Installation Planning

Architecture Specifications

The potentially complex architecture of Innovator means that a small amount of input is required to define planned structures. This input needs to be carried out upon installation. However, this can also be easily changed in the Administration Program at a later stage.

Different operating systems use specific techniques for storing these settings.

The registration settings are stored in the registry under Microsoft Windows.
Environment variables must be assigned with the individual settings under Linux.

The following talks about environment variables in general.

The following table provides an overview of the most important settings defined during the Innovator installation. The first column lists some expressions that are frequently used in the installation programs and in this introduction, the second column lists the environment variables that contain the relevant data. The third column contains further explanations.

Table: Overview of Environment Variables (Extract)
Meaning	Variable	Description
Interface Language	INOLANG	Language in which to work with Innovator. The installation package language is used as default.
License Server Computer	INOHOST	Computer on which the license server is to run and details of the communication channels in the format <License server host name>.<port number>
Settings (Parameter Files)	INODIR	Directory path that the parameter files are or will be stored on; icons and the Java files for engineering actions etc. can also be found here. You can use a shared workgroup directory and, in doing so, use common settings.
License Directory	INOLIC	Directory path where you will find or can store the license repository by default. Only relevant for computers with a license server.
Project Directory	INOPRJ	Default directory path component which repositories (projects) are maintained and stored in. Only relevant for computers with a model server.
Notification Service Working Directory	INONOTIFY	Optional: The `innonotify.json` configuration file's directory path for the notification service. If the environment variable is not set and notifications are set-up, then the configuration file is searched in the `$INOPRJ\inonotify` directory. The notification service's log files are also stored in the directory.
User-Specific Settings	INOHOME	The parameters in the INODIR directory are intended as central specifications. The individual user can override these specifications using their special settings. These are stored in the INOHOME directory. If this variable is not explicitly set, then a subdirectory in the %APPDATA% directory specified by the operating system is automatically used.

Further specifications are possible and/or necessary. They are described in the installation chapters for the respective operating system type.

Some of the environment variables do not have to be set on all operating systems.

Depending on the operating system and type of installation, you require administrative rights on the respective system when installing Innovator.

Server Computer

How many servers and what sizes are needed?

It can be challenging to specify a suitable dimension for the Innovator server regarding CPU and memory, particularly when installing Innovator for the first time. Utilization of resources correlates to the utilization of the model server. This means that only rough approximations can be identified at the beginning.

An important factor is how many models you want users to have online access to. e.g. You need to provide four model versions at the same time if you have a previous version, a development version and a test version for a productive model.

Memory requirements per model depend on the size of the models, i.e. the amount of model content. This may range from a very small model of 300 MB to a very large model of 2 GB.

We recommend that you calculate a logical CPU core for each active model server. Requirements for processing power for a single processor core are mainly calculated based on the number of users who work on a model at the same time.

Which computer will the main license server run on?

This setting is of critical importance for operating Innovator. Due to its central position in the Innovator architecture, the main license server must be accessible from every computer that will run Innovator programs.

The computer that will run the main license server must be determined during installation. Although it is possible to change it at a later date, this would require all Innovator licenses to be activated by MID GmbH again.

There are relatively few system requirements for operating a license server and bus and hub components so that you do not require a powerful computer for this.

Restriction

You may run into issues when running the main license server on a virtual machine as computer identification may change if changes are made to the virtual machine. This, in turn, would cause issues with the license repository. This would cause an invalid license repository ("License server host not registered in license repository").

What open ports are required for the network?

Open ports depend on the type and number of installed components.

License server: three ports are required for one license server and the bus and hub components it requires. Port p must be entered for the license server and the other components always use the p+1 and p+2 port numbers.
Agent: one port is required for one agent. If this is not entered, then the p+3 port is used as standard, taken from the license server port entered.
Notify: one port is required for the notification service. If this is not entered, then the p+4 port is used as standard, taken from the license server port entered.
Model server and model versions: one port is required per standalone model server. This can be entered when the server is started. If the port is not given, then a port is dynamically-assigned by the license server based on the components running and is increased based on the p value of the license server entered. Port assignment is always dynamic for model versions.

We recommend that you use dedicated project license servers for each Innovator version to ensure no issues when carrying out a migration for Innovator version updates.

Note

We recommend that you reserve a port range for Innovator and enable communication here from clients and between the servers involved. The size of port range necessary is based on the aforementioned architecture components and the number of model servers that should be active at the same time. Ports which are no longer used are not immediately available again, depending on the operating system used. This means that you should calculate a buffer when starting a new model server.

Note

The ports used must be a value between 1024 and 64000.

Client Computer

How are the application programs distributed?

Innovator supports automatic software distribution under Windows. You can distribute the application programs in MSI or MSIX format via your desktop management system. If you do not have an automated software distribution, then you can use the app installer to centrally manage the application program.

Can you use a desktop virtualization solution?

Yes, you can use Innovator with popular virtualization solutions such as Citrix or Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

You can use the Windows virtual desktop via App Attach when using MSIX installation packages.

Which application programs should be provided for users?

Depending on the task, you can provide users with suitable application programs. The model editor is a good idea for all users.

The configuration editor is required by administrative client applications for users who want to actively design the model configuration and need to edit or create a new configuration profile. The administration program is a good idea for users who are familiar with preparing models and maintaining the entire Innovator environment.

Constraints when Using Multiple Agents

The agent component is a powerful tool for dynamic administration of your Innovator infrastructure. You should avoid the constellations described in the "Problematic Scenarios" section when using multiple agents on one computer or when setting-up common access on a network drive.