Setting up Server Cluster

Failover is driven by the Cluster Manager service which is installed on the server. (This service does not appear in the Services applet because it is not registered by default.) When an server cluster is created, this service is immediately registered and runs simultaneously on both servers in the cluster. During regular operation, the active server in the server cluster continuously writes to the server databases while Cluster Manager service on the passive server polls the database server in 45-second intervals to verify that the active server remains active.

When a localized system failure occurs on the active server, it loses communication with the database server and cannot write to the server databases. As soon as the Cluster Manager service on the passive server polls the database server again and finds no recent activity from the active server, the Cluster Manager service on the passive server starts all its local services and becomes the active server in the cluster. The transition is complete within 1 to 3 minutes of the failure.

Tip: The Server Monitor is a monitoring application that detects failures on servers. Upland AccuRoute recommends that the Server Monitor or another monitoring application be used to alert administrators that a failure has occurred so that failures can be corrected in a timely manner.

 

A server cluster enters failover mode when a localized system failure causes the current server to go offline and the other server to become active.

A server in the cluster can be designated as the preferred server. If a server is preferred, it is always the active server whenever it is available. Therefore, if a system failure occurs and the preferred server goes offline, the non-preferred server becomes active, but when the preferred server is online again, it becomes the active server and the non-preferred server returns to a standby state.

 

Server requirements

The servers should have identical and redundant configurations. Shared resources, for example, databases, FileShare, connector paths, should be installed on the appropriate server or another high availability system in the domain.

See Hardware and software requirements for:

• Primary/Active Server and Secondary/Passive (failover) server

Note: Licenses are required for both the Primary/Active server and the Secondary/Passive (failover) server.

You must install both licenses on the Active server in the cluster.

• Database server
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2019 or 2022

• Shared file storage server

Note: Ensure storage is sufficient for job processing based on hardware and software requirements. The Shared file storage server needs to be accessed by a UNC and the same for both Primary and Secondary servers.

 

Begin setting up the Server Cluster by creating folders for the server resources that will be stored on the Database server.

Setting up the Database server

1. Sign in as an Administrator.
2. Install SQL 2019 or 2022. Connect to the SQL Database server by using Management Studio.
3. Select a location in the Database server and create the following folders:
   • Messages - stores the message database.
   • Config - stores server configuration files.
4. Share each folder. Give the service account read, write, and delete permissions to each folder. For more information on modifying permissions, consult Windows Help.
5. Install Web Components.
6. Select Upland AccuRoute Install, only choose Intelligent Device Client and complete the installation. This is for the Remote Web API installation.

Installing and configuring the Active server (Primary)

There are a series of wizards that have been developed to assist you with the server installation and cluster configuration.

• Install the latest Upland AccuRoute version on the Primary server.

Prerequisite Install Check

1. Select the install.exe file to start the Prerequisite Install Check. It is used to start a prerequisite check and configure the required components.

2. Select Complete Server. The required components are displayed in a list and preselected by default.

3. Select Configure System. The Installing selected components progress bars appear and a summary of the preinstalled components are shown after the initial Prerequisite Install Check is completed.

AccuRoute Installation (Primary server)

1. Select Upland AccuRoute Install. The Welcome InstallShield Wizard appears.

2. Select Next. The License Agreement appears.

3. Select the I accept the terms of the license agreement option and print if necessary.

4. Select Next. Setup Type page appears.

5. Ensure Typical is selected as the default.

Note: Contact Technical Support if you need assistance with a Custom setup. This type of setup is recommended for Advanced users only.

6. Select Next. Prerequisites are shown and confirmed.

7. Select Next. The Service Account page appears.

Note: A Windows user service account must be created before continuing with this installation. The account must belong to the Domain Users group and have the required security settings.

8. Ensure the NT domain and user name appear in the appropriate boxes.

9. Specify the password in the Password box.

10. Type and specify the password again in the Confirm Password box.

11. Select Next. The Installation Settings page appear.

12. Review your current settings.

13. Select Next. The Setup Status progress bar appears. The InstallShield Wizard Complete page appears after the successful installation of the server.

14. Select Finish.

Failover Cluster Configuration

The Upland AccuRoute Configuration Wizard is automatically started after the Primary server installation.

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1. Select Failover cluster configuration. The Cluster Server Role page appears.

2. Select Active server member.

3. Select Next. The Database page appears.

4. Use the default Create a new database option or select Use an existing database if you are upgrading an existing implementation of the server.

5. Select Next. The Create New Database page appears.

6. Specify the following database details.

• Use the default location or specify another.

  • Choose Windows Integrated Authentication or SQL Authentication Login and specify the appropriate username and password parameters.

  • Database name

7. Select Next. The File Share page appears. This is where message documents and details are processed.

8. Specify a UNC file share location in the File Share Location box.

Note: The file share location must be on the shared file storage server so that both the Active and Passive servers can access when the need arises.

9. Select Next. The Ready to Configure page appears.

10. Select Next. The Configuring page with status bar appears. The Welcome to the Server Configuration Wizard page appears.

11. Select Next. The Congratulations page appears.

12. Select Finish. The Server Administrator console appears after the server configuration is completed.

Applying licenses

Apply your Base server and Failover licenses. See Activating the license for more information.

Note: The Failover server license is added to the Active (Primary) server in the environment.

Setting up the Passive server

1. Install the latest Upland AccuRoute version on the Passive (Secondary) server.
2. On the InstallShield Wizard Complete screen (the last installation screen), click Finish to complete the installation. The Configuration Wizard opens to the Welcome screen.
3. Select Failover cluster configuration.
4. On the Cluster Server Role screen, this time select Passive server member and click Next. The Setup Cluster screen appears.
5. Enter the Primary Server name and user information. Click Next. The Ready to configure screen appears.
6. Click Next to configure the system. A Configuring... progress screen appears during configuration. The Configuration Wizard Complete screen appears.
7. Click Finish to close the wizard. Your clustered server environment is now configured.

 

Creating the Telco share

Complete the following procedure if the server cluster supports faxing.

For a server cluster that supports faxing, create the Telco share. The Telco share is shared by both servers in the cluster. You must create it on any high availability system, for example, a server belonging to the same domain as the clustered servers.

To create the Telco share

1. Choose a location in the local directory structure and create a folder for the Telco share. Use a self-descriptive name such as telcoshare.
2. Share the folder.
3. Give the service account read and write permissions to the folder. For more information on modifying permissions, consult Windows Help. (If the environment has servers that were installed with different service accounts, give all service accounts these permissions.)

Configuring the Telco connector

For Telco share server use

1. Start the Server Administrator.
2. Expand the Server Administrator tree and click Connectors.
3. Double-click the Connector for Telco in the details pane to open the Telco properties page.
4. Click Advanced to open the Telco Advanced Properties page.

5. In the Path to Telco share directorybox, enter the UNC path (that is the \\ServerName\ShareName)\ to the Telco share folder. Add a trailing backslash at the end. (For example \\123.4.5.678\telcoshare\).

6. Click OK and then OK to save your changes and close the Properties page.

Testing the failover configuration

You can test the Failover configuration by simulating a localized system failure on the Active server.

1. Simulate a failure: Shut down the active server. Wait approximately five minutes, and then verify that the Cluster Manager process (OMSvrClusterMgr) and the connector processes (OmCon*) are running on the other server, which is now the active server.
2. Restore the failed server: Start the server that was shut down and wait for it to boot up. Wait approximately five minutes, and then verify that the Cluster Manager process (OMSvrClusterMgr) and the connector processes (OmCon*) are running.

 

For WebApps and Device Client Use Only

WebApps and Device Client applications cannot be installed on the Cluster servers. They must be installed on a separate server, for example, Remote IIS or other company designated server.

WebApps installation and AppSettings.json configuration

Installing WebApps

Use the Web Apps Install button on the Prerequisite Install Check page to start the installation.

See Installing WebApps for more information.

In addition, the following file must be updated with the actual server parameters that are part of the Cluster environment.

• AppSettings.json file

See the AppSettings.json file example below.

Note: Message Server primary and secondary references in the example above must be changed to the actual server names used in the server cluster.

Device Client installation and BootStrap.xml configuration

Installing Device Client

To install the Device Client application go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Upland AccuRoute\AccuRoute\Clients\DeviceClient and run setup.exe to start the installation.

See the Embedded Device Client Installation Guide for more information.

In addition, the following file must be updated with the actual server parameters that are part of the Cluster environment.

• BootStrap.xml file

See the BootStrap.xml file example below.

The BootStrap.xml file is located in c:\Program Files (x86)\Upland AccuRoute\DeviceClient\Configuration\.

Note: Server parameters in the file must be updated to indicate the actual server names used in the Cluster environment.

SMTP connector configuration

The SMTP connector has advanced functionality that can be used to make SMTP Email more cluster aware.

Use the Advanced button on the SMTP on the Server Properties dialog box to start configuration.

See About SMTP Connector for more information.

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See the SMTP on the Server Properties dialog box example below.

This configuration is used in certain scenarios where the SMTP directories are moved. The SMTP directories default to the c:\inetpub\mailroot path.

Default configuration limitations

Any incoming email accumulates in the Primary server mailroot folder and is not processed during a failover. Or the email is sent back to the sending email server if the Primary server goes down.

Shared configuration benefits

Overriding the server’s Inetpub\mailroot folder through a shared configuration allows email to be processed regardless of where it is received. The Service account must have read/write access to the shared directories. This configuration is for email Infrastructures that can manage the routing of inbound emails easily when the Primary server is offline for an extended period.

See the Advanced SMTP Configuration > Override Server’s Default Mailroot Folder example below.

1. Ensure the Override server's default Inetpub\mailroot folder option is selected.

2. Use the Add button to specify the mailroot folder paths for the Primary and Secondary servers.

See the Mail Root Folder Properties Path and Options example below.

The server mailroot folder paths appear in the Override box.

See the Shared Mail Root Folder Properties Server 1 and 2 example below.

IIS Email Host Configuration alternative solution

Administrators can use a third server as the IIS email host. The designated Override Mailroot folder path would go to the third server instead of the Primary/Secondary server.

Note: This is only used when you already have remote IIS servers in the configuration.

 

In a typical configuration, you use the local Composer on the active server while the passive server is in the waiting state. To improve throughput, an additional compose license can be added to access the compose engines on the passive server. However, in the event of a failover, both the local and remote Composers would be on the same physical machine, and using them simultaneously can cause significant performance issues on the passive server. In order to utilize both servers, the active server compose should be removed and reinstalled with the server name specified. The passive server then can be added with its server name specified and, in the subsequent event of a failover, the passive server will not be subject to performance issues due to duplicate composers.

 

Licenses are required for the active and passive servers that exist in a Failover/Disaster Recovery Cluster environment. They are needed during the replication of one server to another. Licensing is completed during the configuration of the servers as indicated in Installing and configuring the Cluster server. Identifying the servers and their respective licenses during this configuration stage is all that is typically required. However, there may be certain instances where changes to the original environment are made after installation and configuration that may cause licensing issues.

A Disaster Recovery executable file has been developed for Administrators that have a Failover/Disaster Recovery Cluster environment as part of their configuration. The executable file is used to ensure the licensing information associated with the servers are replicated and copied to the appropriate registries.

Use the following executable file at the Command line to resolve the licensing issue.

• OMEnableDisasterRecoveryu [servername]

Note: It must be used on both Disaster Recovery servers if your configuration consists of a Cluster environment.

Contact Technical Support if additional assistance is required.