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

JMS Server

Java Messaging Service (JMS) controls a large part of the communication between the components.

This component can often be installed on the same server as the Master Controller.

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.

Requirements overview

 

ComponentDescriptionHardware requirementsOperating system / Software requirementsInstances
Operator Client (Gui)

The Delft-FEWS client used by end-users.

client side, normal pc

Screen resolution depends upon the hardware supplied not on the Delft-FEWS software

Windows 7 / 8, 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, 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, Server 2008 / 2012(R2)

Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x)


Contains modelling software (incl. licenses), OS usually dependent on 3rd party modules and modelling software

recommended mimimum 2, add more depending 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, Server 2008 / 2012(R2)

Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x)


Other Unix-like operating systems possible (e.g. HP-UX, Solaris), as long as there is a JDK of the correct version available for the OS. JBoss 4 / 5 or ActiveMQ are required for the JMS layer.

1 or 2
JMS ServerMessaging communication between FEWS components

Minimum 1 GB RAM per JMS instance. CPU typically Intel Xeon 2.33 GHz or equivalent. Minimum 1GB disk space for cache.

Windows 7 / 8, Server 2008 / 2012(R2) (32bit, 64bit)

Linux RedHat Enterprise, CentOS (6.x 64 bit, 7.x 64 bit) / SLES (11.x, 12.x)

One instance per Master controller
Central DatabaseCentral 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 sourcesTypically 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.

Scalability, number of servers

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.

Virtualization

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. This setup guarantees the individual components do not compete for the same resources such as CPU and memory. 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.

Grid computing

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.

Java JRE versions

Note that for security reasons, java should never be installed inside a browser. Delft-FEWS should only be using the java JRE in embedded form.

Version

JRE version

Operator Client /

Forecasting Shell Server /

ConfigManager

Master-controller / Tomcat

  WindowsLinux 
Delft-FEWS 2016.01 and newerJava JRE 8 update 9132 bit / beta support for 64 bit 64 bit32 / 64 bit
Delft-FEWS 2015.01 and 2015.02Java JRE 8 update 4532 bit32 bit32 / 64 bit
Delft-FEWS 2013.01 until 2014.02Java JRE 7 update 7132 bit32 bit32 / 64 bit
Delft-FEWS versions before 2013.01Java JRE 6 update 4532 bit32 bit32 / 64 bit

Java JRE versions for JMS providers

Product

JRE version

 WindowsLinux
jboss4java JRE 6 / 7 32 bit32 / 64 bit
jboss5java JRE 6 / 7 32 bit32 / 64 bit
activeMQjava JRE 7 / 8 32 / 64 bit32 / 64 bit

JBoss 4 and 5 cannot function with JRE 8. ActiveMQ 5.11 requires JRE 7, but may also be used with JRE 8.