A Qlik Sense site stores data to both a repository database and a file share. The repository database stores system and app meta data, while the file share stores binary application data such as data models and app content. In a single node deployment, both the repository database and the files share are usually located on the same machine as the Qlik Sense services. In a multi-node deployment, a cluster is formed around a single repository database and file share. In many cases these may be on separate dedicated servers to improve resilience or performance.
File share
In a Qlik Sense site, a file share is used to the store the binary application data, including data models and the app content. It can be located on any one of the nodes in the Qlik Sense site or on a dedicated server for better resilience and performance. You create this folder before you install Qlik Sense. See: Creating a file share
The requirements for the share are:
- The Qlik Sense nodes in the cluster must have network latency below 4 milliseconds to connect to the file share server. Performance can degrade if this is not the case.
- The bandwidth to the file share must be appropriate for the amount of traffic on the site. The frequency and size of the apps being saved after reloading, and opened into memory, drives this requirement. 10 Gigabit networking is recommended.
- The file share can run on:
- A Windows Server OS. The Windows server may have storage allocated to it from a storage area network (SAN), use local disks, or virtual storage in the case of a virtual machine.
- A non-Windows device such as a Linux server or hardware NAS device that supports SMB 3.0.
An NFS (Network File System) share hosted on a Windows Server. See: Creating an NFS file share.
Information noteQlik periodically runs network file share performance tests on Qlik Sense using WinShare, and FreeNAS with SMB 3.0. For more information on network file share solutions, contact your Qlik representative. - The file storage must have a single read and write master. Storage can be replicated to standby storage, but only one location can be used to read and write to.
If your storage is on-premises, Qlik recommends using an enterprise SAN storage solution. SAN storage can be customized for your specific storage requirements and is reliable for throughput and latency to large blocks of storage.
If you are using a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) deployment, consider the size and uses of your apps. A Windows-based file server will run better in a storage-optimized virtual machine than a general purpose instance. Consider using block storage services instead of Windows-based to take advantage of scaling and resilience offered by those providers.
Repository database
In a Qlik Sense site, a PostgreSQL repository database is used to store all data for the Qlik Sense Repository Service, including system and meta data. It can be located on one of the nodes in the Qlik Sense site or on a dedicated server for better resilience and performance. If you want to install it on a dedicated server, you do this before installing Qlik Sense.
You have two options for the repository database:
- Install as a local database on a central node. This option can be used for both single-node and multi-node deployments, and is done during installation using the Qlik Sense setup program.
- Install as a remote database on a separate server. This option provides higher performance and resilience, and is the recommended approach in a multi-node deployment. See: Installing and configuring PostgreSQL
The requirements for the database are:
- The Qlik Sense nodes in the cluster must have network latency below 4 milliseconds to connect to the repository database server. Performance can degrade if this is not the case.
- If you run a PostgreSQL database on a dedicated server, it must use PostgreSQL version 12.x. Information notePostgreSQL can be run on various platforms including Windows, Linux, or cloud-hosted services such as Amazon RDS. If you use Linux or Amazon RDS, it is your responsibility to install and configure a running instance of PostgreSQL for Qlik Sense to use.