Many clients wish to know what the hardware and operating system requirements are for a Delft-FEWS live system. On this page you can find a list of specifications. If you have any question about the list, or you do not see the operating system of your choice: please contact us. This list is not exhaustive.
Operator clients
The Operator Client (Gui) is the thick client for end users.
Forecasting Shell Server
The Forecasting Shell Server is the server for execution of forecast runs. It contains the modelling software and it's operation is controlled by the Master Controller
Master Controller Server
The master controller organises task traffic and scheduling
Central Database
This is the central data repository, linked to the master controller. The live system is known to run with the following database versions:
This list is not exhaustive, so contact us if you are thinking of using a different database or a different type.
Webserver
The webserver is an optional server that hosts and distributes the webpages generated by Delft-FEWS. Hardware requirements depend on the intended use.
PiService
This is an optional service which allows SOAP clients to interact with and retrieve data from the FEWS system. Hardware requirements depend on the intended use. In general it is not recommended to have the PiService on the same machine as the master-controller / MQ server.
Component | Description | Hardware requirements | Operating system / Software requirements | Instances |
---|---|---|---|---|
Operator Client (Gui) | The Delft-FEWS client used by end-users. | client side, normal pc | Windows 7 / 8 / 10, Server 2008 / 2012(R2) Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x) | As many as there are clients |
ConfigManager
| Control and distribute configuration via the Master Controller database. | client side, normal pc | Windows 7 / 8 / 10, Server 2008 / 2012(R2) Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x) | As many as there are application managers |
Forecasting Shell Server | Executes forecast models and stores the results in the central database. | Minimum 2 GB RAM and 1 one CPU core per Forecasting Shell Server instance. CPU typically Intel Xeon E5606 2.33 GHz or equivalent. Always reserve 1 CPU core for the OS. | Windows 7 / 8 / 10, Server 2008 / 2012(R2) Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x)
| Recommended minimum 2, more depends on computational load |
Master Controller Server | Dispatches tasks to the Forecasting Shell Servers. Maintenance of central database. Synchronisation between master-controllers. Sends system alerts.
| Minimum 1 GB RAM per MC instance. CPU typically Intel Xeon 2.33 GHz or equivalent. | Windows 7 / 8 / 10, Server 2008 / 2012(R2) Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x)
| 1 or 2 |
Central Database | Central data repository | See Database vendor requirements + 8 GB RAM per DB server including 1 MC DB instance and. CPU typically Intel Xeon E5606 2.33 GHz or equivalent. Add 1 GB RAM per extra MC DB instance. | Oracle 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 PostgreSQL 9.3 / 9.4 MS SQL Server 2008 / 2008R2 / 2012 / 2014 The database instance(s) can be a hosted on an existing database server or cluster. | One instance per Master controller |
Admin Interface | Super-user monitoring, system control and task scheduling | Minimum 1 GB RAM | Apache Tomcat 6 / 7 The web application runs over the Internet, E.g. Internet Explorer , FireFox, Chrome, Safari | One instance per Master-Controller machine |
Archive Server (optional) | Stores forecast data, performance indicator data and configurations on a longer time scale than in the central FEWS system. For new projects consider using the Deltares Open Archive instead. | Ample storage space for Archive files | Apache Tomcat 6 / 7 Separate database instance with same requirements as Central Database for Master Controller. | 1 (optional) |
"NFFS/FEWS" Web Server (optional) | For disseminating forecast data and data from other sources | Typically 1 GB RAM per server instance and CPU Intel Xeon 2.33 GHz or equivalent. | Weblogic 11g with an Oracle Database. Weblogic as Application Server . | One instance per Master-Controller machine (optional) |
PiService (optional) | Data access component. | Typically 1 GB RAM per server instance and CPU Intel Xeon 2.33 GHz or equivalent. | Apache Tomcat 6 / 7 Preferrably not on the same machine as the master-controller / MQ server. | 1 (optional) |
All activities contribute to resource consumption on a computing box, whether that box is hardware or virtual and Delft-FEWS will consume resources when running.
The components mentioned above can all be located on one (powerful) server or each on an individual machine, with all possible configurations in between. It is however common practice to separate the Forecasting Shell server from the Master-controller server. When using multiple machines it is essential that all machines have matching clocks. This can be achieved by making use of one and the same ntp server.
A typical configuration is:
Typically in a dual master-controller setup every master-controller has its own machine so that maintenance can take place without offline time.
It is possible to deploy the master-controller components / forecasting shells in virtualized environments. It is recommended to contact the Delft-FEWS product management beforehand so that they may advise on virtualization options. The Deltares ICT team has most experience with Delft-FEWS on VMWare VSphere with in-depth knowledge but Delft-FEWS is also known to run on Microsoft Hyper-V. Virtualization of the Delft-FEWS back-end services can generally be done without problems. Best practice is to build small appliances so that the Master Controller, MQ Server (Jboss / ActiveMQ) and Tomcat Servlet Engine ( Admin Interface) all have their separate virtual machines. Virtualization of the Forecasting Shells is currently not recommended for heavy computational models. When using virtualization, for every logical Forecasting shell there should be a separate virtual forecasting shell server. The number of virtual processor cores issued should never exceed the number of physical cores for forecasting shells.
FEWS can work with grid computing. Especially when working with heavy computations, e.g. ensemble forecasting or 3d hydraulic computing this can be an interesting option to explore. It is recommended to contact the Delft-FEWS product management beforehand.
Note that for security reasons, java should never be installed inside a browser. Delft-FEWS only uses the java JRE in embedded form. JBoss 4 and 5 cannot function with JRE 8 but require either JRE 6 or JRE 7. ActiveMQ 5.11 requires JRE 7.
Version | Minimum version of JRE required | Operator Client / Forecasting Shell Server / ConfigManager | Master-controller / Tomcat |
---|---|---|---|
Delft-FEWS 2015.01 and newer | Java JRE 8 update 45 | 32bit | 32bit or 64bit |
Delft-FEWS 2013.01 until 2015.01 | Java JRE 7 update 71 | 32bit | 32bit or 64bit |
Delft-FEWS versions before 2013.01 | Java JRE 6 update 45 | 32bit | 32bit or 64bit |