Multiple Cloud Server instances

In certain scenarios, it may make sense to have multiple cloud server instances in your organization:

• To run a second Vertec instance, for example for a Test Installation .
• To make more resources available for 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 if you are working with large amounts of data and/or many users and want to relieve the cloud server load.

On a second cloud server instance:

• can run, for example, the XML Server, the Phone app or the Task Scheduler.  
• the same services are provided, but the load is distributed across the cloud servers , for example through different URLs or through load balancing.

Setting parameters correctly

If multiple cloud servers are used for the same Vertec instance, note that the different settings in the [Cloud Server] Section of the Vertec.ini files are set correctly:

Notif Server

Notif must be active on exactly one server (Notif Server=True) and must not be activated more than once. At the same
time, the [Notif] Section points to the same Notif server for all cloud servers to synchronize the sessions of the different servers:

Task Scheduler

The Task Scheduler controls whether scheduled tasks are executed, and is True if nothing is specified. However, when running multiple cloud servers, make sure that the task scheduler is only active on one cloud server (Task Scheduler=True) and inactive on the other cloud servers (Task Scheduler=False).

XML Server

The XML Server can run on several Cloud Servers. In order to relieve a loaded XML server, the resources can be controlled with a second Cloud Server: it is possible to place a cloud server on the internet, on which the Phone App runs, and to operate another Cloud Server via LAN, on which the Cloud App and the Web App run.

UISync Server

The Uisync server can run on several Cloud Servers. The interface of the Cloud App and Web App is controlled via the UISync server. If the UISync server is switched off, it is not possible to work with these clients. For example, on a second Cloud Server instance, which is placed on the internet, only the Phone App can be made available to minimize the risk of attack.

Phone App

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

Load distribution (Load Balancing)

With a large quantity of users, many cloud clients are served at the same time. In order to ensure good performance, several cloud servers can be operated and the users can be distributed among them. But how do the different users, or clients, get to the different cloud servers?

There are basically two ways to do this:

1. Each cloud server is individually addressed 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, which distributes the clients to several cloud servers. There are several web server systems, such as Microsoft’s IIS, that support this system. It is mandatory to work with sticky sessions, which means that all requests belonging to the same session are forwarded to the same server. Round-robin, for example, 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

A second cloud server is installed as follows:
Vertec.CloudServer.exe /install <servicename> <servicedisplay>

• <servicename> is an alternate service name (should not contain spaces and special characters, in the case of VertecServer.exe, no period).
• <servicedisplay> is optional and represents the displayed name of the service (can contain spaces etc., but must be included in “).

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

Example:

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

This can only be done with Elevated privileges. 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, you must pass the service name again, for example:

Vertec.CloudServer.exe /uninstall Vertec.CloudServer2

After installing/uninstalling the service, a message appears that the service has been successfully installed/uninstalled. To suppress this, you can install/uninstall with the /SILENT parameter.

Vertec.CloudServer.exe /INSTALL /SILENT