the printer by means of personal card and/or code. The SafeCom Pull Port is used for printing. Push Print Documents are printed directly to the printer, similar to using the Standard TCP/IP Port. By using the SafeCom Push Port it is possible to have the SafeCom solution track what users are printing and optionally charge for this and/or apply SafeCom ule Based Printing. D

7 1 Introduction 1.4 Scalable and resilient master and slave design The SafeCom server software is built on a master slave design. Scalability is achieved by adding the required number of SafeCom slave servers. The SafeCom master server uses the SQL replication provided by the SQL master server to propagate the entire configuration to the SafeCom slave servers. Initially it makes a snapshot replication and subsequently it only replicates the changes (transactional replication). This way all the SafeCom servers have the complete configuration, including the network details of each other. This allows the servers to communicate directly, rather than having to rely on the SafeCom master server. 1.5 SafeCom product philosophy The SafeCom guiding principles: Easy Easy to use Easy to install Easy to administrate Easy to support Standard products Work in partnership with customers and partners Add new functionality that is of general value to the customer base Solve complex tasks in a simple way User self service Greater user satisfaction Less administration 1.6 Additional documentation SafeCom G4 Administrator s Manual D60650 SafeCom G4 Cluster Administrator s Manual D60652 SafeCom G4 Enterprise Disaster ecovery Manual D60654 SafeCom Device Products Feature Set Overview D10940 SafeCom Smart Printing Solution Design Checklist D10919 SafeCom Smart Printing Installation Completion Checklist D10911 D

8 1 Introduction 1.7 About this manual This manual applies to SafeCom G4 Server version S *01. This manual is organized as follows: Chapter 1, Introduction, introduces the concept of Pull Print, SafeCom solution design, SafeCom product and describes how this manual is organized. Chapter 2, Solution components, describes the components used in a SafeCom Smart Printing solution. Chapter 3, Multiserver concept, describes the scalable and resilient master slave design and the home server concept. Chapter 4, Service availability, discusses what is understood by service availability and suggests ways to increase the availability with clustering, virtualization and features provided by the SafeCom products. Chapter 5, Design guidelines, provides information and guidelines on number of servers required, their disk space requirements, etc. Chapter 6, Database, contains information useful for the database administrator (DBA). Chapter 7, Service management, describes how to manage the solution, including maintenance and updates. Chapter 8, Security, describes use of encryption and how data is otherwise protected. Chapter 9, Devices, describes how SafeCom Smart Printing is achieved at the printer and multi function printer (MFP). 1.8 Document history evision D Updated to reflect SafeCom G3 Server version S *03. Sizing information updated to reflect 64-bit support (5.2.3). evision D Update to section on Database backup (6.12). evision D Update to section on SafeCom components (2.4). Using SafeCom Print Client on a print server (5.2). Updated to reflect that SQL Server 2000 is not supported. D

9 2 Solution components 2 Solution components 2.1 Introduction A SafeCom Smart Printing solution is comprised of a database and SafeCom server, client and optional device software and hardware. The components are described in the following. 2.2 Components overview 2.3 Database component Figure 1 SafeCom solution components overview. Database. A SafeCom server depends on the availability of its database. In most cases the provided SQL Server Express database can be used. In a solution with multiple SafeCom servers the master SQL server must run Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or D

10 2 Solution components 2.4 SafeCom components SafeCom Go offers user authentication at the device and integrates with the touch-screen control panel on selected multi function printers (MFPs) from Canon, Fuji Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Océ, icoh, Samsung, Sharp and Xerox. Authentication by card is possible by connecting a SafeCom ID Device (card reader). SafeCom P:Go offers user authentication at single function printers and is typically used to print all documents at login. SafeCom Controller/SafeCom Color Front-end (combined touch-screen and card reader) is the printer manufacturer independent, external solution that is used for devices not supported by SafeCom Go nor SafeCom P:Go. SafeCom Device Server is a web server based component that is used to offer SafeCom Go functionality on selected devices from Fuji Xerox, Konica Minolta, Océ, Sharp, Xerox and other vendors. It uses SOAP and XML to communicate with the device. No SafeCom software is installed on the device. SafeCom G4 is the server software that comes with a database (SQL Server Express) for storing user and tracking information. Users are added to the database the first time they print, but they can also be imported from for example Active Directory. If SafeCom G4 runs in a multi-server installation a stand-alone Microsoft SQL database is required. SafeCom Administrator is the application that is used to configure and administrate the SafeCom solution, including remotely updating SafeCom software on devices. SafeCom eports is used to generate cost and environmental savings reports based on tracking data collected for printed, copied and deleted documents. Use it to report. SafeCom Web Interface offers users self-service through a web browser. Users can delete or retain documents etc. The web interface runs on Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). SafeCom Port Configurator is used to conveniently convert direct TCP/IP printers on a print server into Push printers and thus allow tracking of documents sent directly to devices. The printers can be reverted to TCP/IP printers if required. D

11 2 Solution components SafeCom Push Port is a port monitor that tracks directly printed documents. SafeCom Pull Port is a port monitor that tracks and stores users documents. Documents are stored on the SafeCom server. With SafeCom Print Client documents can optionally be stored on the hard disk drive of users computers or on a print server. SafeCom Print Client allows documents to be stored on the hard disk drive of the computer on which it is installed. SafeCom Application Print is used for Push and Pull print in order to: Prompt for user logon, Ask users to confirm print job, Select billing code and Show job price. It interacts with the Print Spooler, the SafeCom Pull Port, SafeCom Push Port and calls SafeCom PopUp to show dialogs to the user. 2.5 SafeCom Pay components The following components are relevant for solutions where users pay for print and copy service. SafeCom Administrator the application that is used to add (deposit) or subtract (withdraw) credits (money) from the user s account. SafeCom epay allows users to transfer money from their bank account to their SafeCom account via the Internet. SafeCom Money Loader is a steel cabinet (safe) equipped with touchscreen, receipt printer, a note acceptor and a coin acceptor. Allow users to deposit cash money to their SafeCom account without the presence of staff. 2.6 SafeCom APIs In addition to being a modular solution, the SafeCom Smart Printing solution also features a number of optional Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). SafeCom Administrator API (option) is an XML-based tool that makes it possible to integrate your SafeCom Smart Printing solution with other systems, manipulate multiple users in one go, and automate administrative tasks. SafeCom Batch Print API (option) is an XML-based tool used to integrate the SafeCom solution with other systems, such as document archiving systems. D

12 2 Solution components 2.7 SafeCom Service and other services SafeCom Service The SafeCom Service (scsafecomservice.exe) launches the required SafeCom processes (scbroadcastserver.exe, scjobserver.exe, scmoneyserver.exe and sctrackingserver.exe). SafeCom Device Server The SafeCom Device Server (scdeviceserver.exe) launches the SafeCom Device Server. SQLAgent The Microsoft SQL Server Agent handles the replication from the SQL master server to the SafeCom slave servers. MSSQL The Microsoft SQL Server runs the database. Print Spooler The Microsoft Print Spooler (spoolsv.exe) loads files to memory for later printing. 2.8 UML component diagrams SafeCom server and Pull Print print queue Windows Print Spooler print job transfer SafeCom Pull Port manage solution SafeCom Administrator print job storage user authentication, job info system configuration SafeCom Server print job storage user authentication, job info, tracking data access Microsoft SQL Server SafeCom-enabled printer / MFP Figure 2 SafeCom server and Pull Print UML component diagram. D

13 2 Solution components SafeCom server and SQL server details SafeCom Server Microsoft SQL Server component discover scbroadcastserver user authentication print job info print job storage scjobserver sccore database job tracking sctrackingserver tracking data access sctracking database user credit accounting scmoneyserver credit data access scpurse database event and audit logging sceventlog event log data access scevent database Figure 3 SafeCom server and SQL server UML component diagram. D

14 2 Solution components 2.9 License structure Servers and computers in the solution must have appropriate licenses from Microsoft etc. Licensing of SafeCom Smart Printing products is handled through a license key on the SafeCom master server. The license key is linked to the computer name (or cluster name) and contains the maintenance expiry date. Through the license key it is possible to enable and disable features on both servers and devices. The SafeCom Smart Printing license structure is organized as follows: Server features (2.9.1) Devices (2.9.2) Device features (2.9.3) The SafeCom Smart Printing license structure at a glance: Server features Devices Device features Enterprise server Cluster support API SafeCom epay Disaster ecovery SafeCom Go Solution for MFPs SafeCom P:Go Solution for printers Tracking ule Based Printing Client Billing Direct Print Tracker, ule Based Printing and Pay SafeCom Controller External solution Pay Pull Print Server features A single-server solution requires a SafeCom Advanced Server license (free of charge). With a SafeCom Enterprise Server license the solution can be expanded to include multiple servers. A solution with multiple servers requires a licensed Microsoft SQL Server that can act as SQL master server (3.4). In addition the use job data logon feature can be used to extract the logon of the user when printing from SAP or other applications that may use a generic user account for printing. A SafeCom Cluster Server license allows clustering of servers already covered by the license. In other words this is a per solution license and not a per server license. The following SafeCom licenses are also per solution licenses that can be used on as many servers as you like within the solution: D

15 2 Solution components API SafeCom epay Disaster ecovery Direct Print Tracker, ule Based Printing, and Pay Devices For each device a license is required. Licenses are not linked to physical devices. Instead, licenses are linked to device types: SafeCom Go SafeCom device software that integrates with the touch-screen control panel of MFPs to offer authentication, access control and Pull Print on MFPs from: Canon, Fuji Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Océ, icoh, Samsung, Sharp and Xerox. SafeCom P:Go SafeCom device software for printers from: HP, Lexmark and icoh. SafeCom Controller The external solution. Note: SafeCom Go for Canon requires a Canon MEAP License. SafeCom Go for HP Color LaserJet CM8050 MFP and CM8060 MFP require an HP High-end License Device features Each SafeCom provided feature on the device is license controlled. Licenses are not linked to the physical device. Authentication is possible at the device without any additional device features being enabled. SafeCom Tracking is a prerequisite for: SafeCom ule Based Printing, SafeCom Client Billing and SafeCom Pay. SafeCom Pull Print is a prerequisite for: SafeCom Encryption. D

16 3 Multiserver concept 3 Multiserver concept 3.1 Introduction This chapter describes the SafeCom multiserver concepts: SafeCom master server (3.3), SQL master server (3.4), SafeCom slave server (3.5), SafeCom home server (3.6) and Print server (3.7). It is important to understand these concepts before proceeding to chapter 4 Service availability. 3.2 Multi server overview SafeCom Master SQL Master The entire configuration is replicated (6.2) to the SafeCom slave servers. SafeCom Slave SafeCom Slave SQL eplication SafeCom Slave Clustered This way all the SafeCom servers have the complete configuration, including the network details of each other, and can communicate directly rather than having to rely on the SafeCom master server. MSDE MSDE 1 to N SafeCom Slaves MSDE Figure 4 SafeCom multi server solution with SQL replication. The SafeCom slave server uses the provided database SQL Server Express. Because the database subscribes to the SQL master server, no involvement of a database administrator (DBA) is required. 3.3 SafeCom master server The SafeCom master server is the administrative server and normally it does not host any printers. The SafeCom master server MUST use an SQL master server (3.4) as it relies on the replication facilities of this. The SafeCom master server deals with: Import of users: Users can be imported on a scheduled basis from Active Directory (AD), Novel edir, LDAP server, CSV file or XML file. Collection of tracking data from the SafeCom slave servers. Home server (3.6) for Administrators, Technicians and Cashier users within the SafeCom solution. D

17 3 Multiserver concept 3.4 SQL master server The SQL master server must run Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or 2005 (license from Microsoft is required). The SQL server can reside on the same server as the SafeCom master server or on a separate server or in an SQL farm. Tasks performed by the SQL master server: Master configuration; stores and replicates configuration data to all SafeCom slave servers. Tracking data; stores the collected tracking data. Credit data; in a pay solution it stores user accounts (credits). 3.5 SafeCom slave server The SafeCom slave server acts as: Print server: It hosts the shared SafeCom Pull Printers and SafeCom Push Printers. Document storage: For Pull Print the users documents are stored and encrypted on the slave server. With SafeCom G4 the documents can instead be stored on users computers. Home server (3.6) for standard users. it handles authentication, tracking, storing and printing of Pull Print documents. 3.6 SafeCom home server Each user is automatically assigned to a home server, typically one of the SafeCom slave servers (3.5). The home server performs these tasks: Authentication. When a user logs in to one of the SafeCom components the SafeCom system will redirect the user to the home server for authentication. Tracking data (local). Whenever the user performs a job (print, copy or scan) a tracking record is created. Tracking data is subsequently collected on a scheduled basis by the SafeCom master server and thereafter deleted from the home server. Document list. For Pull Print the list of the user s documents is maintained on the home server. Whenever the user submits or collects a Pull Print document the list of documents is updated. The list contains references to where the documents are stored. Document storage. For Pull Print the user s documents are stored encrypted on the home server. With SafeCom Print Client the documents can instead be stored on users computers or on a print server. D

18 3 Multiserver concept 3.7 Print server The print processing task of SafeCom Push printers can be off-loaded to ordinary Windows print servers by installing the SafeCom Push Port on the print server and then creating the SafeCom Push printers and have them reference one of the SafeCom slave servers. 3.8 What happens if servers or network connections are down? If the SafeCom master server and/or SQL master server is down it is not possible to make any configuration changes (Administrators cannot log in to SafeCom Administrator). However, users with home server on one of the SafeCom slaves will still be able to log in and print. If a SafeCom server is down users who have the SafeCom server as their home server (3.6) cannot log in. However, push printers that are configured to allow printing at all times, can still be used on the servers running. SafeCom servers which are still running will continue to serve the users who have those servers as their home server. Additional resilience can be achieved by specifying a prioritized list of failover servers (4.3.2) that users should be moved to in the event that their home server becomes unavailable. If the network is partly down, printing on and roaming between servers is possible provided the servers can still communicate with each other (meaning that they are not affected by the part of the network that is down). If the network is completely down nothing is possible until the network is up again. 3.9 Offline and online tracking SafeCom Tracking solutions with multiple servers can be configured to use: Offline tracking (recommended) Tracking data is stored locally on the SafeCom slave server to allow subsequent scheduled collection by the SafeCom master server. It is recommended to use Offline tracking as it will allow Tracking users on the SafeCom slaves to continue printing if/when the SafeCom master server is unavailable. Offline tracking has the additional benefit that the Tracking database on the SafeCom slave is automatically emptied every time the SafeCom master server has collected the tracking data. Online tracking SafeCom slave servers continuously report tracking data to the SafeCom master server. D

19 4 Service availability 4 Service availability 4.1 Introduction Like with any other IT system it cannot be guaranteed that printing is always available. A SafeCom Smart Printing solution depends on the stability of the company network, devices and computers, especially the hard disks. However, in some aspects Pull Print offers a more redundant printing solution, because if a device is down users can walk to another device, log in and collect their documents. In general one should apply the same measures taken to ensure availability of Windows print servers and Windows domain controllers. Typical technologies that can be applied to reduce risk of failure are: Hard disks use AID or similar technology. Network connections are duplicated. Microsoft Cluster Service (4.4). Virtualization (4.5). 4.2 What is service availability? When designing a print solution it is important to agree what the expected level of service availability should be as this will impact the design. It is not enough to demand an uptime of around 99.85% without also agreeing on what is understood by uptime and service availability. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) do not come for free, and the higher degree of uptime and shorter response time the more it is going to cost. It is therefore important to make a balanced decision. Service availability has been and remains an important design criterion for SafeCom products. In some organizations printing is mission critical, print servers are clustered and there is managed print service with well-defined SLAs. In other organizations print servers are running on secondary hardware and there is no backup or disaster recovery process in place and if a printer is out of toner or defect there is no defined process for getting it up and running again. Customers that consider enhancing their print solution with SafeCom Smart Printing are often doing this as part of a print fleet or infrastructure renewal project and/or because they are moving to a new location. Introducing SafeCom Smart Printing centralizes the print service and introduces dependencies on the availability of SafeCom servers and databases. This can potentially increase the risk of users being unable to print. However, this risk can be minimized and the methods for doing this are discussed in the following. D

20 4 Service availability 4.3 Questions on service availability Use the below questions to identify what is understood in regards to service availability. efer to the section number in the column to the right for input to a resolution. No Question ef. Q1 If a user cannot use the MFP/printer he is normally using would it be ok for the user to use another MFP/printer during the device downtime? (4.3.1) Q2 If a user cannot log in at a device would it be ok if he is moved to another server during the server downtime and has to reprint the documents? (4.3.2) Q3 If a user cannot Pull Print would it be ok if as an alternative he could print directly to another printer during the server downtime? (4.3.3) Q4 If a user needs to copy and scan at an MFP, but cannot log in at the MFP, would it be ok if the access control for these functions would be disabled during the server downtime? (4.3.4) Q5 In a pay solution would it be ok to allow a user to print and copy without being charged during the downtime of the money server? (4.3.5) Q6 In a tracking solution would it be ok to allow a user to print and copy without being able to track the jobs during the downtime of the tracking server? (4.3.6) Q7 What is the SLA for an MFP/printer if the problem is limited to that particular device? (4.3.7) Q8 What is the SLA for a centralized print solution if a single server is down and what is it if all servers are down? (4.3.8) D

21 4 Service availability Device resilience with Pull Print If a SafeCom-enabled device is out of toner or paper or otherwise broken, the user can log in to another SafeCom-enabled device to collect his documents. There is no need to return print the documents again to another printer. The SafeCom-enabled device can reference multiple SafeCom servers and if the first SafeCom server on the list is unavailable the device will try the next one Failover server concept Additional resilience can be achieved by specifying a prioritized list of servers that users should be moved to in the event that their home server (3.6) becomes unavailable. It is a prerequisite that the SafeCom master server and the SQL master server are available. Users with special rights are not moved as they always have the SafeCom master server as their home server. The user s home server will automatically be reset to the original one when the original home server is available again. To avoid excess network load pending documents are not moved when the user s home server change. Users therefore have to submit their documents for printing again Direct print as an alternative The process of Pull Printing involves two processes: Submitting the document for print. Logging in at the device to collect the document. In both cases the user s home server (3.6) MUST be running. In addition the server hosting the shared SafeCom Pull Printer must also be running. To maintain availability of print service, perhaps on selected devices only, direct print can be offered to users as an alternative. The print queues can use the SafeCom Push Port, which by default will allow users to print even if it cannot deliver tracking data to the user s home server. The Standard TCP/IP port can also be used instead of the SafeCom Push Port. Both the SafeCom Pull Port and SafeCom Push Port can reference multiple SafeCom servers and if the first SafeCom server on the list is unavailable it will try the next one. This feature can be used to give extra resilience when the ports are installed on Print servers (3.7) or clients. D

22 4 Service availability Disable access control on MFPs In addition to applying the failover server concept (4.3.2) it is also possible on selected MFPs to disable access control to allow users to copy and scan during server downtime. The process for doing this is device dependent and should be done using scripts if possible, so it can happen quickly when required Money server is down Pay users can be allowed to print and log in at devices even if it is not possible to charge the user for the jobs produced Tracking server is down Tracking users can be allowed to print and log in at devices even if it is not possible to track the jobs produced by the user Device SLA If a device requires SafeCom supplied hardware it is recommended to order extra spares, to make replacements viablewithin the SLA Server SLA If the SLA indicates that printing is mission critical it is a good idea to use Microsoft Cluster Service (4.4) to further ensure printing service availability. D

23 4 Service availability 4.4 Clustering The SafeCom server and the SafeCom printers on Windows 2008 and 2003 are cluster-aware (requires a SafeCom Cluster Server license). The SafeCom server supports Active-Passive server. If a node in the failover cluster goes down another one takes over. This gives unprecedented high availability. efer to microsoft.com for additional information on hardware and software requirements. 4.5 Virtualization Virtualization software, such as Microsoft Virtual Server and VMware, is supported as long as it supports the operating system. The underlying physical computer hardware and storage area network (SAN) can be distributed across two or more data centers provided there is a fast and resilient network connection (fiber) between the centers. 4.6 SQL database mirroring SafeCom Master Principal server SQL Master SQL Mirroring Mirror server SQL Master SQL database mirroring requires SQL Server 2005 SP2 or later. SQL eplication SQL Faster disaster recovery is possible by mirroring the SQL master server, as no backedup copies would need to be retrieved and restored. SafeCom Slave SafeCom Slave SafeCom Slave Clustered MSDE MSDE MSDE 1 to N SafeCom Slaves Figure 5 SQL database mirroring D

24 4 Service availability 4.7 Backup process It is recommended to put in place a backup and restore process for the SafeCom solution. With well-defined and tested processes it is possible to reduce the downtime. Data that should be backed up include: SafeCom databases (6.12 and 6.13) Printer configurations Any customized SafeCom files SafeCom Windows registry settings The SafeCom G4 Administrator s Manual D60650 has additional information on the backup process. 4.8 Disaster recovery Disaster recovery is described in the SafeCom G4 Enterprise Disaster ecovery Manual D60622 and covers the following situations: SafeCom master server is lost. SQL master server is lost and mirroring is used. SQL master server is lost. SafeCom slave server is lost. using disaster recovery requires purchase of SafeCom D License, Enterprise (p/n ) and use of provided SQL scripts. D

25 5 Design guidelines 5 Design guidelines 5.1 Introduction With the concepts explained in the previous chapters and guidelines given in this chapter it should be possible to find the answers to these questions: How many servers are required? How powerful should the servers be? How much disk space is required for print jobs and databases? 5.2 Locally stored versus server stored documents SafeCom G4 server offers three ways of storing Pull Print documents: Locally stored documents (5.2.1) SafeCom Print Client software and local printer is installed on the user s computer. When a user prints, the document is stored on the user computer s local hard disk drive. Since print processing is offloaded to the user computer the SafeCom server does not act as print server, but as authentication and tracking server. SafeCom server stored documents (5.2.2) The SafeCom server acts as a print server, authentication and tracking server and hosts shared printers. When the user prints, the document is transferred to the user s home server. Documents remain on the server until collected or deleted. Print server stored documents (5.2.2) The SafeCom Print Client software is installed on the print server and printers are shared. When the user prints, the document is transferred to the print server and the user s list of pending documents is updated on the user s home server. Documents remain on the print server until collected or deleted. Corporate Network Corporate Network SafeCom Server SafeCom Server DB DB Branch network Branch network Print Server Control data Control data Control data Control data SafeCom Print Client SafeCom Print Client SafeCom-enabled printer / MFP SafeCom-enabled printer / MFP Print data Print data Figure 6 Locally stored documents Figure 7 Print server stored documents D

26 5 Design guidelines When to store documents locally? The design goals below can be achieved by using users computers to run SafeCom software and store Pull Print documents. Print server consolidation A SafeCom Smart Printing solution is not a server-free solution, because as a minimum one SafeCom server is required to manage the solution. However, the number of SafeCom servers and print servers can be reduced as print processing is offloaded to users computers. educed network bandwidth load By storing documents on users computers, print related traffic is reduced by 50% as documents travel the network only once. Pull print offering in remote sites emote sites may be subject to the following constraints: o A) Limited network bandwidth and B) No dedicated print server on site. By installing SafeCom software on the users computers Pull Print can be made available to users in remote sites. The limited bandwidth can be secured by restricting the flow of print data with the branch concept (5.4) When to store documents on server? The design goals below can be achieved by installing SafeCom software on servers. Centralized print solution Printing takes place on shared network printers. In most cases there is no need to install SafeCom software or local printers on users computers. Collect documents when computer is offline Since documents are stored on the server, users computers do not need to be available for users to be able to collect documents. D

27 5 Design guidelines Comparison and sizing Use the table below to compare the two methods of storing documents. Client installation: Locally stored documents Yes (5.5) Print via local printer Sizing 32-bit: 8 M pages per month per server 800 devices per server Client installation: Server stored documents No Print via shared printer Sizing 32-bit and 64-bit: 3 M pages per month per server 300 Pull print devices per server Sizing 64-bit: 12 M pages per month per server 1500 devices per server Network travel: One time When a user collects his document it is transferred to the device from the user s computer Submit print, online dependency: SafeCom master server if user has not printed before User s computer User s home server Collect print, online dependency: User s home server and user s computer Network travel: Two times When a user prints, his document is transferred to the server hosting the shared print queue. When the user collects his document it is transferred to the device from the server Submit print, online dependency: SafeCom master server if user has not printed before User s computer User s home server Server with the shared printer Collect print, online dependency: User s home server and server where the document is stored Note: The sizing information is only a rule of thumb and assumes use of contemporary (anno 2012) computer hardware. Several factors influence the sizing, such as CPU, I/O, AM, network bandwidth and concurrency, that is, how many users will be printing at the same time. On 32-bit systems the number of concurrent connections (5.3) is likely to be the limiting factor. If D

28 5 Design guidelines you have a users per device ratio of for example 15, then you can use this to convert number of devices into number of users (300 devices = 4500 users). 5.3 Concurrent connections, 32-bit versus 64-bit On identical computer hardware there is no performance increase in using 64- bit instead of 32-bit. On 64-bit, Windows OS always use the 64-bit edition of SafeCom G4 Server, as using the 32-bit edition somewhat decreases performance. Note: It is recommended to use the 64-bit edition of SafeCom G4 Server on 64- bit Windows OS. A 32-bit SafeCom G4 server can handle about 2000 concurrent connections. By using 64-bit the amount of concurrent connections that a server can handle increases ten-fold to Each connection (or thread) occupies approximately 1 MB AM. SafeCom components Fixed per connected component Connections used by SafeCom server Extra per concurrent user login Extra per concurrent print job SafeCom Slave Server SafeCom Print Server SafeCom Print Client SafeCom-enabled MFP or printer SafeCom Device Server SafeCom Web Interface With 64-bit the individual SafeCom G4 Server processes are no longer limited to 2 GB AM working set only, but can take full advantage of the available AM. 1 SafeCom Print Server. A computer with SafeCom Pull and/or SafeCom Push printers. 2 SafeCom Print Client. It is assumed that the SafeCom Pull Port is referencing localhost (SafeCom Print Client) and not a SafeCom Server. 3 SafeCom Device Server uses multiplexing and will open one physical connection for every 50 devices. D

29 5 Design guidelines 5.4 Branch concept Corporate Network SafeCom Master SQL Master Clustered SQL In SafeCom Administrator it is possible to define branches and associate devices and computers to these. SafeCom Slave SafeCom Slave SafeCom Slave Branches are used to ensure that devices within the branch only allow collection of documents from computers that belong to the same branch. DB DB DB Branch network Control data Control data By keeping print jobs within the branch network and on users computers until users log in at the device, bandwidth load is reduced. SafeCom Print Client SafeCom-enabled printer / MFP Print data Sample bandwidth calculation A branch that prints 30 jobs an hour would approximately produce between KB per hour of control data. A branch with a bandwidth of 56 Kbps can handle 7 KB per second (25200 KB per hour). In this case SafeCom control data uses 1% of the bandwidth. The expected control data bandwidth use is as follows: Job submission: 3 KB of control data from the computer to the server (print data stored locally at computer). Job collection at the device: Control data from device to the server. Print data is transferred from computer to device: 3 KB per login session KB per job. 0.1 KB per scanned page. 0.1 KB per pull printed page if Post Tracking is enabled. Post tracking can be enabled on selected devices and allows the tracking data to be adjusted based on what was actually printed on the device. Keep alive: 0.5 KB of control data per keep alive signal between device and server (every 60 seconds). D

30 5 Design guidelines 5.5 SafeCom Print Client installation The SafeCom G4 software features a command line interface that allows installation and configuration of the SafeCom Print Client. Updating the SafeCom software does not require first uninstalling the existing version and then installing the new version. This gives the customer s IT department the flexibility to further customize the installation for example by using Microsoft Windows PowerShell to add/modify the Windows print queues on the computer and to install printer drivers. 5.6 Client requirements Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2. Clients running Citrix and Windows Terminal Service (WTS). 1 GHz CPU and 1 GB AM or more (minimum 2 GB AM if 64-bit). 1 GB free disk space (or more depending on the amount of printing). TCP/IP protocol installed and configured. 5.7 Server requirements SafeCom Server Windows 2008/ and 2003 SP2 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). For demo purposes the SafeCom server can also run on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2. Virtualization software, such as Microsoft Virtual Server and VMware, is supported as long as the virtualization software supports the operating system. 1.4 GHz CPU (recommended 2 GHz or faster) and 2 GB AM or more. To take advantage of 4 GB or more physical memory it is necessary to enable PAE X86 (Physical Address Extension) on 32-bit Windows systems. efer to microsoft.com. 5 GB or more to allow database growth. TCP/IP protocol installed and configured. SafeCom license key code. Database Microsoft SQL Server Express is distributed with the software and EQUIES Microsoft.Net Framework 3.5 SP1 and Windows Installer 4.5. Please visit microsoft.com to download and install these prior to the installation of SafeCom G4. In a SafeCom multiserver installation the SQL master server must run Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or It must be licensed and installed (including replication option). D

31 5 Design guidelines Note: These requirements are guidelines for configuring the SafeCom servers (CPU, AM and disk space). The load on the system is very difficult to predict since it depends on various things, including number, size and type of documents to be printed, printer driver, number and types of printers, number of users etc. Additional requirements for SQL master server: Microsoft SQL is quite memory intensive and requires at least 2 GB AM. The network connection between the SQL server and the SafeCom server must be fast and reliable. Otherwise login times at devices may exceed the expected 2-5 seconds (depending on network and server load). 5.8 Print from other systems Even though the SafeCom solution is a Windows-based printing solution, it is possible to print from other systems, such as Apple, UNIX and mainframe. In general this is done by defining an LP/LPD printer that prints to the shared SafeCom Pull or Push Printer on the Windows server. If the user logon on Windows differs from the one on the other system, then the user logon on the other system can be added as an alias for the user. D

32 7 Service management 6 Database 6.1 Introduction The SafeCom server software use Microsoft SQL databases to store configuration data. The databases are typically installed on the SafeCom server, but the databases can reside on a separate server or in a Microsoft SQL farm. 6.2 The four databases SafeCom Job Database Database: sccore Backup file: sccore.bak SQL ODBC DSN name: sccoremssql Used by scjobserver.exe and scjobserver64.exe Tables are listed in section SafeCom Event Log Database: scevent Backup file: scevent.bak SQL ODBC DSN name: sceventmssql Used by scevent.dll Tables are listed in section SafeCom Money Database Database: scpurse Backup file: scpurse.bak SQL ODBC DSN name: scpursemssql Used by scmoneyserver.exe and scmoneyserver64.exe Tables are listed in section SafeCom Tracking Database Database: sctracking Backup file: sctracking.bak SQL ODBC DSN name: sctrackingmssql Used by sctrackingserver.exe and sctrackingserver64.exe Tables are listed in section D

33 7 Service management 6.3 Database tables Tables in sccore Tables in sccore scaliases scbillingcodes scbillingcomb 4 scbillingconfig 5 scbillingfavorites scbillinglastused scbillinguserinfo scbopcinfo 6 scbranchinfo 7 sccardinfo 8 scdatabaseinfo scdeviceinfo scdomaininfo scgroupinfo scgroupmembers scgroupbpule scjobinfo scmainsettings scmasterserverversion scpathinfo scpricescheme scprinterinfo scbpaction scbpcondition scbpjobaction scbpuleinfo scscheduleinfo 9 scserverinfo scserversettings scservertemp scstatisticsinfo sctreeview scuserinfo scuserinfolocal eplicated 4 scbillingcomb was introduced in SafeCom G3 Server version S *01 5 scbillingconfig was introduced in SafeCom G3 Server version S *01 6 scbopcinfo was introduced in SafeCom G3 Server version S *01 7 scbanchinfo was introduced in SafeCom G3 Server version S *01 8 sccardinfo was introduced in SafeCom G2 Server version S *02 9 scscheduleinfo was introduced in SafeCom G2 Server version S *03 D

34 7 Service management Tables in scevent Tables in scevent scdatabaseinfo sceventlog Tables in scpurse Tables in scpurse scdatabaseinfo scpayticket sctransaction sctransactioncount Tables in sctracking Tables in sctracking scaggsavings scbillingtracking scmoneyloadertracking scesourcetransform scsanitytracking sctracking sctrackingcounters sctrackingexport D

35 7 Service management 6.4 SQL replication A SafeCom multiserver solution consists of one SafeCom master server and one or more SafeCom slave servers. The SafeCom master server relies on the replication capabilities of its Microsoft SQL Server to ensure that all SafeCom slave servers databases are up-to-date at all times. The replication is transactional, meaning that only incremental changes are replicated: The transactional replication will only involve what is changed within the individual record and not the entire record. When a SafeCom slave is added, a snapshot is generated and replicated to the SafeCom slave database. The size of the snapshot depends on the number of users (0.5Kb / user) and devices (0.5Kb / device). The SafeCom slave servers can use the free Microsoft SQL Server Express; it is not required to run a licensed Microsoft SQL Server. Note: It is very IMPOTANT that SQL replication is working at all times and is not set to expire. It is highly recommended to use the SQL 2008 and 2005 alerting capabilities to notify you when/if the replication stops. The SafeCom event log will also log these two events: Abstract: eplication error Severity: 2 Description: eplication possible stopped at yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss Abstract: eplication running Severity: 5 Description: eplication possible started at yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss D

36 7 Service management 6.5 SQL users and rights If wanting use another SQL database than the supplied SQL Server Express database a temporary SQL safecominstall user must be created in advance. The SQL safecominstall user MUST have sysadmin rights, as it is required to create the databases and the SQL safecom user with sysadmin rights that is used for subsequent login. The SafeCom software automatically gives the SQL safecom user a password that is based on the SafeCom server name. The password complies with Windows password complexity policies. Clear Enforce password policy as forgetting to do this will prevent the solution from working when the password is up for renewal. The SafeCom Service will automatically create the SafeCom databases in the Microsoft SQL Server the next time the SafeCom Service is restarted. The SQL safecom user MUST have sysadmin rights to: Add or delete server The SQL safecom user must have sysadmin rights to be able to modify the SQL replication settings. Update software The SQL safecom user must have sysadmin rights to be able to complete the update in case new databases and/or tables need to be created. Note: Though it is possible to limit the rights for the SQL safecom user for day-to-day operation, we do not recommend reducing the rights of the SQL safecom user to less than sysadmin rights. 6.6 Domain user It is recommended to define a domain user on each server of the SafeCom solution. The domain user is used to execute SQL scripts on the SafeCom servers and must be a member of the local administrator group on each of the servers. 6.7 Scripts to manually create the databases If required script files can be used to manually create the databases. The *.scs files are included in the distribution and further instructions are available in SafeCom G4 Administrator s Manual D Tracking solutions In tracking solutions, the tracking database (1) will usually grow to a significant size, whereas the job database (1) only grows slowly. The size of the job database depends on the number of users and devices. For each job tracked by D