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Planning
Planning a deployment of Jiwa 7 is extremely simple. Factors to consider are:
- Number of concurrent users
- Existing infrastructure
- Geographical locations
- Software licencing costs
Cloud
Small to Large Deployments (1 to 500 users)
Leveraging platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services Jiwa can be hosted to automatically scale to any number of users.
Microsoft RemoteApp or Citrix XenApp can be used to host the client application, allowing iOS, Android, Mac and Windows clients. Using Azure SQL as the database provides virtually zero maintenance burden and redundant storage.
On Premise
Small Deployments (1 to 5 users)
As a general rule, small deployments of between 1 and 5 users are deployed with the Jiwa client installed on the desktop machines of each user, and each client communicating with the SQL Server via direct LAN connection.
For any geographically remote users, it is recommended to utilise a Remote Desktop Services server (RDS) as discussed in the medium sized deployments section below.
As the number of users rises above 5 users, the management burden of deploying patches and providing a consistence user experience for all users increases. Whilst the infrastructure will certainly handle more concurrent users easily, the cost benefit of moving to an RDS scenario becomes apparent.
Hardware and Software requirements
SQL Server
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 x Physical Xeon |
| RAM | 8GB ECC RAM |
| DISK | 2x (or more) 72GB or (better) 15K SCSI |
| RAID | Caching RAID controller with 256MB RAM, 2 Channel |
| POWER | Redundant PSU |
| SOFTWARE | Windows Server x64 2012R2, Microsoft SQL Server x64 2014 (Workgroup*, Standard or Enterprise Edition) |
Workstation
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 x Intel Core i5 or better |
| RAM | 4GB RAM |
| DISK | Single 80GB or better SATA |
| SOFTWARE | Windows 10 |
For ultra-small deployments of 1 or 2 users, the SQL Server can be installed on a desktop machine, and the free edition of SQL Express could be utilised when cost is a significant factor. Whilst this solution will not scale well, it does eliminate the hardware and software cost of a dedicated SQL Server.
Medium Sized Deployments (5 to 50 users)
Management is a primary concern with medium sized deployments. Managing software on many tens of desktops can be difficult and time consuming. For that reason, RDS services is utilised.
The RDS Server hosts a Windows desktop environment for each user on the RDS Server, and the presentation layer (screen, keyboard, mouse and audio) is relayed to and from the physical users desktop and the RDS Server. As this technology utilises the RDS Server’s hardware for running the application, the hardware requirements for each desktop are reduced considerably.
As the applications installed on the RDS Server are shared amongst all users, an application needs only to be installed once on the RDS Server, saving considerable time in installation and maintenance.
Hardware and Software requirements
SQL Server
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 x Physical Xeon |
| RAM | 16GB ECC RAM |
| DISK | 5x (or more) 72GB or (better) 15K SCSI |
| RAID | Caching RAID controller with 256MB RAM, 2 Channel. RAID 5 or 6 recommended. |
| POWER | Redundant PSU |
| SOFTWARE | Windows Server x64 2012R2, Microsoft SQL Server x64 2014 (Standard or Enterprise Edition) |
RDS Server
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 x Physical Xeon* |
| RAM | 16GB ECC RAM* |
| DISK | 2x (or more) 72GB or (better) 15K SCSI |
| RAID | Caching RAID controller with 256MB RAM, 2 Channel |
| POWER | Redundant PSU |
| SOFTWARE | Windows Server x64 2012R2 |
*The exact ram and CPU requirements will depend on the number of expected concurrent users. Allow 512MB and 10% of a logical CPU core per concurrent user as a guide.
Workstation
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 x Intel Core i3 or better |
| RAM | 2GB RAM |
| DISK | Single 80GB or better SATA |
| SOFTWARE | Windows 8.1, Windows 7 |
Large Deployments (50 to 200 users)
When the single RDS Server topology is unable to cope with the number of concurrent users, then the topology need to change to introduce many RDS Servers.
Technology such as virtualisation or Citrix can be utilised to automatically load-balance users onto the most appropriate RDS Server, or a manual designation can be used.
The management burden is increased with each additional RDS Server, as the applications and patches will need to be installed maintained on each RDS Server.
As the organisation grows, and the number of concurrent users increased, additional RDS Servers can be added to spread the load.
As SQL Server cannot be have its workload distributed in this fashion, the only alternative is to scale the SQL Server hardware up – that is, to increase the RAM, CPU and disk capabilities.
Hardware and Software requirements
SQL Server
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 x Physical Xeon |
| RAM | 16GB ECC RAM |
| DISK | 5x (or more) 72GB or (better) 15K SCSI |
| RAID | Caching RAID controller with 256MB RAM, 2 Channel. RAID 5 or 6 recommended. |
| POWER | Redundant PSU |
| SOFTWARE | Windows Server x64 2012R2, Microsoft SQL Server x64 2014 (Standard or Enterprise Edition) |
RDS Server
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 x Physical Xeon* |
| RAM | 64GB ECC RAM* |
| DISK | 2x (or more) 72GB or (better) 15K SCSI |
| RAID | Caching RAID controller with 256MB RAM, 2 Channel |
| POWER | Redundant PSU |
| SOFTWARE | Windows Server x64 2012R2 |
*The exact ram and CPU requirements will depend on the number of expected concurrent users. Allow 512MB and 10% of a logical CPU core per concurrent user as a guide.
Workstation
| Feature | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 x Intel Core i3 or better |
| RAM | 2GB RAM |
| DISK | Single 80GB or better SATA |
| SOFTWARE | Windows 8.1, Windows 7 |