Chapter 3: Planning Deployment for an EKM Server

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## Chapter 3: Planning Deployment for an EKM Server

Every EKM server is deployed in a cluster configuration, which provides flexible deployment options. Cluster configuration allows EKM to scale and adapt to serve different workloads, and can be configured for fault-tolerance.

An EKM server cluster configuration consists of the following cluster components:

- One cluster file server.

- One cluster database server.

- One or more cluster nodes.

- (Optional) One front-end web server.[3]

These components collectively form a single EKM server in a cluster configuration. The cluster components may be installed on any combination of server hosts, from a single server host to multiple server hosts.

At a minimum, an EKM server must have a single cluster node. An EKM server with only a single cluster node is referred to as a single-node server. This deployment option allows you to start with a simple deployment, and to expand by deploying additional cluster nodes as your needs grow.

An EKM server with multiple cluster nodes is referred to as a multi-node server. A multi-node server provides the following benefits:

- High availability: If an EKM cluster node fails, other cluster nodes in the cluster are still able to serve EKM users.

- Scalability: The number of simultaneous users supported by an EKM server increases (scales up) as you add cluster nodes.

- Load balancing: Connections to an EKM server are load balanced to ensure that users are spread evenly across the cluster nodes, optimizing performance for any given number of users.

In a multi-node EKM server, multiple cluster nodes are grouped together to appear as if they were a single, larger server. Incoming requests from users (clients) all come in to a common URL. From there, clients are connected to individual cluster nodes. The cluster nodes share a common cluster database server, a common cluster file server, and a common front-end web server that acts as a load balancer. The load balancer distributes user sessions so that for any number of users accessing the EKM server, the sessions will be spread more or less evenly across the nodes in the cluster.

One cluster node in a cluster configuration is designated the primary node. The primary node provides centralized configuration and management for the cluster. Each additional node is called a non-primary node. All cluster nodes run the EKM server application and handle user requests. When installing the EKM server using ANSYS EKM Server product installation, you will install one required primary node, and one or more optional non-primary nodes.

Note: The front-end web server is optional for a single-node EKM server, but is required for a multi-node EKM server.

In a cluster, the configuration of the EKM server can vary depending on where the components are set up. Two example configurations are shown in the figures below (Figure 3.1: Cluster: Example 1 and Figure 3.2: Cluster: Example 2).

Figure 3.1: Cluster: Example 1

Figure 3.2: Cluster: Example 2

Understanding your goals for setting up an EKM server will help determine how to deploy the components. Each deployment of EKM is unique, given the different goals (scalability, fault-tolerance), and resources available in each situation. Careful consideration should be given to how to set up each of the cluster components to best meet your EKM server deployment goals.

[3] The front-end web server is optional for a single-node EKM server, but is required for a multi-node EKM server.

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