High availability in Zoho Analytics 

By configuring high availability in Zoho Analytics, you can easily establish redundancy and ensure business continuity during application downtime. To set up high availability, you will need two servers, one to be configured as the primary server, and the other to be installed as the standby server. On configuring the high availability cluster, data replication will periodically occur between the primary and standby servers. 

In cases where the primary server fails, or the Zoho Analytics application installed on the primary server faces downtime, the standby server will take over. The application installed on the standby server will automatically start, with up-to-date data, reports and dashboards, thereby providing a seamless continuance of application usage. The standby server now becomes the primary server, and when the affected primary server is fixed, on starting the Zoho Analytics application installed on the primary server, it will then function as the standby server. 

Note: Zoho Analytics users on build 4750 or above can configure high availability by simply installing a standby server. Click the corresponding links to learn more about configuring the standby server in Windows and Linux installations respectively. 

Prerequisites

• Both the primary and the standby servers should be running in the same time zone and network.

• The primary and standby servers should be assigned static IP addresses. 

• For Windows installations, it is recommended to have both the servers in the same domain, to facilitate easier sharing of data. In scenarios where the servers are in different domains, or aren't a part of any domain, file sharing configuration must be setup. To learn more about configuring file sharing, click here. 

• The operating system and the hardware architecture of both the primary and standby servers should be the same. 

• To restart the application, stop the standby server before proceeding to restart the primary server. 

• Always start both servers with administrator permissions, and start and stop the application only through the wrapper service. 

• Ensure your primary and standby server have the recommended software and hardware configuration. Click here for the system requirements. 

Setting up the high availability configuration

You can configure high availability while installing the Zoho Analytics application. You will need two servers, one to be configured as the primary server, and the other to be installed as the standby server. To learn more about installing Zoho Analytics, click here. 

• Configuring High availability in a Windows installation
  • Setting up file sharing
• Configuring High availability in a Linux installation
  • Setting up file sharing

Configuring High availability in a Windows installation

• During the Zoho Analytics installation process, select the Yes radio button in the High Availability Configuration screen, and click Next to begin setting up the high availability functionality.

Follow the steps below to install the primary server: 

• Select the Primary Server radio button in the following screen, and click Next to proceed with the installation process. Upon successful installation, your primary server will be configured. 

Follow the steps below to configure the standby server:

• During the installation process, select the Secondary Server radio button in the High Availability (HA) configuration screen, and click Next to proceed.

• Enter the primary server's static IP address and port number. If the primary and standby servers are on different domains or do not belong to any domain, provide the primary server's credentials as well, and click Next to proceed with the installation process. 

• Enter the standby server's static IP address. If the primary and standby servers are on different domains or do not belong to any domain, provide the standby server's credentials as well, and click Next to proceed with the installation process. 

• On completing the installation process, click Finish in the Installation Completed screen that appears. 

You will now need to configure file sharing between your primary and standby servers to ensure the data in both servers stays up-to-date. Head to your primary server, configure file sharing, and restart the Zoho Analytics application. (To learn more about configuring file sharing, click here.) On successfully configuring file sharing, restart the Zoho Analytics application in your primary server with admin privileges, and when the primary server is online, start the Zoho Analytics application installed in your standby server. (To learn more about restarting the application with admin privileges, click here.)

Follow the steps below to configure file sharing between your primary and standby servers in a Windows installation. You can configure file sharing for primary and standby servers that are in the same domain, or for servers that are in different domains or a workgroup. Note: File sharing must be configured in both the primary and standby servers. 

• File sharing within a domain
• File sharing in a workgroup or across domains

Follow the steps below to configure file sharing between two servers that are in the same domain in a Windows installation. Important note: File sharing must be configured on both the primary and the standby servers. The primary server's installation directory should be shared with the standby server and vice-versa. 

• Navigate to the directory where Zoho Analytics is installed, right-click the folder and select the Properties option. Navigate to the Sharing tab and click the Advanced Sharing button. 

• Click the Share this folder checkbox, and click the Permissions button that appears. Note: Ensure the name in the Share name field is 'Analytics'. 

• In the screen that appears, click the Add button, enter the primary or standby server's name in the following format: 'domain-name\machine-name$', and save your changes. 

• If the primary or standby server's name isn't available, click the Object Types button, and ensure the Computers checkbox is selected. 

Follow the steps below to set up file sharing between two servers that are in different domains, or don't belong to any domain. Important note: File sharing must be configured on both the primary and the standby servers. The primary server's installation directory should be shared with the standby server and vice-versa. 

• Navigate to the directory where Zoho Analytics is installed and right-click the folder. Click the Give access to option and select the Specific people option. 

• Enter the username of the server you wish to share files with, and click Add and then Share. Note: Ensure you use the same username specified during the installation process. 

To restart Zoho Analytics with admin privileges, open the Services window and navigate to the Zoho Analytics listing. Right-click on the service name, select the Properties option and head to the Log on tab. Enter your administrator credentials, and click the Apply and OK buttons to reflect the change.

Configuring High availability in a Linux installation

• During the Zoho Analytics installation process, select the Yes radio button in the High Availability Configuration screen, and click Next to begin setting up the high availability functionality.

Follow the steps below to install the primary server: 

• Select the Primary Server radio button in the following screen, and click Next to proceed with the installation process. Upon successful installation, your primary server will be configured. 

Follow the steps below to configure the standby server:

• During the installation process, select the Standby Server radio button in the High Availability (HA) configuration screen, and click Next to proceed.

• Enter the primary server's static IP address and port number, and click Next to proceed with the installation process. 

• On completing the installation process, click Done in the Installation Completed screen that appears. 

You will now need to configure file sharing between your primary and standby servers to ensure the data in both servers stays up-to-date. Head to your primary server, configure file sharing, and restart the Zoho Analytics application. (To learn more about configuring file sharing, click here.) On successfully configuring file sharing, restart the Zoho Analytics application in your primary server, and when the primary server is online, start the Zoho Analytics application installed in your standby server. (To learn more about restarting the application with admin privileges, click here.)

In Linux installations, you can configure file sharing between your primary and standby servers using Remote Synchronization (Rsync). Note: File sharing must be configured in both the primary and standby servers. 

Follow the steps below to configure Rsync:

• Log in to the primary server, launch a terminal and execute the ssh-keygen command. This will allow you to generate a pair of public and private keys.

• Provide the directory where the generated keys are to be saved and click the Enter key twice. The public and private key will be generated successfully. 

• Copy the generated public key to the standby server using the ssh-copy-id -i <key-file-path>id_rsa.pub <standby-machine-name> command. <key-file-path> refers to the directory where the generated public key is saved. 

• Enter the standby server's password to successfully copy the primary server's key to the standby server. 

• To verify if the key has been copied to the standby server, log in to the standby server from the primary server using the ssh <standby-machine-name> command. 

To restart Zoho Analytics with admin privileges in Linux installations, ensure that the user is a part of the Sudo group. 

Changing the server's credentials and port number

In cases where the port number and credentials of the primary server is modified, the high availability configuration should be updated. 

• Open your Zoho Analytics application, and navigate to the High Availability section in the Settings page. 

• Click the Edit icon that appears on mouse over the primary server details. Change the username and password, and click Apply. The standby server will be restarted automatically to let the changes take effect. 

• Open your Zoho Analytics application, and navigate to the High Availability section in the Settings page. 

• Click the Edit icon that appears on mouse over the primary server's listing, enter the new webserver port number, and click Apply. The standby server will shut down automatically to allow you to complete the next step.

• Stop the primary server, and change the webserver port number. (To learn more, refer this documentation.) Start the service once the port is changed. 

• Once the primary server is online, start the standby server.  

Navigate to the High Availability section in the Settings page, click the Edit icon that appears (on mouse hover) over the standby server details. Change the username, password or port number, and click Apply. 

Migrating the primary or standby server

Follow the steps below when you wish to migrate the primary or the standby server:

• When you wish to migrate either the primary or the standby server, the existing high availability configuration needs to be deleted. To learn more about deleting your high availability configuration, click here. You can migrate your servers once the configuration is deleted. 

• If you wish to move the primary server, install the application in the required server. Re-install the standby server in its original location, and configure high availability once again. Click here to know more about configuring high availability. 

• If you wish to move the standby server, simply install the application in the required server. Click the corresponding links to learn more about installing the standby server for a Windows and Linux installations. 

Deleting the high availability configuration

To remove the high availability configuration, navigate to the Settings page and head to the High Availability tab. Click the Edit icon that appears on mouse over the standby server's details, and click Remove. Confirm your action in the popups that appear to delete the high availability configuration.