HOPEX V4 Doc EN

Administration tool	Component	Tasks
Web Administration Desktop	Desktop of HOPEX Web Front-End	Functional administration (user, permissions, workspaces, LDAP configuration, import/export...)
Web Supervision console	.NET application	Monitoring of running processes and events…
Web Monitoring console	.NET application	Monitoring of connected user, management of logs, installation checks…
Web Licensing console	.NET application	Monitoring of license use, assignment of users to the license…
Windows Administration Console	Win32 (Administration.exe)	Data storage management (environment, repositories, stored procedures) Functional administration (user, permissions, workspaces, LDAP configuration, import/export...)
Monitoring Console	.net web page (XX.aspx)	Supervision of HOPEX (IIS) application
IIS manager	Win64 (InetMgr.exe)	Management of IIS server
Must license manager	Win32 (Licensing.exe)	Management of Must license
Windows Front-End	Win32 (HOPEX.exe)	Fix unexpected configuration issue
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 V4 File extension: .	Folders of HOPEX core programs
Each machine running HOPEX IIS application	Location: see HOPEX administrator Ex: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\HOPEX File extension: .	Folders of HOPEX IIS application

Authentication

Basic authentication (variant MEGA) is available immediately after installation.

Other authentication models need to be configured in HOPEX or integrated with HOPEX after installation.

With HOPEX V4, an authentication framework called 'UAS (Unified Authentication Service) is used. It enables to:

• Secure authentication requests.

• Use standard identity providers.

Several authentication models can be implemented:

Authentication models	Description	Comment
SAML2 authentication	Authentication process is managed within HOPEX Platform. Users are declared in an external directory. A standard provider is available, implemented using AD FS (Active Directory Federation Services).	This model is recommended for standard deployments where SAML2 is used. No integration is required, only configuration and testing. Enables Web Single Sign-on (Web SSO)
Windows Authentication	Authentication process is managed within HOPEX Platform. Users are declared in an external directory. A standard provider is available, implemented using WIF (Windows Identity Foundation)	This model is recommended for standard deployments where Windows Authentication is used. No integration is required, only configuration and testing. Enables Web Single Sign-on (Web SSO)
OpenID authentication	Authentication process is managed within HOPEX Platform. Users are declared in an external directory. Standard providers are available for the following identity providers: Microsoft, Salesforce, Google	This model is recommended for standard deployments where OpenID is used. No integration is required for the 3 identity providers addressed, only configuration and testing. For other identity providers, a specific integration is required. Enables Web Single Sign-on (Web SSO)
Basic authentication (legacy 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.
Fully custom authentication	Authentication process is external to the HOPEX platform (UAS is skipped). All types of IT corporate directory can be addressed (customized identity provider)	This model is not recommended. It can be used for advanced deployments with specific requirement. It requires a specific integration.

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

Authentication models	Identity provider	Encryption
OpenID authentication	According to connector used (Microsoft, Salesforce, Google)	According to identity provider specifications
SAML2 authentication	ADFS, OKTA..	According to directory specifications
Windows Authentication	ADFS	According to directory specifications
Basic authentication (MEGA)	MEGA (System repository)	Encrypted, hashed
Basic authentication (Windows)	ADFS	According to directory specifications
Basic authentication (LDAP)	LDAP directory (ADFS…)	According to directory specifications
Fully custom authentication	According to implementation	According to implementation

Reference:

Online documentation

• HOPEX Administration … Authentication in HOPEX

• HOPEX Unified Authentication Service

Certificate

By default, one certificate is installed. It enables to encrypt communication regarding authentication. Once installed with HOPEX master, this certificate is not updated when installing version updates (CP or hotfix).

It is customer responsibility to update it before expiration using standard tools.

A page in MEGA Community is dedicated to this.

https://community.mega.com/t5/Downloads-Updates/Certificates/ta-p/21403

Cluster, scalability, load balancing

This document contains metrics for a small deployment. Sizing is a complex matter that is closely linked to infrastructure and can be impacted by security policy. Therefore, medium, or large deployments need specific studies:

• Initial sizing according to load hypothesis.

• Load tests in the final infrastructure to check that sizing is appropriate.

For large deployments, scalability and load balancing is required.

Service	Principle
Scalability	Install on a cluster/farm server. A configuration file is used to share configuration between nodes.
Load balancing	Install on a cluster/farm server. Use a load balancer mechanism to balance load between nodes. A specific integration is required.
High availability	Install on a cluster/farm server. Use server SSP nodes (multiple SSP servers) Use a load balancer mechanism to balance load between nodes. A specific study is recommended.

To implement load balancing, various solutions are available on the market. In all cases the solution must be qualified and supported by customers and/or third parties.

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 regarding existing objects.

Reference:

See online documentation.

• HOPEX Administration … Managing Data Reading Access

• HOPEX Administration … Managing Data Writing Access

Data storage

Each HOPEX Environment consists of one system repository and one/several data repositories.

By default, data is stored in a database server (SQL Server).

Storage	Mapping	Comment
SQL Server	A data repository is an SQL Server database. A system repository 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 by data repository or system repository. No dedicated instance is required. SQL Server native client. Default port can be used.

Note that other databases can be created with specific features (datamart, specific mode for storing UAS data).

Reference:

• See online documentation, Products.

Document management

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

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 … Using Business Documents

Error and trace logfiles

No log is generated on the client side. All errors are displayed using popup windows or via the HTML browser. An option enables to control the display of errors to end users (GUI).

For advanced diagnostic, a verbose mode can be enabled to generate more detailed logfiles.

Different files can be created on server side:

File	Comment	Default location (example)
sspsprvsYYYYMMDD.txt	Supervision log (3)	%programdata%\MEGA\HOPEX V4\ClusterRoot\Supervision Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V4\ClusterRoot\Supervision
SSPLOGYYYYMMDD.txt	Core SSP log (1)(3)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
ssperrYYYYMMDD.txt	Environment SSP log (1)(3)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
MWASLOGYYYYMMDD.txt	MWAS component log (1)(5)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
megaerrYYYYMMDD.txt	MIK component log (1)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
uas-YYYY-MM-DD.log	UAS component log (4)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs\UAS Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGALogs\UAS
SWDLOGYYYYMMDD.txt	Service Watchdog log (1)(2)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
dtpxYYYYMMDD.txt	DTPX component log (4)	<iis root>\HOPEX\App_Data\DTPX Ex C:\inetpub\wwwroot\HOPEX\App_Data\DTPX
redis_server_log.txt	Redis component log (2)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs
HopexHealthDigestReportYYYY-MM-DD_XX-XX-XX.html HopexHealthFullReportYYYY-MM-DD_XX-XX-XX.html	Installation health report	%programdata%\MEGA\HOPEX V4\ClusterRoot\RepositoryHealth Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V4\ClusterRoot\RepositoryHealth
RepositoryHealth-YYYY-MM-DD-MyEnvironment_MyRepository	repository statistics	%programdata%\MEGA\HOPEX V4\ClusterRoot\HopexHealth Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V4\ClusterRoot\RepositoryHealth
Hopex-[Macro]-YYYYMMDD.log	NET macro (web services)	%programdata%\MEGA\Logs Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\Logs

Where

• DD is a number indicating the day in the month.

• MM is a number indicating the month in the year.

• YYYY is a number indicating the year.

(1) Location can be configured

(2) Generated for each server where HOPEX components are installed

(3) Generated for the server running SSP

(4) Generated for the server running HOPEX Front-end

(5) Generated for the server running HOPEX Back-end

Full search and indexing

Solutions of HOPEX platform can use full search. A parameter at data repository and/or system repository level enables to activate indexing.

There are 2 levels of indexing:

• Full indexing: the data repository/system repository is scanned, and index files are created in a subfolder of the data repository/system repository.

• Incremental indexing: the log (internal) of the data repository/system repository is scanned and index files are updated in a subfolder of the data repository/system repository.

Full search and indexing are available with RDBMS storage only.

Reference:

See online documentation

• HOPEX Administration … Enabling and Customizing Repository Indexing

• Common Features … Presentation of search tools

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:

• Online documentation, Must License Installation Guide.

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

Web 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. An end user can switch between several data languages within his session

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

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, backup folder of each HOPEX Environment

(1) For HOPEX Environment used by an active project

(2) Before a major update concerning data. E.g.: system repository customization, data reprocessing, CP/RP upgrade of MEGA data

Cold/warm backup are supported.

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, alert 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 often be automated:

Task	Server involved	Comment
Conservation of repository performance	Database server	Stored procedure to be installed and scheduled for each data repository and system repository. 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 repository. Can be automated.
Deletion of private workspace temporary data	Database server	Stored procedure to be installed and scheduled for each data repository and system repository. Can be automated.
Environment compilation	Application server	To build system cache. System updates are impossible during compilation. Need to stop HOPEX Services and HOPEX related processes
Full indexing	Server running SSP	Manual.
Incremental indexing	Server running SSP	Automated using HOPEX Scheduler.
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. Need to service interruption (stop SSP) Refer to the online documentation, HOPEX Administration
Physical backup of data (SQL Server)	Database server	Required. Daily backup recommended. Can be automated.
Restart HOPEX Web site	Web server	For HOPEX program upgrade (CP upgrade) Can be required in case of problem
Restart IIS server	Web application server	Can be required in case of problem For IIS programs upgrade
Restart server	Application server	Can be required in case of problem
Restart SSP service (1)	SSP server	For HOPEX program upgrade (CP upgrade) For certain changes (license, list of environments, and list of repositories…) Can also be required in case of problem

(1) Windows service 'Mega Site Service Provider'.

Reporting

There are three categories of reports:

Category	Native format	conversion format	Comment
Report	HTML	RTF, XLS, XLSX, PDF	Windows or web Front-End Generated from a Report template According to the Report template considered, certain conversion formats may not be available.
Report (MS Word)	RTF	-	Windows or web Front-End Generated from a list or from a Report template (MS Word).
Instant report	HTML	-	Web Front-end only Generated from a list or from a Report DataSet. A report DataSet is a table of data generated from a Report DataSet Definition

To open a report from the web 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.

(1) Web Front-End does not enable to design Report templates (MS Word): templates must be developed on Windows Front-End with MS Word 32-bit and delivered using a specific procedure.

Execution mode	File size	Comment
.DOCX mode (by default)	Limited	Some restrictions compared to .DOC mode (no longer supported) RTF macros are not supported MS Word fields (such as table of content) are not refreshed Minor formatting issues
.RTF mode	Important (RTF format is verbose)

Reference:

See online documentation

• HOPEX Power Studio … Report DataSet Definition

• HOPEX Power Studio … Report Studio

• HOPEX Power Studio … Customizing Reports (MS Word)

Rest API

The HOPEX REST API catalog allow you to programmatically access many of the features and data available in the HOPEX Platform.

The API supports a wide range of uses cases including: integrations with other systems, building mobile app, creating website

The full documentation of the end point is available here :

https://explore.postman.com/team/megainternational

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.

MEGA strongly recommends configuring HTTPS to improve the security of flows between the Web Client and the Web Server. This requires a specific configuration of IIS and HOPEX.

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:

• Online documentation, Securing the platform

Services and running processes

Several Windows services are created by the installation:

Service	Executable	Startup type	User (1)	Server
HOPEX Site Service Provider	mgwssp.exe	Automatic	Local system	SSP server
HOPEX Service Watchdog	mgwswd.exe	Automatic	Local system	Each server used to deploy Web Front-end
HopexRedisBackEnd	redis-server.exe	Automatic	Local system	Each server used to deploy Web Front-end

At runtime, several processes can be created.

Process	User	Comment	Number
mgwssp	Local system (1)	Core SSP	One/several per installation. Runs on SSP server. Started by windows service
mgwmapp	Local system (1)	Core SSP
mgwspro	Local system (1)	Environment SSP (MIK)	One per HOPEX Environment. Runs on SSP server
mgwspro	Local system	Scheduled job	According to scheduler configuration
mgwmwas	Service account	MWAS (HOPEX)	One per web application server
mgwmapp	Service account	MWAS (HOPEX)	One per web application server
mgwspro	Service account	Web session (MIK)	One per end user (single session), one per group of users (multi session)
mgwswd.exe	Service account	Service Watchdog	One per server application server. Started by windows service
mgwmapp	Current user	Administration Console	One per running instance of Administration Console. Started manually.
HOPEX Server Supervisor	Current user	HOPEX Server Supervisor utility	One per running instance of the utility. Started manually.

(1) Can be configured

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

• Web Supervision console

• 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 server.

Cache type	Location (disk)	Average size (disk)	Comment
Cache of systemdb and data repository (HOPEX-RDBMS cache, memory)	-	-	Process redis-server.exe in memory One process per HOPEX server Process can reach maximum 2 GB Ram
Compiled data cache	Default location: %programdata%\MEGA\<version code>\Cache\Compiled data Ex: C:\ProgramData\MEGA\HOPEX V4\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 V4\Cache\Compiled data	1-5 MB	Cache of images. Cannot be disabled. Updated dynamically at runtime.
Cache of resources	Default location: <iis root>\wwwroot\HOPEX\ App_Data\MWAS\res Ex: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\HOPEX\ App_Data\MWAS\res	1-10 MB (1)	Cache of resources for MWAS. 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
Technical articles	Developer, functional administrator	web site	EN
API script documentation (Javadoc)	Developer	HTML pages	EN
Web service documentation	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 V4\Documentation

Language codes:

EN : English	IT: Italian*	NL*
FR: French	DE: German*	ES: Spanish *

* can be available a few months after the initial release