HOPEX V2R1U3 Doc

Administration tool	Component	Tasks
Windows Administration Console	Win32 (Administration.exe)	Data storage management (environment, repositories, stored procedures) Functional administration (user, permissions, workspaces, LDAP configuration, import/export...)
Must license manager	Win32 (Licensing.exe)	Management of Must license
Windows Front-End	Win32 (HOPEX.exe)	Fix unexpected configuration issue
XenApp AppCenter Console	See Citrix documentation	Management of Citrix session Monitoring of HOPEX processes
HOPEX Server Supervisor	Win32 (Hopex Server Supervisor.exe)	System supervision of the server

Reference:

• See online documentation, HOPEX Administration : Administrator Guide

Anti-virus Configuration

To maintain good performances, it is recommended to exclude certain file extension from antivirus scanning (on access scanning)

Machine	Location/File	Comment
Each machine running HOPEX	%programdata%\MEGA and subfolder Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA File extension: *.MGC	Folders of the Compiled data cache and RDBMS local cache
Each machine running HOPEX	Location: check with the HOPEX administrator Ex: C:\Program Files (x86)\MEGA\MEGA HOPEX V2R1 File extension: .	Folders of HOPEX core programs

Authentication

Windows Front-End uses standard authentication.

Authentication model	Description	Comment
Basic authentication	Authentication process is managed within HOPEX Platform. Users are declared explicitly in the HOPEX Environment and possibly mapped individually with an external directory. 3 variants: MEGA, LDAP, Windows	This model is recommended for basic deployments. No integration is required, only configuration.

Password values storage, encryption and update vary with the configuration chosen.

Authentication models	Storage	Encryption
Basic authentication (MEGA)	System repository	Encrypted, hashed
Basic authentication (Windows)	Active Directory	According to directory specifications
Basic authentication (LDAP)	LDAP directory	According to directory specifications

Reference:

• See online documentation, HOPEX Administration : Administrator Guide : Managing Users : Authentication in HOPEX

Cluster, scalability and load balancing

For large deployments, scalability and load balancing is required.

Service	Principle
Scalability	This service is provided by Citrix/TSE server deployment. A configuration file is used to share configuration between nodes.
Load balancing	This service is provided by Citrix/TSE server deployment. A shared configuration file is used to share configuration between nodes.

Data access

Access to data is mainly controlled using profiles (repository access, data permissions, and GUI permissions).

Other features are available:

• Writing access management: control of updates on existing objects.

• Reading access management: control of visibility regarding existing objects.

• Data access rules: computed control of visibility or update regarding existing objects.

Reference:

See online documentation.

• HOPEX Administration : Administrator Guide : Managing Data Reading Access

• HOPEX Administration : Administrator Guide : Managing Data Writing Access

Data storage

Each HOPEX Environment consists in one system database and in one/several data repositories.

By default data is stored in a database server (SQL Server, Oracle). This is called RDBMS storage. GBMS storage format (MEGA proprietary) is available for compatibility.

Storage	Mapping	Comment
SQL Server	A data repository is an SQL Server database A system database is an SQL Server database (1)	Create one SQL server user for the environment with specific privileges Only SQL server authentication is supported Install and schedule stored procedures per data repository or system database. No dedicated instance is required SQL Server native client (SQL Server 2012). A specific license token (Repository Storage (SQL Server)) is required for each end user. Default port can be used.
Oracle	A data repository is a user/schema A system database is a user/schema	Create one Oracle user per data repository or system database with specific privileges. Install and schedule stored procedures per data repository or system database. No dedicated instance is required. A specific license token (Repository Storage (ORACLE)) is required for each end user. No client-side installation (Oracle instant client) Default port can be used. Create one tablespace for each environment (recommendation).
GBMS	A data repository is a set of files. A system database is a set of files.	A specific license token (Lan) is required for each end user. No client-side installation. File-based. Protocol SMB 2.0 is not supported and must be disabled. GBMS storage is not supported for data repository or system database with size higher than 4 GB.

(1) This the standard recommendation. It is also possible to store a data repository in a schema of a SQL Database.

Note that RDBMS storage can be mandatory for certain products and the bundles including such products. It is also a requirement for Web Front-end.

Reference:

• Article 'RDBMS Repository Installation guide HOPEX V2R1'

See online documentation, Products.

Document management

A document management system is available through a solution or a pack. RDBMS storage is required.

Object	Location	Storage
Business Document	Data repository	Database server
System Business Document	System database	Database server

If document management is enabled, web users can add, update and consult documents.

Reference:

• See online documentation, Common Features : Managing Documentation : Using Business Documents

Error and trace logfiles

Different files can be created on the Windows client side (2):

File	Comment	Default location (example)
megaerrYYYYMMDD.txt	Error log of MIK (1)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
MEGASETTINGS.INI	User settings	%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1 Ex: C:\Users\my user\AppData\Roaming\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1
MEGAWKS.INI	Workstation settings	%programdata%\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Cfg Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Cfg
sspsprvsYYYYMMDD.txt	Supervision log	%programdata%\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\ClusterRoot\Supervision Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\ClusterRoot\Supervision
redis_server_log.txt	Redis component log	%programdata%\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Logs

(1) location can be configured

(2) For Citrix/TSE deployment, the Citrix/TSE server is considered as the Windows client.

(3) Where XX is the login name. Ex: MegaSettings-U1.ini for login U1

When using Windows Front-End, each end user must have 'modify' access to :

• The files and folders described above.

• A temporary folder (%tmp%, ex: C:\Users\myuser\AppData\Local\Temp).

For Citrix/TSE deployment, if a cluster of server is used, a configuration is available so that errors logs of MIK are saved in a central location and not on each server of the cluster.

Licensing

Products and solutions of HOPEX platform are protected by Must licenses. Must licenses can be shared between multiple users.

Must licensing is not server-based (there is no Windows process for a license server). At runtime with HOPEX Web Front-end, a set of files are generated dynamically by service account.

However, a domain user (Active directory) is required for:

• Each service account running the HOPEX (IIS) application.

• Each user running the Administration Console (system administrator, functional administrator).

• Each user running the Windows Front-end (developer, functional administrator, user associated to a scheduled task).

To obtain a license, contact your sales representative. A UNC will be requested and a .must license file (locked on this UNC) will be sent with installation instructions.

Reference:

• Article 'Must License Installation Guide HOPEX V2R1'.

Mail system

A mail server needs to be configured so that mail notifications can be used within workflows.

SMTP parameters (server, port, proxy...) can be configured for the installation using the Administration console.

Multi-language

Windows Front-End enables to work with multiple languages.

Nature	List	Installation	Comment
GUI Language	Core languages (1)	Core languages are installed by default. With additional languages, it can be requested to install a language pack on the Application Server.	Controls the display of the user interface (menus, pages…) Different end users can have different GUI languages.
Data language	More than 30 languages available	Core languages are installed by default. Additional languages are installed at environment level	Enables data entry in several languages for objects. A end user can switch between several data languages within his session

(1) Core languages are English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.

To ensure a correct display under Windows with specific languages, it can be requested to set the system parameter 'Languages for non-Unicode programs' for each Windows machine:

• Standard deployment: each windows client.

• Citrix/TSE deployment: each Citrix/TSE server.

Physical backup

In case you face a real disaster recovery scenario, presence of a valid and restorable backup is very important.

Element	Recommendations
Frequency	Every 24 hours (1) (2)
Retention	In the last 30 days keep daily backup In the last 12 months keep a monthly backup
Other files to backup	By default folder of each HOPEX Environment

(1) For HOPEX Environment used by an active project

(2) In particular before major update concerning data. E.g.: system database customization, data reprocessing, CP/RP upgrade of HOPEX data

Specific recommendations

Storage	Mode
SQL Server	Cold/warm backup recommended (3)
Oracle	Cold/warm recommended (3)
GBMS	Cold/warm recommended (3)(4)

(3) No HOPEX end-user should be connected while backup is performed

(4) We have found that with some file systems, differential/incremental backup did not save HOPEX repository files correctly. We cannot guarantee hot backup mode either.

Redo logs and activity tracking

Service	Activation	Comment
Embedded log (repository log)	Enabled by default	Enables to generate a log of updates (redo log), activity tracking. Also used by specific features (full search, alter management…) This log can be partially/completely initialized and disabled using Windows Administration Console.
External log (backup logfile)	Enabled by default	Enables to generate additional command files logging the updates of a user (backup log) that can be useful to recover quickly data after an incident. This log can be disabled using Windows Administration Console.

Reference:

See online documentation

• HOPEX Administration … Managing Repositories.

• HOPEX Administration … Managing logfiles.

• HOPEX Administration … Optimizing Repository Access Performance.

Regular administration tasks

A few tasks need to be run and can be automated (a specific integration is required):

Task	Machine involved	Comment
Conservation of repository performance	Database server	Stored procedure to be installed and scheduled for each data repository and system database. Can be automated. SQL server only.
Deletion of historical data	Database server	Stored procedure to be installed and scheduled for each data repository and system database. Can be automated. Pointless with GBMS
Deletion of transaction temporary data	Database server	Stored procedure to be installed and scheduled for each data repository and system database. Can be automated. Pointless with GBMS
Environment compilation	Application server	To build system cache. System updates are impossible during compilation. Need to stop HOPEX related processes
Information about fragmentation and statistics	Database server	Generates a technical report regarding physical indexing (statistics gathering)
Maintenance plan (SQL Server storage	Database server	Required with several tasks. Can be automated. Refer to the article 'RDBMS Repository Installation Guide HOPEX V1R2 EN
Physical backup of data (GBMS)	File server	Required. Daily backup recommended. Can be automated.
Physical backup of data (RDBMS)	Database server	Required. Daily backup recommended. Can be automated.
Repository reorganization (GBMS)	Application server Database server	Required with GBMS. Can be automated. Pointless with RDBMS
Restart server	Citrix/TSE Application server	Can be required in case of problem

Reporting

There are two main categories of reports:

Category	Native format	conversion format	Comment
Report	HTML	RTF, XLS, XLSX, PDF	Generated from a Report template According to the Report template considered, certain conversion format may not be available.
Report (MS Word)	RTF	-	Generated from a Report template (MS Word).

To open a report from the windowd client, a reader corresponding to the format should be installed.

Example: MS Excel to read .XLS documents, Adobe reader to read .PDF documents, Open Office/MS Word to read .RTF documents.

To design Report templates (MS Word), Windows Front-End and MS Word are required. The Office 2010/2013/2016 versions 32 bit versions should be used (64 bit versions are not supported).

Execution mode	Compatible Web Front-End	Comment
.RTF mode	Yes	Set by default Look and feel can be slightly different as style application is not enforced. RTF macros are not supported. MS Word (such as table of content) are not refreshed
.DOC mode	No	Can be configured by default

Reference:

See online documentation

• HOPEX Power Studio … Report Studio

• HOPEX Power Studio … Customizing Reports (MS Word)

Security

All ports used in the HOPEX platform are either configurable or set elsewhere. No specific port is required or hard-coded. To configure firewall ports, see the 'Communications' section earlier in this document.

If a local enterprise proxy is used, it should be configured by adding an excluding rule on the proxy. The rule refers to the IP address of the HOPEX web server involved.

File permissions should enable access to:

• Error and trace logfiles (see section 'Error and trace logfiles' in this document).

• License folder.

• Environment folder.

Reference:

Article 'Web Front-End - Securing the platform'.

Services and running processes

One Windows service is installed on the machine:

Service	Executable	Startup type	User	Server
HopexRedisBackEnd	redis-server.exe	Automatic	Local system	Each server used to deploy Web Front-end

Several processes can run on the machine:

Process	User	Comment
mgwmapp	Current user	One per end-user session (per running instance of HOPEX.exe)
mgwmapp	Current user	One per running instance of Windows Administration Console (Administration.exe)
redis-server	Local system	One per machine.

If SSP is installed (custom setup), a service is installed and additional process will run.

Supervision

The HOPEX platform enables system monitoring.

Supervision logfiles are updated by the server running the SSP when various events occur.

This information can be consulted via HOPEX Server Supervisor (Windows utility).

A WMI probe can also enable to supervise HOPEX from standard tools supporting WMI (a specific integration is required).

Reference:

See online documentation, HOPEX Administration … Managing Events

System caches

Several caches are created on the Windows client. For Citrix/TSE deployment, the Citrix/TSE server is considered as the Windows client.

Cache type	Location	Average disk space	Comment
RDBMS local cache	Default location: %programdata%\MEGA\<version code>\Cache\RDBMS data Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Cache\RDBMS data	1-20 GB (1)	One folder per HOPEX environment. Cache of data saved in database server. Can be disabled. Updated dynamically at runtime.
Compiled data cache	Default location: %programdata%\MEGA\<version code>\Cache\Compiled data Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Cache\Compiled data	10-30 MB (1)	One folder per HOPEX environment. Cache of systemdb configuration. Cannot be disabled. Updated by environment compilation.
Cache of MetaPicture	Default location: %programdata%\MEGA\<version code>\Cache\Compiled data Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Cache\Compiled data	1-5 MB	Cache of images. Cannot be disabled. Updated dynamically at runtime.

(1) For one HOPEX environment

Technical documentation

Category	Audience	Format	Language code
Installation and deployment guides	System administrator, functional administrator	PDF	EN
Online documentation	End user, functional administrator	web site	EN, FR, IT, DE
Technical articles	Developer, functional administrator	PDF	EN
Javadoc	Developer	HTML pages	EN

Installation and deployment guides and user manuals are installed in the subfolder \Documentation of HOPEX programs folder

Example: C:\Program Files (x86)\MEGA\HOPEX V2R1\Documentation

Language codes:

EN : English	IT: Italian
FR: French	DE: German

* can be available a few months after the initial release