Bookshelf v7.7: Mapping Siebel Deployment Elements to Platforms

Mapping Siebel Deployment Elements to Platforms

This infrastructure planning step maps the elements of the Siebel deployment to server platforms.

Criteria. Mapping Siebel deployment elements to platforms must meet the following criteria:

Guarantees adequate performance and scalability under both average and peak workloads

Meets high-availability and resiliency goals

Accommodates infrastructure security requirements

Prerequisites. Review the following information, developed in previous steps:

To determine server platform requirements

Determine the amount of hardware required for Siebel Server components. Consider both average and peak workloads. Also consider background processing workloads.

On two- or four-CPU platforms, customers typically deploy one Application Object Manager (AOM) on each Siebel Server. This is a common practice, but not a requirement. Customers should contact Siebel Expert Services for information on how to size Siebel Servers.

Identify which Siebel Server components can be collocated. Distribute these across platforms in a way that evenly distributes workload.

Object managers generate a fairly level workload that does not include large spikes. In contrast, large workflow processes generate uneven workloads that include large spikes when executing workflow steps.

When deciding which server components to collocate, observe the following best practices:

Object managers should be collocated with other object managers.
Object managers should not be collocated with workflow processes. This will minimize the impact of workflow processes on user application performance.

Determine how many additional hardware platforms are needed to comply with high-availability policies.

For clustered servers, define a failover strategy for components (active-active, active-passive).

Identify additional hardware required to comply with security policies. For example, do you need to install additional firewalls or a proxy server? Do you need to install LDAP servers?

Use average and peak workload information to determine how many Web servers are needed.

Create a diagram of the Siebel deployment that shows all the platforms and the distribution of Siebel Servers. Use the diagram to do the following:

Verify that all needed server components are enabled and correctly set up on each platform.
Run component and platform failure scenarios. Verify that there are no single points of failure that will cause unacceptable impacts.
For example, you have one Web server. All your inbound customer orders must go through it and then to one HTTP inbound adapter. If the Web server or the inbound adapter fails, customers cannot place orders.

Use server naming conventions to identify groups of servers that provide similar functions.

For example, in an enterprise, Application Object Managers (AOMs) run on one group of machines, workflows on a second group of machines, and remote user synchronization on a third group. Give the AOM servers names starting with APP, the workflow servers names starting with WF, and the Siebel Remote servers names starting with REM.

Each group will display together in Server Manager. This simplifies server administration.

Topology Planning Guidelines

Use the following guidelines for topology planning:

A single Siebel Gateway Name Server can be used to manage multiple Siebel Enterprise Servers.

A Siebel Enterprise Server can belong to one and only one Siebel Gateway Name Server.

A single Siebel Enterprise Server can manage multiple Siebel Servers.

A Siebel Server can belong to one and only one Siebel Enterprise Server.

A Siebel Server can manage multiple instances of a single Server Component or of multiple Server Components. This includes multiple Application Object Manager types, each with their own SRF.

Table 5 lists supported deployment schemes.

Table 5. Deployment Schemes
Deployment Scheme	Recommended?
Single Siebel Gateway Name Server and multiple Siebel Enterprise Servers running on a single machine or UNIX hardware partition. Each Siebel Enterprise Server has its tableowner and database server.	No. If the Siebel Gateway Name Server fails, it would adversely affect all the Siebel Enterprise Servers. Failure of one UNIX partition could adversely affect all the Siebel Enterprise Servers. If one Enterprise Server requires an upgrade, all Enterprise Servers are affected.
Running multiple Siebel Gateway Name Servers on a single UNIX hardware partition or on a single unpartitioned machine.	No. Very difficult to set up. Requires manual workarounds. Requires manually editing registry on Windows platforms.
Multiple Siebel Enterprise Servers sharing a DBMS tableowner.	No. Each Siebel Enterprise Server is required to have its own set of tables.
Multiple Siebel Enterprise Servers, each with their own DBMS tableowner and sharing the same instance of the DBMS executable.	No. If the one Database Server goes down, all of the Siebel Enterprise Servers will go down. Too much dependency on one machine.
Siebel Enterprise Server hosting multiple Siebel Servers within a single hardware partition.	No. No additional scalability, throughput, or performance benefits to this configuration. Managing multiple Siebel Servers within a single hardware partition also requires more Siebel administrator time.
Siebel Enterprise Server hosting multiple Siebel Servers, with each Siebel Server on its own machine or UNIX hardware partition (multiple partitions on each UNIX server machine).	Yes. This is the most common way to deploy Siebel version 6.x and later.
A single Siebel Server managing multiple applications. Each Application Object Manager type having its own copy of the SRF.	Yes. This is a common deployment scheme. It allows you to segment functionality per process. If multiple SRFs are used for the Object Managers in a Siebel Enterprise Server, the SRF used for common components such as Workflow Process Manager, EAI Object Managers, and so on should have the common objects needed for proper processing. It is critical to have all SRFs in sync. The Siebel Repository in the production DBMS must also be in sync with the SRFs.
Installing the Siebel Gateway Name Server, each Siebel Server, and the database all on different operating systems.	Yes. This is supported for Siebel 7.x. However, you should try to keep the deployment as simple as possible. In some cases a heterogeneous environment is required. For example, you want to install Siebel Servers running on one operating system, but a third-party product you need only runs on another. For information on supported operating systems for Siebel deployments, see System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Siebel SupportWeb.