During cxImpact installation, one Replay Server is created for you. This Replay Server is designated as the master server. Depending on the load on the Replay server, you might need to install and deploy additional Replay servers.
- If you have multiple Replay servers and deactivate the master server, the Portal automatically designates another Replay server as the new master.
- If you have only one Replay server, you cannot deactivate it, since it is the master server by default.
When a Replay server receives a command to open a session, one of the following occurs, depending on the status of the master Replay server:
- The Replay server checks to see if it is the master Replay server. If so, it uses the local copy of the replay profile.
- The Replay server knows that another machine is the master Replay server and retrieves the master profile from it.
- If the master Replay server is unavailable, the requesting Replay server uses its local copy.
- If the master Replay server is available, the retrieved profile is stored locally, for future use.
- The Replay server can't determine which server is the master Replay server. The requesting server uses its local copy of the profile. At startup, the requesting Replay server logs an error message in the Windows™ event log.
Basic workflow
Assuming that you have already installed at least one Tealeaf CX Server, the following basic steps outline how to add a Replay Server.
- Acquire (if needed) and install new hardware to host the Replay Server.
- Install a Portal-only on the new server.
- In the Tealeaf cxImpact Installer, select the Portal-only option.
- Complete the installation.
- In
CanSvcs.cfg, set all non-Replay Server services to manually restart:- Search Server
- Data Collector
- Data Service
Note: The only services to retain are TMS, Search Server and Replay Server.
- All non-Replay Server services must be configured to Manual start through the Windows Services control panel on the host machine.
- Add the server through the Portal Management page.
Assessing Replay server load
In an environment with multiple Replay Servers, sessions are managed and served to BBR users in a round-robin fashion among the active Replay Servers.
- When a BBR user requests a session for replay, the session is served by the next Replay Server based on current load, and the serving Replay Server is moved to the bottom of the list.
- Every twenty seconds, the load list is rebuilt based on the current load of each server. The server that most recently served a session is always placed at the bottom of the list.
Before installing additional Replay servers
Before you create a reference to additional Replay Servers in the Portal, verify that the following components have been installed on the designated server. These components are available in the cxImpact installer, using the Report Server and Portal Web Application component.
- Disable Interactive Services Detection.
For the WebKit/Chrome renderer to function properly, the Interactive Services Detection service on the server hosting Replay Server must be disabled.
Note: When you add a new Replay Server, the Interactive Services Detection service must be disabled to prevent conflicts with the WebKit/Chrome renderer.- If you enable the Replay Server on a server already hosting Tealeaf software, you may need to manually disable this service.
- If you are installing the Replay Server using the Installer, it automatically disables the service.
- Replay Server must run as Local System
The Replay Server must be configured to run as the Local System user on the server.
Configuring Replay server instances
After the software has been installed on the designated server, you must add a reference to the new Replay Server through the Portal Management page. For each Replay Server, you must create a reference for it in the Portal.
Through the Portal Management page, you can configure whitelist rules. When these rules are defined, all matching URLs are allowed to contact the origin server for content, which allows you to prevent other URLs from contacting the server and triggering server-side actions based on replay contact.
To configure whitelist rules for multiple Replay Servers, please complete the following steps.
- On the master Replay Server, configure your replay whitelist rules.
- Test these rules to verify that they are functioning properly.
- If you have not done so already, in the Portal Management page, define the slave Replay Servers.
- Through TMS, enable whitelist rules on the slave servers.
- In the Portal menu, navigate to TMS.
- In TMS, click the WorldView tab.
- From the View drop-down, select Servers.
- For each server hosting a Replay Server instance:
- Select the server.
- Click the Replay Server node.
- Click Replay Server configuration.
- Click View/Edit.
- Click the Whitelist Enable option.
- Set this value to
1. - Click Apply.
- Click Save.
- Click Add to Current Job.
- Repeat the above steps for each Replay Server in the environment.
- When all Replay Servers have been updated, click the Jobs tab in TMS.
- Select the job and click Submit.
- All Replay Servers are now enabled to use whitelists.
- Test replay on the slave servers to verify that the white list rules are being applied.