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Windchill 10.2 services start/stop best practices?

Invisigoth
14-Alexandrite

Windchill 10.2 services start/stop best practices?

Hello,

I'm finding recommendations and installations that are all over the map with regard to this, Being accustomed to products that have rigid requirements for service stop/start order, I was looking for feedback.


For a standard non-clustered machine, I was using these orders for stop/start with machines in my test environment (taken from PTC documentation or a document, I didn't note the source):

Stop order: Windchill, Windchill Directory Server, Apache
Start order: Windchill Directory Server, Apache, Windchill

Then I run across a live installation configured by someone with a more time and experience with the product using this order for a backup script:

Stop order: Windchill, Apache, Windchill Directory Server

Start order: Windchill Directory Server, Apache, Windchill

What I would like to know is if there is a best practice based on the technical needs, structure and/or interaction of the Windchill services.  I've read the older discussions here with previous Windchill releases, and it seems reasonable to stop or start the Apache services depending on how users could be affected. Other than that, how should the Windchill service and the Directory services be handled?

Thank you.

Regards,

ML Starkey

11 REPLIES 11
Invisigoth
14-Alexandrite
(To:Invisigoth)

As a followup, while reading the Windchill Directory Server Administration guide, I noticed that sometimes there are instructions to start services in specific order.  For example, page 12 after upgrading the DS and importing data, the direction is to start the DS, then Windchill.

So, I guess the answer is: it depends.

From what I've seen, which includes discussions with our external support consultants and even them writing small BAT files to automate the stop, start, and full restart from scratch of the server, to stop the server you always start with Windchill no fail, then Cognos (if relevant) and Apache (I don't think the order between those two matters), then the Windchill Directory Server. And then the key; to turn everything back on you always go in the exact opposite order; so Windchill Directory Server, then Apache, then Cognos, then Windchill itself.

I checked our start and stop batch files and they have the same order that Daryl mentions.

Invisigoth
14-Alexandrite
(To:doehr)

Noted. Thank you.

Usually basic Windchill setup (without Business Reporting, for example) consists of database service, LDAP service, web server service and Windchill itself. Windchill actually depends only on database service and LDAP service, so you need to have this two services started before attempting to start Windchill. Web server serves only as a gateway between users and Windchill application, so for Windchill itself it doesn't matter if web server is running or not; if it's not, Windchill will start, but users won't be able to access it. So to summarize:

Before starting Windchill you must have Directory Server running (LDAP service), as well as database service.

Apache (web server) can be run before or after starting Windchill, since it's independent element; I usually start it before starting Windchill, so Windchill app is the last one to run, when all the other components are already running.

To stop Windchill you simply go in reverse order, stopping Windchill first, to properly close all the connections to other services, then you can stop Apache and Directory Server in any order, since those two are independent of each other.

Invisigoth
14-Alexandrite
(To:LukaszMazur)

Thanks for these additional details.

breed
4-Participant
(To:Invisigoth)

Most of the components are designed to run as standalone applications so they can be started independently of each other. The database can run just fine if Windchill is not started the Windchill DS and HTTP server can both run standalone. Windchill requires the other services to be running for it to fully function.  

As long as Windchill is the first to be shut down and the last to start up you should be okay. I have everything running as a windows service and set to autostart. I have Windchill set to a delayed start to ensure the other components have a chance to get started first.

If you like to start from a batch file/Powershell Script I would build in a short delay sleep timer to allow the other components to start up before starting Windchill. For example:

Get-Service PTC-HTTPServer | Start-Service

Get-Service PTC-WindchillDS | Start-Service

Sleep 10

Get-Service PTC-Windchill | Start-Service

Cat
5-Regular Member
5-Regular Member
(To:Invisigoth)

Please, check out the link below.  The batch file which I has been used for the production Windchill server.

Windchill All-IN-ONE Startup & Windchill All-IN-ONE Shutdown - Batch Script

Seong Rog Do,

I created the two batch files using your script and they work really well, but when I try to use "Task Scheduler" to automate the launching of the Startup one it appears to just hang?

Using the "Task Scheduler" to run the Shutdown runs fine.

Regards,

Robert

Cat
5-Regular Member
5-Regular Member
(To:Robert-Altman)

Well, I made a basic task scheduler with the same Windchill All-IN-ONE Startup script. It worked well on my Test Server.

I followed the instruction to make a basic task scheduler.

Here is the link for your reference: http://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-create-task-basic-task-wizard

This is the snapshot of the Windows process on my local Test Server.

test.png

Do Windchill process run in Windows background process?

Cat
5-Regular Member
5-Regular Member
(To:Robert-Altman)

In addition, please check your security options of your Windchill scheduler.

Select the following option:  "Run whether user is logged on or not" 


Please let me know whether this option works or not. 

task-scheduler-03.png

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