Hi
Question:
Given an environment where the DataMiner Server and Client(s) can run on different (Windows) machines…
Are there any advantages for running the fully featured Cube Desktop App on the same machine as the Server(s)?
Background:
It appears to be common practice for Skyline’s engineers to install and run Cube client on the Server(s), despite dedicated Clients are freely accessible. This practice is seen as a recommendation, encouragement and inspiration for local/on-prem DataMiner admins/users to follow Skyline’s lead.
Why not?
However, running the Client on the Server machine(s) causes avoidable, unnecessary extra load and disk space usage on the Server(s). On a typically Windows Server OS, the number of concurrent Remote Desktop Sessions (RDS) is limited to 2 users. When the ‘default’ client is via RDS to Server, it can potentially block others from essential OS-level access.
Convenience?
When an engineer/admin requires RDS access, say, to read some logs, and that the Client can be run from another machine, why run the Client on the Server other than the convenience of seeing everything in one (RDS) windowpane?
While typically it is not needed to have the desktop software installed and running on the server, there can be a number of cases where it is convenient.
- A remote desktop connection to the server is sometimes the only way to access the remote system or remote network. In such case, if you need to investigate an issue on the DataMiner System you will often need both file system access on the server and access to the desktop client UI.
- Network or firewall configuration issues: if a remote desktop session to the server is still possible, but communication from a remote client is not due to e.g. ports that are not opened, installing the client on the server can be the only way to still have access to the information in DataMiner.
In general it is indeed better to have the client and server running on 2 different machines because of the reasons you mentioned: load distribution and keeping remote desktop access available for administrators if needed.
For day-to-day operations, I would recommend to always use the desktop software on a a different machine from the server.
You’re right about the convenience during investigations: often an investigation is a combination of checking things in the client, and checking things on the server (files, logs, etc.). So it is then convenient to have everything in one window.
For normal daily use I would recommend not to run the client on the server, for the reasons you mentioned.
To my knowledge there is no added technical value to having the Cube client open on the server instead of on a dedicated client PC.
Mostly it’s a habit because most of the times there is no dedicated client PC available.
Sometimes the connection to the server is used for a combination of investigating communication to devices on Wireshark, opening log files and other tools. Opening Cube on the same server session is in that case also more out of practical reasons than having a technical advantage.
It’s therefore possible to impose a rule not to open a Cube client on the server in case there are dedicated client machines available, with the exception of investigating very specific issues that would require otherwise.