App Server

The App Server acts as the application's frontend and the primary interface for end users. All features and functionalities of Zoho Analytics are accessed through the App Server. In a distributed architecture, multiple instances of the App Server collaborate to manage processing and user access, with one server designated as the primary server.

Note: For multiple App Servers, you need a third-party load balancer, such as Nginx, to effectively manage and distribute traffic across the servers. Click here to learn more.

Minimum system requirements

Specification	Evaluation	Production
OS	Windows 10 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and above	Any 64 bit Windows 2019 Server R2 and above Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and above
Processor	2 GHz or higher, and Quad core processor or higher	2 GHz or higher, and Quad core processor or higher
CPU architecture	x64 IA64	x64 IA64
Memory	16GB	32GB
Free Disk Space	50GB (SSD)	250GB (SSD)
Supported browsers	Google Chrome - Latest 3 versions Mozilla Firefox - Latest 3 versions	Google Chrome - Latest 3 versions Mozilla Firefox - Latest 3 versions

Installation

Initially, you need to install the application on a server that will function as the parent/primary App Server. Then, proceed to install the same application on additional servers, which will serve as child App Servers. To do this, follow these steps:

Download the Zoho Analytics application from this page.
Install Zoho Analytics by following the steps based on your server's OS type.
Note: On successful installation of Zoho Analytics, please do not start the application immediately. As the primary and child App Servers must be started and configured in a specific sequence, which involves some intermediate steps.

You can use the same downloaded application and follow the above steps to install the child App Servers. Ensure that both the primary and all child App Servers are installed on servers with the same OS type.

Configuration

Note: Only the Admin user of the primary App Server can perform the below configuration.

Step 1: Start the parent/primary App Server

The parent/primary App Server represents the Zoho Analytics application, which is installed initially.

For Windows:
1. Log in to the primary server.
2. Open the Run dialog, type services.msc and click OK.
3. In the Services dialog that appears, locate Zoho Analytics and Start the application.
For Linux (both Graphical and Console mode):
1. Log in to the primary server.
2. Open the command prompt and navigate to the <Zoho Analytics home>/bin directory (Home folder refers to the installation directory of Zoho Analytics).
3. Run the sh app_ctl.sh run command to start the Zoho Analytics application.

It will take a few seconds to start all the modules. Once the startup is complete, you can access the application using the following URL: https://<Hostname>:<Web server port> (Hostname represents the hostname or the IP address of the server and the Web server port is the server port chosen at the time of installation), For example: https://bi-server:8443.

Step 2: Access the parent/primary App Server (Zoho Analytics Application)

Access the Zoho Analytics application using the following URL: https://<Hostname>:<Web server port>.
Provide the default username (admin) and password (admin), and click Sign In.
Complete the initial configuration. Click here to learn more.

Step 3: Add the machine configuration of the child server

Navigate to Settings > Multi-Server Configuration > Machine Configuration. Please note that the primary server details are added by default.
Enter the static IP address of the server where the child App Server is installed.
Provide a unique name for the server according to your preference.
Select the server's OS type from the drop-down menu. It should be the same as that of the primary server. As both the primary and child servers should run on the same OS type.
Click Save. Repeat these steps to configure additional child hosts.
Navigate to the Machine List tab.
Hover over the primary server's name and click the Edit icon that appears.
Update the IP address from the default IP to the static IP address of the primary server, as Zoho Analytics initially uses the localhost IP address, which needs to be replaced with a static IP for the primary server.
Zoho Analytics lets you view all added server details under the Machine List tab, where you also have the option to edit or delete configurations as needed.

Step 4: Start the GRPC agent on the child server

Prerequisite: The GRPC agent for the App Server operates on port 5378. Ensure that this port is available. If the port is already in use, please try to make it available. Else, please contact us at onprem-support@zohoanalytics.com our support experts will help you.

Log in to the server where you have installed the child App Server.
Open command prompt and navigate to the <ZohoAnalytics home>/bin directory.
Run the following command to start the GRPC agent on the child server.
- For Windows: grpcagent.bat
- For Linux: sh grpcagent.sh

Step 5: Configure the App Server information

Login to the Zoho Analytics application (i.e. the primary App Server).
Navigate to Settings > Multi-Server Configuration > App Server. Please note that the primary App Server details are added by default.
From the App Server tab, select the desired machine configuration from the list where the child App Server is installed. If needed, you can add a new machine configuration by selecting the + Add more option from the drop-down menu.
Provide a unique name for the App Server based on your preference. This name is useful in identifying the desired App Server in the Operational Control Center.
Enter the port number on which the application is running in the App Server Port section.
Click Save.

Upon successful addition, a success message will appear at the bottom of the screen. Please repeat these steps to add more child App Server details.

Note: The details of newly added Child App Servers will not appear in the App Server List tab until the child App Servers are started.

Step 6: Stop the GRPC agent on the child server

Log in to the server where you have installed the child App Server.
Open command prompt and navigate to the <ZohoAnalytics home>/bin directory.
Press CTRL+C to stop the GRPC agent on the child server.

Step 7: Start the child App Server

Start the child App Server by following the steps below

For Windows:
1. Open the Run dialog, type services.msc and click OK.
2. In the Services dialog that appears, locate Zoho Analytics and Start the application.
For Linux (both Graphical and Console mode):
1. Open the command prompt and navigate to the <Zoho Analytics home>/bin directory (Home folder refers to the installation directory of Zoho Analytics).
2. Run the sh app_ctl.sh run command to start the Zoho Analytics application.

Step 8: Check the user interface

Once the child App Server starts successfully, navigate to Settings > Multi-Server Configuration > App Server > App Server List tab; the child App Server details will be listed.

Note: When you delete a child App Server configuration in Zoho Analytics, it should also be removed from the load balancer and the application should be uninstalled from the server. Users cannot reconfigure the same server without uninstalling it first. However, you can uninstall and reinstall the application on the same server if needed, and then reconfigure it.