Information for IT Departments Regarding Altium NEXUS Server

Parent page: Altium NEXUS Server

While installation and use of Altium Server Technology – in the form of an Altium NEXUS Server and its related services – is detailed across other pages within this documentation site, the aim of this page is to provide a single, detailed resource for an organization's IT department. A place to come for answers to typically asked questions regarding this technology, including:

• What are the hardware requirements to install the Altium NEXUS Server?
• What is installed?
• What programs and processes are running?
• Where is the data stored?
• What ports are used?
• What protocol is used for communications?
• How is data backed up?

The following sections provide detailed answers to these and other questions, including a high-level overview of the architecture and data flows.

Hardware Requirements

The Altium NEXUS Server should be installed on a PC running one of the following officially supported Operating Systems:

• Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition (64-bit)
• Windows Server 2016 Standard Edition (64-bit)

Altium NEXUS Requirements

Installation & Other Software

Due to the observed unpredictable behavior of antivirus software, it is recommended to disable such software during the installation of the Altium NEXUS Server.

If the computer is also running Microsoft Exchange Server, you might receive an HTTP Error 503 error when you first attempt to log in. The installation of the Exchange Server can change the Internet Information Services (IIS) configuration in a way that conflicts with the NEXUS Server. To resolve this, the following changes must be made to the applicationHost.config file:

<handlers accessPolicy="Read, Script">
...

<add name="kerbauth" image="C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Bin\kerbauth.dll" preCondition="bitness64" />
<add name="WSMan" image="C:\Windows\system32\wsmsvc.dll" preCondition="bitness64" />
<add name="exppw" image="C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\ClientAccess\Owa\auth\exppw.dll" preCondition="bitness64" />
<add name="cafe_exppw" image="C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\FrontEnd\HttpProxy\bin\exppw.dll" preCondition="bitness64" />

...
</handlers>

Additional Software Installed or Configured

• Internet Information Services (IIS). For correct operation, the Altium NEXUS Server requires, at minimum, version 8.0 (IIS 8.0) to be installed. Installation of the Altium NEXUS Server will simply install the version of IIS native to your operating system:
  • IIS 10.0 – Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition (64-bit), Windows Server 2016 Standard Edition (64-bit), Windows 10 (64-bit)
  • IIS 8.5 – Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
• Firebird 3.0 database engine (where the option to install using a Firebird database is chosen). Ensure that IPv4 network addressing is enabled – to check for active IPv4 addresses, run ipconfig /all in a command prompt.
• .NET Framework 4.8 and .NET Core 3.1.2

IIS Configuration

As part of IIS configuration, the ISAPI Extensions feature is enabled. This feature can be found in the \Internet Information Services\World Wide Web Services\Application Development Features section of the Windows Features dialog – accessed from Window's Programs and Features window.

Installation of the Altium NEXUS Server enables the Windows ISAPI Extensions feature, part of IIS configuration.

Default Installation Paths

The following is a list of default installation paths when installing the Altium NEXUS Server:

• Altium NEXUS Server Installation Folder – \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium NEXUS Server.
• Firebird Installation Folder – \Program Files (x86)\Firebird\Firebird_3_0.
• Firebird Database – \ProgramData\Altium\NexusServerData\DXPSERVER.DAT.
• Revision Files Folder – \ProgramData\Altium\NexusServerData\Revisions.
• Search Index Data Folder – \ProgramData\Altium\NexusServerData\SearchData.

Default Ports

The following default communication port numbers are used by the Altium NEXUS Server:

• HTTP Port – 9780
• HTTPS Port – 9785
• LDAP Service Port – 9791

• Websocket Port – 4649
• Firebird Server Port – 3050
• SVN Port – 3690

The first three in the list can be configured during initial installation, on the Altium NEXUS Server Configuration page of the Installer.

When choosing a port, note that it must not clash with any ports used by other applications – if a port is currently in use, you will be notified by the installer.

► See information on Ports and IP Addresses for Altium Design Software.

HTTPS Protocol Support

For those that require an additional layer of security for exchanging data with the Altium NEXUS Server, the server provides for secure communication over networks using the HTTPS protocol to protect the privacy and integrity of the data.

The configuration and server bindings for the Altium NEXUS Server can be accessed from the Windows Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager panel – available from the Administration Tools window (Control Panel\System and Security\Administrative Tools). Select the 'Altium NEXUS Server' entry in the panel's Connections list, and choose the Features View tab.

Access configuration and server binding settings for the Altium NEXUS Server.

The available ports and server names for the Altium NEXUS Server are shown as selectable links in the Actions pane. Use the links to note and test the server connection protocols, or access the current name/port bindings by selecting the Bindings link in the Edit Site section of the pane.

A Binding, including its protocol port number, can be edited from the Site Bindings dialog via the Edit button.

Configure bindings through the Site Bindings dialog.

Note that the server name localhost only applies to the local machine, so PCs other than the one that is hosting the Altium NEXUS Server need to use the actual (server) name of that host machine to connect.

To confirm the name of the host PC on which the Altium NEXUS Server is installed and running, on that machine go to Control Panel\System and Security\System and note both the Computer name and Full computer name (its qualified domain name) – the latter will be that used by the Altium NEXUS Server for secure connections over the network.

Checking the name of the PC on which the Altium NEXUS Server is running.

If you have edited the server's site bindings to use a Port number that is different from the default value, that change will need to be reflected in the server's LocalVault.ini file also. This is because its port references are accessed when connections are made to the server by the NEXUS design client. The LocalVault.ini is file can be found in the server installation's root folder – typically Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium NEXUS Server.

For example, if you have changed the server's site binding to use the standard 443 port for HTTPS connections, update the corresponding HttpsPort=9785 line in the LocalVault.ini file to HttpsPort=443.

To establish a secure connection to the Altium NEXUS Server:

• From the Altium NEXUS design client – use a HTTPS prefixed server address and the configured HTTPS port. By default, this is https://localhost:9785 when using the PC that hosts the NEXUS Server, or https://<computername>:9785 for a remote connection (where [computername] is the host machine's Computer Name or qualified domain name).

• From a Web Browser – enter the address of the local service (https://localhost:9785) or the host computer name equivalent (https://<computername>:9785).

When Reconfiguring Site Bindings

If you have added a new IIS Site Binding for the server, or edited an existing Site Binding entry (see above), the server PC should be restarted to correctly establish the new configuration. Typical Site Binding changes might be editing the Port number for a host entry, or adding a new binding for a domain alias.

When it is not practical to restart the server host machine, the alternative process is to restart the server service on the IIS platform – Restart under Manage Website – and also restart the Altium Server Pinger service (a Windows service).

Protocol used for Service-to-Service Communications

SOAP over HTTP.

Service Architecture – Overview

The Altium NEXUS Server installs a number of core services, as well as browser-based management consoles, and an Explorer (also browser-based). In order to access any of these services, a user's identity must be recognized and authenticated. The Altium NEXUS Server comes with one predefined user (Username: admin, Password: admin). The Users page of the NEXUS Server's browser-based interface can be used to add and manage more users. There is no limit to the number of users that may be registered to access and use the NEXUS Server, but there is a limit on simultaneous connections, as determined and enforced by required licensing.

Altium NEXUS uses an unencrypted channel (SOAP over HTTP) for communicating with the following services:

• Applications Registry Service (when the Network Installation Service is being used as a source for extensions/updates)
• Collaboration Service
• Comments Service
• Data Acquisition Service
• Data Storage Service (DSS)
• Identity Service (IDS)
• Notifications Service
• Part Catalog Service
• Projects Service
• Simple Lock Service (SLS)
• SVN (through the SVN:// protocol)
• Tasks Service
• Team Configuration Service (TC2)
• Vault Service

All other services communicate with each other.

The majority of services require access to the same NEXUS Server database, in which to store data applicable to them. The following are examples of the data stored by some of these services:

• Part Catalog Service – stores supplier and manufacturer items, price and quantity history changes, etc...
• Identity Service – stores users, roles, licensing configuration, and session information.
• Vault Service – stores its structure (folders, items, revisions, content types, lifecycle states, etc...).

Actual documents are stored on the file system, in the Revisions folder (\ProgramData\Altium\NexusServerData\Revisions).

The following browser-based applications use SOAP API to communicate to the applicable services – they do not require access to the NEXUS Server database, nor are any other files required for them to function:

• User Management – the application behind the Users page and sub-pages in the NEXUS Server's browser interface.
• Vault Explorer – the application behind the Explorer page of the NEXUS Server's browser interface.
• Catalog Management – the application behind the Part Providers page of the NEXUS Server's browser interface.
• Projects Management – the application behind the Projects page of the NEXUS Server's browser interface.
• TC2 Console – the application behind the Configurations page of the NEXUS Server's browser interface.

License Files

Related article: Altium NEXUS Server Licensing

Licensing for the Altium NEXUS Server essentially consists of the following two components, that together comprise a two-tiered licensing system:

• Server License – this license makes the features and services of the Altium NEXUS Server installation available to the organization.
• Client Access License – this license enables users within an organization to access, and sign in to the organization's Altium NEXUS Server.

Licensing for the Altium NEXUS Server can be handled through the cloud, or locally through license files (*.alf). Acquisition of the latter is performed through the Altium Dashboard (accessed using the DASHBOARD control at the top of the Altium website). From the Licenses tab, locate the applicable license (in the Server Applications grouping of licenses) then click through to the detailed license management page. Once there, click the Activate button to generate and download the associated license file.

Backup/Restore of Server Data

Backup and restoration of your NEXUS Server data is performed from the command line, in an automated fashion, using the dedicated Backup & Restore Tool. This tool – avbackup.exe – can be found in the folder \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium NEXUS Server\Tools\BackupTool\ (for a default installation of the Altium NEXUS Server).

Re-Indexing Server Content after Data Migration

To re-index server content, for example after data migration:

1. Stop all IIS application pools associated to the Altium NEXUS Server.
2. Stop the Elasticsearch (AltiumElasticSearch) service. This is performed from the Windows Services panel – accessed from Window's Administrative Tools window.
3. Delete the content of the SearchData folder, which contains the search indexing data (\ProgramData \Altium\NexusServerData\SearchData for a default install).
4. Restart the Elasticsearch (AltiumElasticSearch) service.
5. Restart the IIS application pools associated to the NEXUS Server.

On finding the SearchData folder empty, the NEXUS Server will re-index its content once it starts.

Local SVN Design Repository – Storage

A Design Repository that is created through the local Version Control Service has its internal data stored in a corresponding sub-folder in the \ProgramData\Altium\NexusServerData\Repository folder (for a default installation of the Altium NEXUS Server).

Internal data storage location for a Design Repository created through the Altium NEXUS Server installation's local SVN-based Version Control Service.

Using Oracle for the NEXUS Server Database

Related page: Altium NEXUS Server with Oracle Backend

When installing the Altium NEXUS Server, the Oracle database type facilitates streamlined installation of the Altium NEXUS Server within organizations already utilizing this type of database as the back-end for their existing systems. Hosting the NEXUS Server on their existing infrastructure, reduces installation and management complexity.

Getting the Altium NEXUS Server installed and running with Oracle as its back-end database is essentially a two-fold process:

1. Setting up the Oracle database
2. Setting up the Altium NEXUS Server.

Preparing the Altium NEXUS Server

To be installed and run successfully, the Altium NEXUS Server requires not only the OCI client, but also relevant .Net connectors. It is recommended to install the relevant 32-bit Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC) with Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio, in accordance with the version of Oracle you are running. For testing, the ODAC 11.2 Release 5 and Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio (11.2.0.3.20) download was installed on the dedicated machine used to accommodate the NEXUS Server.