Plan the Deployment

Overview

This chapter helps you choose the servers, check their prerequisites, open the network paths and size SQL Server before you install.

Single server or split

Install both components on one Windows Server unless you have a reason not to: it has fewer prerequisites, one set of logs and no certificate to manage. The server need not be a PI or SQL server, but it must reach them.

Choose a split deployment when the web application must run in a separate IIS tier while scans run close to the PI System. See Split Deployment.

Prerequisites

The setup program installs the Visual C++ Redistributable and the .NET 10 Hosting Bundle, and turns on IIS. Install these yourself first, on every PI Nexus+ server, the web server included:

• AVEVA PI AF Client (AF SDK). Without it, discovery and scans fail although the installation succeeds.
• The PI connections: every PI Data Archive and AF Server to scan must appear under Connections in PI System Explorer.
• The 64-bit legacy PI SDK, only for Interface Tracking. See below.

Network and ports

PI Nexus+ opens all connections itself; only users' browsers connect to it.

On a split deployment both servers need these paths, and none between them. Include every member of a PI Data Archive collective.

Host monitoring. Plan the path now: the scanner server must reach each server you want to monitor on TCP 5985 (WinRM), or TCP 5986 for hosts outside the domain. Host monitoring is set up later; see Host Monitoring in the Administration Guide.

SQL Server memory, tempdb and snapshot isolation

Plan three things with your DBA:

• Memory. Cap max server memory (MB) on a SQL Server that shares its machine with PI servers or PI Nexus+, leaving room for the first full scan, when all of them peak at once.
• tempdb. Pre-size tempdb to the figures in tempdb sizing in the Reference, with equally sized data files.
• Snapshot isolation. Database Setup turns on read-committed snapshot isolation, which keeps row versions in tempdb. On an existing database this ends open transactions, so use a maintenance window.

Install the legacy PI SDK

Skip this unless you will turn on Interface Tracking for a PI Data Archive.

1. Download the PI SDK setup kit from the AVEVA customer portal.
2. Install its 64-bit component as a local administrator on every PI Nexus+ server.
3. After PI Nexus+ is installed, recycle PINexusAppPool and restart the PI Nexus+ Scanner service.
4. Run Test Module DB on the PI Data Archive before you turn on Interface Tracking.

Don't copy PI SDK files from another computer or register them by hand.

Reference: Ports and Firewall