| Agile Product Lifecycle Management Capacity Planning Guide Release 9.3.6 E71149-01 |
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| Agile Product Lifecycle Management Capacity Planning Guide Release 9.3.6 E71149-01 |
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This chapter describes the file management server and vault, and the file viewer.
There are two main components to the Agile File Manager: the file server and the file vault. When a file is added to Agile, it is assigned an internal Agile identifier (ID) number by the file server and added to the file vault. It is not stored in the file vault under its original file name. The file name/Agile ID mapping information is maintained in the Agile database. When a user requests a file (Get, View, Checkout, and so on), that request is routed to the file server which looks up the file's ID, retrieves the file from the file vault, and sends it to the user.
File Manager uses standard HTTP protocol to communicate with the Agile Application Server, AutoVue for Agile PLM, and any other deployed File Managers. File Managers can be clustered in one location, if required.
The features of the Agile PLM 9.3.6 File Manager are:
The File Manager is not bundled as a part of the Application server, but it is deployed as a separate process.
File Managers can be deployed at any location with no Internet domain restrictions.
File Managers are firewall friendly with all communication using the HTTP protocol.
Improvements have been made to LAN/WAN performance.
Support for 70+ File Managers
A logging feature has been added to help with troubleshooting.
Support for large file upload and download.
There can be any number of File Managers deployed, based upon the different geographical locations in which the user base resides. Typically, the File Manager that resides along with the Application Server is designated as the Primary File Manager. All File Managers are equal, except for the following additional transactions that are limited to the Primary File Manager:
Uploading files by the Microsoft Project Sync Integration component during publishing.
Downloading files for Full Text Search indexing
The file vault contains all file attachments stored in Agile. The File Manager supports two kinds of file vaults:
Standard Vault
Custom Vault
Custom vaults simplify the initial setup allowing you to attach a disk containing terabytes of data as a vault without actually uploading the files. This setup is performed using Agile FileLoad to set up the necessary database entries to avoid uploading the actual data.
Each File Manager supports cascading of multiple vaults. The primary vault contains all new uploaded files and redlines while the secondary vault contains the older files. When locating files, each vault is searched in a cascaded manner as configured in the Java client.
Due to the geographically dispersed nature of the global enterprise, multiple Agile File Managers can be deployed in a distributed configuration for efficient distribution of product content. A Distributed File Manager configuration enables you to manage files efficiently at remote locations. Deploying a distributed file manager reduces download time by placing Agile files closer to where they are needed, allowing users to configure which file manager to use.
If AutoVue for Agile PLM is used, an AutoVue for Agile PLM should also be installed locally with each distributed file manager. The local AutoVue for Agile PLM can be installed on the same system as the file manager. If local users are accessing Agile from outside the firewall, a proxy is recommended in the distributed configuration.
Agile File Managers have a peer-to-peer relationship. When a user requests a file, the request is directed to their configured file manager. If the file is found, it is served to the user. If the file is not found at that location, the file manager obtains the list of servers that have the file, then tries to retrieve the file from the closest File Manager. The file is then saved to the local vault and served to the user.
Agile recommends deploying the File Manager and AutoVue for Agile PLM on a single dual CPU system with the following minimum specifications:
Processor: Intel Xeon, 2.8 Ghz, 512KB L2 cache, 2GB RAM
Disk Space: 50MB of available disk space
An example of a distributed file management scenario might be as follows:
A user from the Tokyo site selects a file attachment to view.
The File Manager in Tokyo determines that the file is located in San Jose and downloads the file, copies it to the file vault in Tokyo, and serves the file to the user through the AutoVue for Agile PLM or directly, depending on whether the viewer is configured for the given file type.
Another user selects the same file attachment.
Because the file now resides in the Tokyo File Manager vault, it is served directly to the user.
If your company has several sites or locations, then you can consider using distributed file management. In general, the following criteria can help you to determine if you need additional file managers:
Multiple remote locations-If you have multiple remote sites connected over a WAN, clients at remote locations who need to store and retrieve files from the main file server can experience large time delays.
Reducing inter-network traffic-If your network is divided into subnets to reduce network traffic, then you should consider putting a distributed file manager in each subnet that contains Agile users to reduce your intersubnet network traffic.
Yes. While it is not usually necessary to synchronize the distributed file management servers, there are some customers whose business processes warrant the need to synchronize. If you decide that synchronization is necessary, there are several utilities you can use (Agile does not recommend a specific utility.):
Robocopy Utility - delivered with the Microsoft NT and Win2K Resource Kits. Visit www.microsoft.com for more information.
XXCopy - visit www.xxcopy.com for more information.
Yes, Agile recommends that you back up all file vaults.
Yes. If you decide to use AutoVue for Agile PLM, then it is recommended that you install a viewer at every location where you have a File Manager installed. By installing AutoVue for Agile PLM with each File Manager, you reduce network traffic.
There are two security considerations pertaining to the security of the File Manager: the server and client access.
Content in the Agile file vault must be protected from deletion or modification by unauthorized users. Agile recommends allowing access only to administrators of Agile. System users who access files through the clients do not need Add and Read privileges to the Agile file vault or file directory because the Agile File Manager retrieves the files for the user, not individual users.
Whether you are accessing files from the Java client or from the Web client, your files are secure. When the client is run from inside your firewall, the files are transferred behind the firewall, which secures your files from outside intervention. When the clients are accessing files from outside the firewall, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communications protocol is supported.
AutoVue for Agile PLM is an optional component that allows users to view and mark up documents, drawings, and CAD files in supported Web browsers. By using AutoVue for Agile PLM, you can view files without having the native application that created the file installed on your desktop computers. Another advantage of AutoVue for Agile PLM is that it can decrease system bandwidth requirements. Instead of sending rather large native files to the user, AutoVue for Agile PLM sends a smaller image file that can be viewed using the viewer applet on the client. A Web browser downloads the applet from the File Manager and stores it in the browser cache. The next time AutoVue for Agile PLM is launched, the applet is loaded from the cache, unless a new version is found on the File Manager.
The AutoVue servlet (VueServlet) is packaged and deployed as part of the File Manager installation. The JvueProxy Servlet is also deployed on the File Manager and tunnels the requests to the Agile Application Server using HTTP protocol. Because of this communication, each File Manager should have an associated AutoVue for Agile PLM on the same system or separate systems. No additional configuration is required except that specified for the Agile Web client and the caching viewer. The VueServlet is used to access AutoVue for Agile PLM across firewalls from external clients, such as the Agile Web client, on standard HTTP/HTTPS ports.
AutoVue for Agile PLM converts files from their native format to a streaming file format that is used to render 2D/3D images. These files can be cached and reused to improve viewer performance.
There are two types of streaming file caching; on-demand and offline. On-demand caching occurs in the background when a user views a file in AutoVue for Agile PLM. Offline caching occurs without any user intervention through a caching utility located on the File Manager.
During offline caching, the files are translated on a dedicated caching viewer. AutoVue for Agile PLM should not be used for offline caching as performance can be impacted. Therefore, the caching viewer should not be installed on the same system as AutoVue for Agile PLM. Also, offline caching is only supported on the primary File Manager. Distributed file managers installed in remote locations cannot use offline caching.
The primary security consideration pertaining to AutoVue for Agile PLM surrounds the native product data files that it caches when processing a view request. Deploying AutoVue for Agile PLM behind the firewall protects the native files and ensures that the only traffic going into the DMZ is streamed data for secure transmission. The ability of AutoVue for Agile PLM to stay behind the firewall along with the other main components is a significant security benefit.
