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Software
Connexion will run on any Windows platform which supports the .NET 4.5 framework and SQL Server 2008 R2. This means that Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server are NOT supported since Microsoft does not support .NET 4.5 on these platforms.
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Before installing Connexion, please review the OS and software requirements. We strongly recommend you also review the hardware notes when sizing systems for production environments.
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The 'Server Bar' is divided into the following areas:
- Server Channel: A channel which contains specific devices pertaining to a service instance: Documentation, Settings, Event Logging, Database Backup, and Channel Change Tracking.
- Server Statistics: An aggregate of all channel statistics contained within this server.
- Server Operations: Server-level operations, such adding/importing a channel, exporting channels, connection settings etc.
More server-level and system-wide operations are exposed by right-clicking on the server bar.
Channel grouping operations are accessed by right-clicking the tab name:
And channel-level operations are accessed both via the channel bar and by right-clicking the channel bar. Right-clicking a device will display the device context menu.:
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PrerequisitesWe recommend installing the .NET framework 4. 0, or 4.5, must be installed prior to installing Connexion [Download].Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 or 2012 must be installed prior to installing Connexion (choosing the install that includes Advanced Services for increased query performance in some situations). Connexion provides great performance with the free Express edition of SQL Server, however, before choosing to use the Express edition, please read about its hardware and database size limitations. [Limitations] [Download]. SQL Server does not need to be installed on the same machine as Connexion. |
Hardware - Summary
Connexion has no minimum hardware check during installation, and does not require heavy-weight hardware to give adequate performance. We generally recommend a quad-core cpu, 4 gigabytes of memory, and 30 gigabytes of free space as adequate for simpler systems. If you require high-performance, many channels, complex channels, or will be processing large messages (MB instead of KB) then read the 'Hardware - Advanced' section below or contact Inner Harbor Software for recommendations.
Hardware - Advanced
It is difficult to provide specific hardware recommendations in this document, as there are many variables to consider when sizing systems. If you need help specifying hardware, please contact Inner Harbor Software.
The following should be considered when sizing hardware for Connexion:
- Number of Channels: Are you expecting to run 5 channels or 100? If you will be using the 'execution groups' feature of Connexion to isolate channels, an extra ~100 MB of memory will be required per group.
- Channel Complexity: Are your channels performing simple operations like reading/writing HL7 and simple transformations, or are you performing heavy string manipulation or running complex database queries?
- Message Composition: Are the messages you are processing 100K or 30MB? Memory requirements increase dramatically as message size increases.
- Performance Expectations: What is the expected peak load? Do you have latency requirements?
- Redundancy: Additional resources will be required if you are using one of SQL Server's fail-over features (mirroring, always on, etc.)
For a typical install of up to 10 simple channels, processing a typical message stream (< 100K / message), we would recommend an absolute minimum of 2 gigabytes of memory and 2 logical cores for systems not running SQL Server. Systems running Connexion and SQL Server should have a minimum of 4 gigabytes of memory and 4 physical cores.
As the channel count, channel complexity, message size, and performance requirements increase, so should your memory and processor power.
Storage
By default, Connexion stores each received message as well as relevant processing metadata for 120 days (the message retention period is user configurable). The actual size-on-disk of each stored message will be depend on how much processing metadata is being stored with the message (by default, a copy of the message will be stored each time it is changed by a device). A rough estimate of required free space can be calculated by multiplying the expected message size, expected message volume (for all channels) per day, and message retention period. You should multiply the result by the number of devices which change the message. For example, a channel containing a transform device will store a copy of the transformed message, and therefore be storing both the original message and the updated one.
Disk Performance
Database / Disk IO is typically the bottleneck for Connexion throughput. High performance systems should consider investing in high throughput disk subsystems such as SSD RAID or PCI-based SSD solutions.
Memory
SQL Server will use free memory to load much of Connexion's database and reduce the number of relatively slow paging operations. The more memory, the better, although some versions of SQL Server may have hard memory usage limits.
CPU
For systems with few channels, higher clock speeds usually provide better performance. For systems with many channels, higher core counts usually provide better overall performance.
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Connexion Integration Engine
The Connexion integration engine is installed as a Windows Service, and will be automatically started after a successful installation as well as during the host computer boot-up.
Connexion User Interface
The Connexion user interface (UI) allows you to easily manage the configuration and operation of the Connexion integration engine. By default, the UI will be installed during the installation of the integration engine. The UI must be installed on each additional computer on which you wish to administer Connexion. This can be done by running the installation package and selecting the client-only option.
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The .NET framework 4.0 or 4.5 must be installed prior to installing the Connexion user interface [Download]. |
Configuring Connexion
During installation, the Configuration Wizard will be displayed. The configuration wizard requires you to input license information, service and database accounts, and network settings critical to the Connexion service. The Configuration wizard is installed as a separate application which can be run to re-configure Connexion after installation has completed.
Licensing
The first tab of the configuration wizard is for adding license information. You will need to email the Hardware ID and Licensee to Inner Harbor Software who will reply with a License Key. Paste the license key into the 'License Key' box.
Once a valid license key is entered, proceed to the next step.
Database Installation Credentials
Enter the target SQL Server instance name or address and windows or SQL Server credentials which have SysAdmin privileges in the target SQL Server instance. These credentials will only be used to install the Connexion database and add the default Connexion user (if required).
Service Credentials
Choose the account which the Connexion service will be run under. We recommend using the default option (__cxn_usr__ account) as this account has limited privileges and is therefore more secure than the Local System account. For operations which require elevated permissions, the Connexion service can impersonate other user accounts.
Database Credentials
Choose the account which the Connexion service will use to connect to the Connexion database during normal operation. By default, the service credentials specified in the previous step will be used.
Options
Update the port used for communications between the service and the UI, set the change tracking behavior, and specify which users and/or groups will be allowed to connect to the service using the UI.
Clicking the next button will display a summary of configuration tasks to be performed:
Clicking the next button will run each configuration task, displaying a summary of any warnings or errors. If the configuration wizard was launched by the installer, then clicking next will return control to the installer, otherwise clicking next will exit the configuration application.
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Connecting to the service
After installation, launch the user interface via the desktop icon or start menu (or it will be launched automatically by the installer). The UI will attempt to connect to the Connexion integration engine on the port specified during configuration. If the connection is successful, it should appears as follows:
If you are unable to establish a connection, install the client on the same machine as the service and confirm that the service is running. If you are unable to connect the client to the service (on the same machine), please contact Inner Harbor Software for support. If you are connecting to the service from a different machine, you may be asked for credentials:
Ensure that the domain field is populated with either the target machine's domain, or the target machine NETBIOS name.
Configure Email Settings
We recommend that you click the 'Administrator Email Settings Missing' link which will take you to the settings screen. Errors and important notifications will be sent to the email addresses you specify.
Connexion Database Backup Settings
We also recommend that you click the 'Database Backup Not Configured' link to configure the database backup settings. The database backup is important because it includes maintenance routines which help keep Connexion running efficiently. You will need to enter user credentials will sufficient privileges to write the backup to the hard drive.
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The Connexion UI is organized/grouped as follows:
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8 or higher before installing Connexion. We also recommend that you have an instance of SQL Server 2008R2 or 2012 available before installing Connexion. Connexion does not require SQL Server to be installed on the same machine, however, this typically provides the best performance. |
Downloads:
The latest release can be found here: Connexion v16 Releases
Connexion is packaged as a single executable file for 64-bit systems only.
Components:
Connexion includes the following components:
Connexion Server (Windows Service): The core engine which hosts and runs all channels/workflows.
Connexion Client: The management application which allows for the creation and configuration of channels as well as administration of the Connexion server. It can be run on the same machine as the server, or on separate machines which have network connectivity with the server.
Configuration Wizard: A server-side configuration utility that modifies global server settings (management ports, accounts, etc).
System Tray Application (Server-side, Windows Application): A small utility which shows an icon in the system tray. This icon provides short-cuts to load the client and configuration wizard applications, as well as options to start, stop, and restart the Connexion Engine service.
Step-by-step Installation:
Once the Connexion installation package has been downloaded to the server, launch the installer.
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Set the destination folder, choose the components to be installed, and accept the EULA. Click 'Next.'
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It is preferable to have .NET installed prior to installing Connexion, however, if you do not have installed, the Connexion setup will perform the upgrade as required.
Once .NET is finished installing, click 'Next.'
At this point, the Connexion setup will run the Configuration Wizard. This wizard will guide you through specifying the connection settings needed by the service/application.