Download What Is ASF? Services

ASF Deployment View
Server and Network Infrastructure
Learning & Planning
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Deployment View
Purpose


The Deployment View shows the hardware infrastructure upon which an
ASF installation is deployed and describes which parts of the
installation are deployed to which physical pieces of hardware.
The Deployment View produces several end products


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A set of best-practice infrastructure layouts which have undergone
software/hardware platform validation.
A deployment diagram based on the validated platforms and tailored to the
budget, reliability, availability, scalability, security and preexisting
network/computing resources constraints of the deployment.
Methodologies for collecting and analyzing application and hardware
performance metrics.
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Deployment View
Design Criteria

Scalability




Small ASF deployments should require minimal or no additional network
hardware.
Steady, incremental additions of hardware to an ASF deployment should
allow growth from small to enterprise-level deployments.
Growth should be customizable per ASF service.
Resiliency


Transition of ASF services to a redundant deployment should be
straightforward and utilize standard network load balancing methods.
Downtime due to unexpected application behavior should be reduced by
providing a network environment where in-situ analysis of traffic is possible.
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Deployment View Roadmaps



We will employ two roadmaps to describe the ASF Deployment View.
The roadmaps will guide us through the topics necessary to understand
the ASF Deployment View from both conceptual and implementation
vantages
The Learning roadmap will describe the high level ASF building blocks
and how they interact with IT equipment. Topics in this roadmap are
generalized and do not provide specifics about the deployment view.
The Implementation roadmap takes the generalized topics discussed in
the Learning roadmap and describes how to convert them into an ASF
deployment.
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Deployment View Roadmaps
Learning Roadmap
What is ASF?
ASF Servers
Networking ASF
Servers
Sub-Topics
Files
Maturation Stages
Connectivity
Services
Service Clustering
Communications
Licensing
Load balancing
Location
Access
Security
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What Is ASF?
Files

ASF is a set of installable files which provide the back-end functionality of
the ASF Presentation (PL), Business (BL) and Data (DL) layers.
 Installation of the ASF core files on a computer makes the computer an ASFaware server.
 A full ASF deployment consists of



One or more computers with the back-end ASF files
Specific-function 3rd party software such as the host OS, IIS, RDBMS or a map
server.
All ASF back-end files are installed on all ASF servers.
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What Is ASF?
Services

The back-end ASF files provide
discrete “services” each of which
represent a software technology AIR
has engineered.
ASF Installation Files
Presentation Layer
Business Layer
Data Layer
User Interface
Address Service
Hazard Provider
Hazard Analysis Service
Exposure Provider
Map Service
Loss Provider
Passport Service
Communications Service
Replacement Cost
Service
PushPin Service
Loss Analysis Service
Exposure Analysis
Service
Report Service
Guideline Service
Bulk Data Service
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What Is ASF?
Licensing

Which ASF services are accessible is determined by the ASF
Licensing service.
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ASF Servers
Growth Stages
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An ASF deployment matures through four broad stages.
Progression from one stage to the next occurs for a number of reasons
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Enhancing performance of heavily used services
Providing redundancy for critical services
Providing segmentation of services in an ASP environment
The exact pattern of growth is dependant on the mix and utilization of
ASF components installed. However, maturation of the deployment will
generally follow the four stages.
Depending on requirements, stages may be skipped.
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Server-Level ASF Deployment
Stages

In a Stage 1 ASF deployment, all software (ASF, necessary 3rd party
software and data sources) is installed on a single server. This stage is
only suitable for the smallest of deployments.
Ext
SW
Data
Source
General ASF Server
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Server-Level ASF Deployment
Stages

In a Stage 2 ASF deployment a second server is introduced to host the
data sources, thereby improving performance.
Ext
SW
Data
Source
General ASF Server
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Data Source Server
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Server-Level ASF Deployment
Stages

In a Stage 3 ASF deployment we continue to improve performance by
moving heavily-used or resource-intensive ASF services to new “tasked”
servers. Both PL and BL services may be tasked.
Ext
SW
Data
Source
General ASF Server
Data Source Server
Tasked ASF Server
(AWS)
Tasked ASF Server
(Loss)
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Server-Level ASF Deployment
Stages

In a Stage 4 ASF deployment, we begin to cluster tasked ASF servers to provide
resiliency and further performance gains. Additionally, data source servers may be
partitioned. A very large scale ASF deployment will follow this pattern.
Ext
SW
Data
Source
General ASF Server
Tasked ASF Server Tasked ASF Server
(AWS)
(AWS)
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Data Source Server
Tasked ASF Server Tasked ASF Server
(Loss)
(Loss)
CONFIDENTIAL
Server-Level ASF Deployment
Service Clustering

Individual ASF services hosted by more than one tasked server are called
ASF service clusters.
 A large-scale deployment may contain multiple ASF service clusters.

Because multiple server can in an ASF cluster can fulfill a request, requests
to ASF service clusters must be load balanced.
Loss Cluster
AWS
Cluster
Tasked ASF Server
(Loss)
Hazard
Cluster
ASF Deployment
PassPort
Cluster
Tasked ASF Server
(Loss)
Tasked ASF Server
(Loss)
General ASF Server Data Source Server
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Server-Level ASF Deployment
Service Clustering



It is important to note that tasked ASF servers may still provide support
for any AFS service.
It is not the case that a tasked ASF server can, or should, host only the
one service tasked to it.
A super-mesh of ASF services may be problematic.
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Networking ASF Servers
Connectivity


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ASF servers operate on any 100 Mbps or better Ethernet LAN.
ASF servers must be able to communicate freely on any TCP/IP port.
No firewalls, routers, proxies or IDS/IPS devices should be placed
between ASF servers.
Firewalls, etc. may be placed in between ASF servers and the data
source servers or the clients.
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Networking ASF Servers
Communications

ASF servers communicate via
TCP/IP.
 All ASF services on an ASF server
listen on a single IP address.
 Individual ASF services listen on predefined TCP ports in the range
20000-30000.
Hazard Service (port 20001)
PushPin Service (port 20002)
Loss Service (port 20003)
Passport Service (port 20004)
...
ASF Server
(10.0.0.10)
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Networking ASF Servers
Communications
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The ASF Service Manager service is responsible for shuttling inbound
requests from clients to the appropriate ASF service for processing.
The service manager makes a request for a ASF service via a URL &
port i.e., server1.company.com:20003.
Because every ASF server has the Service Manager service, a Stage 3
and above deployment has one or more ASF servers designated as
“lead” Service Manager servers. All inbound requests to ASF will be
funneled through the lead Service Manager service servers.
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Networking ASF Servers
Load Balancing
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Earlier we introduced the idea of ASF service clusters, a single ASF
service tasked to multiple servers.
Once service clusters are introduced, there needs to be a method of
determining which server in a service cluster should respond to an
incoming request. Load balancing provides this service.
Load balancing for ASF service clusters can be put into two categories
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Synchronous, quick-response services
Asynchronous, long-running services
Load balancing of synchronous service clusters is handled by Layer 4/7
network load balancers (NLB).
Load balancing of asynchronous service clusters is handled by the ASF
Job Manager service.
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Networking ASF Servers
Load Balancing

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Layer 4/7 NLB can be costly and require IT knowledge to maintain.
To prevent smaller ASF installations from having to purchase NLB
equipment in the early stages of ASF deployment growth, ASF will
include built-in NLB. A transition to hardware-based NLB is intended
once the deployment reaches a certain size.
Load balancing of asynchronous service clusters will be managed by
the ASF job manager regardless of deployment size.
Because there are multiple, bi-directional communications possible
between ASF service clusters, a one-arm/side-arm hardware NLB setup
is recommended.
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Networking ASF Servers
Location
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
It is expected that all ASF servers (not necessarily including data
sources and clients) will be located in the same LAN segment or
security zone.
External or untrusted access to the ASF deployment should be
protected by network security devices such as Layer 3/4/7 firewalls and
IDS/IPS.
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Networking ASF Servers
Security
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

Security is not generally thought of as part of the communication
between components within an application.
ASF (may) include a security infrastructure designed to transparently
intercept and A/A intra-ASF communications.
Security into ASF from external clients should be provided at the edge
by standard network security devices.
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Networking ASF Servers
Access



At a minimum, clients need to be able to access the ASF deployment
via whatever mechanism the client requires.
It is also possible that external (Internet) clients will access the
deployment. AWS is intended to provide the gateway to an ASF
deployment for external clients.
AWS services may also need to make calls out to the Internet to fulfill
requests.
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Deployment View Roadmaps
Implementation Roadmap
Validate
Platforms
Collect
Requirements
Staging
deployment
diagrams
Staging
production
diagrams
Layout
Infrastructure
Diagram ASF
Deployment
Sub-Topics
Performance
Services
Needs
UML Diagram
Stability
Data
Budget
Network Diagram
Scalability
Users
Layout
Audience
Resiliency
Single/ASP
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Validate Platforms

Platform validation helps answer several core questions about ASF
Deployment
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
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
Which combinations of ASF/3rd party software are
supported/recommended?
What is the relationship between server/network hardware and performance
on a per-ASF service basis?
What level of scalability can be expected for a particular ASF service?
What are the minimum server and network specifications necessary to
deploy ASF?
How many/much of X is required to support ASF performance criteria Y?
Platform validation will define best-practice baseline infrastructure
layouts valid for a variety of audiences. These become very useful
when the customer has less-than-clear requirements.
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Collect Requirements
Services


What application is the customer paying for?
What ASF services are required to support the application?
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Collect Requirements
Data

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

How much existing customer data needs to be imported to allow use of
the application?
How much new data is the customer expected to generate?
How much transient data is the customer expected to generate?
Will the customer require data warehousing?
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Collect Requirements
Users


How many users will simultaneously access the application?
Does the application make use of resource-intensive asynchronous
ASF services?
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Collect Requirements
Resiliency

How concerned is the customer about availability?
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Layout Infrastructure
Needs


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With the requirements data collected, we can begin to layout an
infrastructure to meet the customer’s business requirements.
It has traditionally been difficult to avoid starting each new customer
installation at square one. Decision trees and validated platforms will
help alleviate this problem.
The decision tree will incorporate the requirements and lead to “must
have” ASF service cluster.


If the customer’s requirements call for large loss analyses which must
complete in < 24 hours, the decision tree would indicate a Loss Service
cluster is required.
Availability concerns would lead the decision tree to suggest the creation of
a lead Service Manager cluster and so on.
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Layout Infrastructure
Needs
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Knowing the service cluster needs, the platform validation data is
consulted and a server layout is created.
The platform validation data will determine how may servers are
needed for the deployment and what role in the ASF environment each
server will play.
The network layout is then determined by the server layout.
At the end a deployment layout is produced.
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Layout Infrastructure
Budget


The infrastructure layout must meet budgetary requirements as well as
business requirements.
It may be necessary to scale back the infrastructure plan to meet
budgetary constrains.
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Layout Infrastructure
Layout



With a manifest of servers and what they will be used for in hand, we
can create a basic deployment layout.
A layout is essentially a list of server and network equipment
stereotypes to be used in the deployment, each labeled with the role it
will play inside the ASF environment.
In our example, the customer requirements have lead to the need for
Loss and Hazard service clusters, Map services and redundant lead
Service Managers/PL services.
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Layout Infrastructure
Layout
Hazard Analysis
Lead Service Manager
PL
Maps
Lead Service Manager
PL
Hardware
NLB
ASF Server
ASF Server
Loss Analysis
ASF Server
Hazard Analysis
ASF Server
Loss Analysis
ASF Server
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Data Source Server
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Diagram ASF Deployment



Finally we are ready to create functioning ASF deployment diagrams.
Deployment diagrams formalize the deployment specifics, combining all
information about requirements, layout and application flow.
ASF deployment diagrams are created using complimentary UML
diagrams, network diagrams and application flow diagrams.
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Diagram ASF Deployment
UML Deployment Diagram
<<PC Client>>
Client-PC1
{DiskSpace=10 GB,
CPU=Intel P4 2.0 GHz,
RAM=512 MB}
<<Binary>>
ASFClientComm : HelloBackEnd
(2.0)
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
<<PC Server>>
Server-ASF1
{DiskSpace=30 GB,
CPU=Intel Xeon 2.0 GHz,
CPUCount=1,
RAM=1 GB,
ASFRoles= Maps;LeadServiceMgr;UI,
IP=10.0.0.2}
<<Binary>>
ASFClasses : AllClasses (2.0)
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft IIS 6.0
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
SP1
<<Vendor>>
MapInfo MapExtreme (6.5)
{DiskSpace=300 GB,
CPU=Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz,
CPUCount=2,
RAM=4 GB,
IP=10.0.0.9}
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft SQl Server 2000 SP3a
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
SP1
© 2005 AIR Worldwide Corporation
{DiskSpace=30 GB,
CPU=Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz,
CPUCount=1,
RAM=1 GB,
ASFRoles= Hazard Analysis,
IP=10.0.0.5}
<<Binary>>
ASFClasses : AllClasses (2.0)
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
SP1
<<PC Server>>
Server-ASF-DS1
<<PC Server>>
Server-ASF4
<<PC Server>>
Server-ASF2-3
{DiskSpace=30 GB,
CPU=Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz,
CPUCount=1,
RAM=1 GB,
ASFRoles= Loss Analysis,,
IP=10.0.0.3-4}
<<Binary>>
ASFClasses : AllClasses (2.0)
<<PC Server>>
Server-ASF5
{DiskSpace=30 GB,
CPU=Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz,
CPUCount=1,
RAM=1 GB,
ASFRoles= Hazard Analysis,UI,
IP=10.0.0.6}
<<Binary>>
ASFClasses : AllClasses (2.0)
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft IIS 6.0
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
SP1
<<Vendor>>
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
SP1
CONFIDENTIAL
Diagram ASF Deployment
UML Diagram



Note that a UML diagram is difficult to use due to ASF’s highly
distributed nature.
UML diagrams best for laying out server hardware specifics and
identifying software components to be installed.
Details about which roles each ASF server plays are difficult to
visualize.
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Diagram ASF Deployment
Network Deployment Diagram
NLB Clusters
VIP 10.0.0.100 (Hazard)
Server-ASF4
Server-ASF5
VIP 10.0.0.101 (UI)
Server-ASF1
Server-ASF5
VIP 10.0.0.102 (Lead SM)
Server-ASF1
Server-ASF5
Hardware
NLB
Server-ASF1
(10.0.0.2)
Server-ASF2
(10.0.0.3)
Server-ASF3
(10.0.0.3)
Server-ASF4
(10.0.0.5)
Server-ASF5 Server-ASF-DS1
(10.0.0.6)
(10.0.0.7)
Network
Switch
Client
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