Seagate Info Architecture Planning and Deployment for ASPs

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1 Seagate Info Architecture Planning and Deployment for ASPs Overview Contents This document is a guide to help customers prepare for their implementation of Seagate Info. It helps you to successfully implement a Seagate Info deployment by assisting you with your architectural planning. Also, this document presents general guidelines for common Seagate Info configurations. You should read this document if you are a Seagate Info administrator or project manager. This document applies to Seagate Info version 7. INTRODUCTION...2 SEAGATE INFO COMPONENT OVERVIEW...3 The Client Tier... 3 The Intelligent Tier... 4 The Processing Tier... 5 PLANNING FOR DEPLOYMENT...6 General... 6 General Settings...6 Configuration 1: Very Small Deployment... 7 Configuration 2: Small Configuration... 7 Configuration 3: Small-Medium Configuration... 8 Larger Deployments... 9 APPENDIX A: INFO INSTALLATION CHECKLIST /25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 1

2 Introduction This document is a guide to help customers prepare for their implementation of Seagate Info. It includes the following sections: An overview of the various components that comprise a Seagate Info installation An illustration of common Seagate Info configurations in use today An installation checklist for the required Seagate Info back end components An installation guide for optional Seagate Info components Seagate Info s architecture is designed for powerful scalability and flexibility. A consequence of this flexibility and scalability is that there are numerous ways in which an organization can configure a Seagate Info system. This document will help you to successfully implement a Seagate Info deployment by assisting you with your architectural planning. There is no single correct or perfect design of a Seagate Info system. Designing the system is an iterative process. Your Seagate Info implementation will require continual fine-tuning as your organization grows and Seagate Info utilization increases. The optimal results can only be achieved through a thorough understanding of your organization and its business processes. In general, the appropriate Seagate Info architectural configuration for an organization is dependent on two criteria: The organization s user requirements Its reporting requirements. Extensive customer interactions have shown that the following information is vital to choosing a suitable architectural configuration: How many users will be on the system? How many will be logged onto the system at the same time? What will the users be doing? Who needs the capability to design reports, who needs to schedule reports, who needs to modify the desktop, who needs OLAP cubes and who needs to simply view reports? Where are the users located? Are they concentrated at a single location or are they accessing the system remotely? In addition to the user needs the administrator also needs to understand the organization s reporting requirements, such as: 1. How many reports do you expect to have? 2. How frequently will the reports be scheduled? This document will present general guidelines for common Seagate Info configurations. For more detailed information please see the Seagate Info Getting Started Guide, the Seagate Info Administrator s Guide and the Seagate Info Technical Guide. Custom installation services can be purchased from Crystal Decisions by contacting your sales representative. 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 2

Seagate Info Component Overview Crystal has a multi-tier architecture. This makes it easy for system administrators to: Scale the system. As your organization s needs evolve, Seagate Info can adapt.

3 Seagate Info Component Overview Crystal has a multi-tier architecture. This makes it easy for system administrators to: Scale the system. As your organization s needs evolve, Seagate Info can adapt. System resources can be added incrementally to support more users, decrease response time, and provide increased stability and availability. Manage the system. Seagate Info delivers an integrated set of administrative and monitoring tools. Seagate Info client access can also be deployed on a number of platforms, including thin-client web access and MS Outlook integration. Implement a reliable system. Seagate Info components can be clustered to add redundancy, mirroring and off-loading capabilities. The three primary tiers in a Seagate Info system can be classified as the Client Tier, the Intelligent Tier, and the Processing Tier. The Client Tier The client tier is the primary interface for end users. This tier consists of the range of Info Desktops and the associated servers. There are a number of Info Desktops, each tailored to the different needs of the various end users in the organization. In an ASP environment, end users will use the Info Desktop (via Citrix) for report design and the Info WebAccess Desktop for all other client functions. A description of each follows: Info Desktop (Windows). This component is installed on end users desktops. It is appropriate for users who need to access all of Seagate Info s capabilities. That is, users who need to organize, schedule and analyze queries, reports, report packages and OLAP cubes; design reports, queries, SQL scripts and OLAP cubes; and manage and modify the workspace, including manipulating folders and defining security and permissions. The Info Windows Desktop is available for MS Windows and MS Windows NT 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 3

4 platforms. Info WebAccess Desktop. The Info WebAccess Desktops includes the Info Desktop for Java and the Info Desktop for HTML. These components allow end users to schedule and analyze reports, queries and cube instances from a web browser. The Info Desktop for HTML displays the Info Desktop within the browser window, while the Info Desktop for Java provides an interface similar to the Info Desktop for Windows. Since the WebAccess Desktop is browserbased, no client software beyond a web browser is necessary. The Info Web Access desktop also allows end users to customize the desktop and use the Info Channels feature, which can be used to push reports and queries to a Seagate Info Channel available in a browser. The Info WebAccess desktops use the Info WebAccess Server to communicate with the Seagate Info system. The Intelligent Tier The Intelligent Tier consists of the Info Automated Process Scheduler (APS), the Info Administrator, Veritas Manage Exec and Veritas Backup Exec. The Info APS acts as the gatekeeper for all clients. All Seagate Info system activity is monitored and controlled by the APS. The APS handles user authentication, manages all user requests, coordinates Info Server activity, manages report result files, and manages configuration and scheduling information. APS machines can be clustered to distribute the workload evenly across a number of machines, and provide fault-tolerance and fail-over support. The Info APS component runs on a MS Windows or Windows NT platform. The Info Administrator is the primary administrative interface for the Seagate Info system. User Groups, Users, Info Servers, Classes, Calendars and Security are all defined through this utility. The Info Administrator must be connected to an APS. It can run on a MS Windows or Windows NT platform. Veritas s Manage Exec is a powerful, simple, scalable solution for managing the behavior of heterogeneous networks worldwide from one central location. Manage Exec automatically monitors, analyzes and reports on installed Seagate Info servers, establishes profiles of normal server and application behavior and proactively sends alerts when these policies are broken. For more information about Manage Exec, please contact Veritas. Veritas s Backup Exec enhances the Seagate Info back-up capabilities. Backup Exec simplifies and automates back-up procedures for Seagate Info. It features advanced device and media management, enhanced performance, Intelligent Disaster Recovery, monitoring, notification, reporting, and IBM ADSM connectivity. For more information about Backup Exec, please contact Veritas. 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 4

5 The Processing Tier Info Servers are the workhorses of the Seagate Info system and require the most processing power. They are designed to process reports, queries and cube objects, and generate formatted page files for easy viewing. Info Servers can generate the output of their processing in different formats (.xls,.doc,.html, etc.) and can send it to different output locations ( , fax, printers). Seagate Info contains four primary types of Info Server Agents: Report Agents, Info Agents, Analysis Agents and Cube Agents. Report Agents process reports; Info Agents convert RPT formatted reports to EPF and HTML for Page-On- Demand and HTML viewing respectively; Analysis Agents support online ad-hoc queries using Crystal Analysis; and Info Cube Agents process OLAP data and generate multi-dimensional cubes. These different agents can coexist on the same server, or on a number of dedicated servers. It is recommended that Info Servers be physically located as close as possible to the corporate data that they will be reporting from, to minimize the impact on the network. Info Servers can be run in a Windows NT or UNIX environment. 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 5

6 Planning for Deployment This section provides a set of common Seagate Info configuration options to reference when you are planning your deployment. General The general ASP environment consists of a number of clients accessing an ASP data center. Each of the clients has their own dedicated VPN and their own dedicated hardware environment in the data center. The clients can view, drilldown and schedule reports locally via the Info Web Desktop. The clients can design reports locally using a Citrix client that is connected to an Info Designer. Client VPN ASP-NET Client Firewall ASP Firewall ASP client LAN Client network Web Server Client Applications APS/Info Servers Client Client CLIENT-NET Citrix Server General Settings Firewall Settings If firewalls are used in the ASP architecture, they should be configured as below. For more information about Seagate Info and firewalls, please see the Seagate Info Technical Guide. ASP firewall 1. Open up tcp port 1494 to specific Citrix servers 2. If load balancing is used on the Citrix servers then udp port 1604 must be opened as well. Client firewall 1. Open up tcp port 1023 and above to pass to Citrix ICA Clients on the Client side firewall 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 6

7 Citrix Server Installation For detailed instructions on how to install the Citrix Server, please refer to the document Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition with MetaFrame 1.8 Installation. Client Machines End user machines that will be used for designing reports must have the Citrix ICA client installed. All other client machines only need to have a supported web browser installed. Configuration 1: Very Small Deployment The smallest recommended environment is one in which there is one machine used as a web server, an Info APS (with the Info Database on a SQL server), and an Info Server; and another machine is a Citrix metaframe server (used to host the Info Designer and other client applications to be run on Citrix). In this case, the components must be installed in the following order: Info APS with SQL Server, Info Server and IIS Server 1. Install MS Windows NT4 (do not install IIS at this point) 2. Install MS Windows NT4 SP3 3. Install a full version of IE4 SP2 4. Install Option Pack IIS Install NT4 SP4 6. Install MS IE 5 7. Install MS SQL Server 7 8. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2 9. Install the updated JVM from the Seagate Info MR1 CD 10. Install Seagate Info 7 (MR1) 11. Install Citrix ICA client Install NT4 SP5 Configuration 2: Small Configuration The next largest configuration typically consists of separating the Info components from the Web Server. Therefore, there will now be one Web Server machine, one Citrix metaframe server, and one Info APS/Info Server machine. Info APS with SQL Server and Info Server 1. Install NT 4.0 Server (do not install IIS) 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 7

8 2. Install NT 4.0 SP3 3. Install a full version of IE 4 SP2 4. Install NT 4.0 SP4 5. Install IE 5 6. Install SQL 7 Desktop Edition or Standard Edition 7. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2 8. Install the updated JVM from the Info MR1 CD 9. Install Seagate INFO 7 MR1 10. Install NT 4.0 SP5 IIS Standalone Server 1. Install NT 4.0 Server (do not install IIS at this point) 2. Install NT 4.0 SP3 3. Install a full version of IE 4 SP2 4. Install the NT OPTION PACK IIS FrontPage server extensions not recommended. Updated ones can be downloaded from the Microsoft site and installed if needed. 6. Install NT 4.0 SP4 7. Install IE 5 8. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2 9. Install the updated JVM from the MR1 CD 10. Install the Citrix ICA client Install NT 4.0 SP5 Configuration 3: Small-Medium Configuration The next largest configuration would involve separating the Info Server from the APS. Therefore, there would be a Web Server machine, a Citrix metaframe server machine, an Info APS machine and an Info Server machine. Info APS with SQL Server 1. Install NT 4.0 Server (do not install IIS) 2. Install NT 4.0 SP3 3. Install a full copy of IE 4 SP2 4. Install NT 4.0 SP4 5. Install IE5 6. Install SQL 7 Desktop Edition or Standard Edition 7. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 8

9 8. Install the updated JVM from the MR1 CD 9. Install Seagate INFO 7 MR1 Install the APS Server component only 10. Install SP5 Info Server 1. Install NT 4.0 Server (do not install IIS) 2. Install NT 4.0 SP3 3. Install a full copy of IE 4 SP2 4. Install NT 4.0 SP4 5. Install IE5 6. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2 7. Install the updated JVM from the MR1 CD 8. Install Seagate INFO 7 MR1 9. Install SP5 IIS Standalone Server 1. Install NT 4.0 Server (do not install IIS at this time) 2. Install NT 4.0 SP3 3. Install a full copy of IE 4 SP2 4. Install the NT OPTION PACK IIS 4.0 FrontPage server extensions not recommended. Updated ones can be downloaded from the Microsoft site and installed if needed. 5. Install NT 4.0 SP4 6. Install IE 5 7. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2 8. Install the updated JVM from the MR1 CD 9. Install the Citrix ICA client Install NT SP5 Larger Deployments As the Info System grows to support more users and more complex reports, the Info APS should be clustered and more Info Servers should be added. Please see the Seagate Info Administrator s Guide and the Seagate Info Tech Guide for more details. 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 9

10 Appendix A: Info Installation checklist This section contains the lists of options to be installed on the various architectural components when performing a customized installation. Component: APS Machine Install Options: Data Access and Output Format Info Administrator Info APS Info Desktop Component: Info Server Machine Install Options: Data Access and Output Format Info Administrator Info Desktop Info Report Server Component: Workstations for Designing Reports Install Options: Data Access and Output Format Info Desktop Info Report Designer Component: Workstations for Viewing Reports Install Options: Info Desktop (if using the Windows Interface) The information contained in this document represents the best current view of Crystal Decisions on the issues discussed as of the date of publication, but should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Crystal Decisions or a guarantee as to the accuracy of any information presented. This document is for informational purposes only. CRYSTAL DECISIONS MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT. CRYSTAL DECISIONS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OR OBLIGATION ARISING OUT OF THIS DOCUMENT. Copyright 2001 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All rights reserved. Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise, and Crystal Decisions are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Crystal Decisions, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. Specifications and product offerings subject to change without notice. 6/25/2002 3:29 PM Copyright 2002 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 10

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