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Installing Qlik Sense in a multi-node site

A Qlik Sense multi-node deployment offers more configuration options than single node deployments. In a multi-node site, you can distribute Qlik Sense services across one or more server nodes to optimize scalability and performance.

  1. Consider the pre-installation items

    Pre-installation

  2. Prepare the Windows server

    Preparing the server

  3. Install Qlik Sense on the central node

    Installing the Qlik Sense central node

  4. Configure PostgreSQL multi-node connections on the central node

    Configuring PostgreSQL multi-node connections

  5. License Qlik Sense on the central node

    Licensing Qlik Sense

  6. Allocate access to users

    Allocating access to users

  7. Install Qlik Sense on the rim nodes

    Installing a Qlik Sense rim node

  8. Configure the rim nodes in QMC

    Connecting and configuring the nodes

  9. Optionally, assign a node to be a failover candidate

    Configuring failover for central node resiliency

  10. Optionally, perform additional configuration

    Additional configuration

Pre-installation

Follow this work-flow when installing Qlik Sense in a multi-node site:

Preparing a large, enterprise multi-node deployment requires careful planning, so first ensure that you have considered all the architecture and configuration options available.

  1. Check the system requirements for Qlik Sense Enterprise.
  2. Check the supported browsers.
  3. Check the ports page to see which ports are used in your deployment.
  4. Check the Qlik Sense licenses to see your licensing options.

For more information on multi-node architecture and configuration options see:

Preparing the server

  1. Log in to the server where you will install Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows.

    Information noteIf the server is running anti-virus software, learn how anti-virus software scanning can affect performance and how to solve it.

  2. Create the required user accounts on the server.

  3. Download the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installer from Product Downloads.

    For more information, see Downloading installation files.

  4. Create a file share. The file share stores Qlik application data and must be accessible to the central node, as well as all rim nodes in a multi-node site.

  5. Install Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.8 on the server. If not installed, the Qlik Sense installer will prompt you for it.

Information noteFor both single node and multi-node deployments, you can connect to an existing Qlik Sense repository database. If you have an existing repository database on your server but you do not plan to use it, remove it before you start the installation.

Installing the Qlik Sense central node

Tip noteWhen installing a central node, you may also wish to configure a failover candidate. You only have the option to create a failover candidate when you are creating a node.

Do the following:

  1. Right-click the installer file and select Run as administrator. Click Install to start the installation.

  2. On the License Agreement window, read and accept the Qlik User License Agreement.

  3. On the Create or join a cluster window, select Create cluster.

    Qlik Sense installer create new cluster screen

    Information noteFor both single-node and multi-node sites, you begin by creating the central node in a cluster. A single-node site contains only the central node, whereas a multi-node site has additional rim nodes connected to the central node.

  4. On the Select the host name window, enter the address to your computer or select the pre-defined value from the list.

    Accepted address values Example
    IP address 10.1.123.234
    Server or machine name rd-bdm-win2019
    Fully qualified machine name rd-bdm-win2019.rdlund.qliktech.com

    Qlik Sense installer add host name screen

    Information noteEnsure that the recommended server node name displayed in the Computer host name field matches the one you will use to access this node, otherwise, enter an appropriate address or fully qualified machine name. You can verify your computer host name by navigating to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\System.
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  5. On the Set up the repository database window, you can create a new repository database on your current computer or connect to an existing repository database. Learn more about persistence, file shares, and the repository databases, and database security for shared persistence.

    Information noteDo not use postgres as the database username.

    • To create a new repository database on the current computer, click Create a new database.

      On the Configure a new database (1/2) window, set a database user password and adjust the advanced settings if required. On the Configure a new database (2/2) window, set a database superuser password.

      Window 1 of 2 for configure new database

    • To connect to an existing repository database, click Connect to an existing PostgreSQL database.

      Enter the database hostname and database user password. The port and database user are filled in with default values. Change these only if you changed them during the initial database configuration.

      Installer window to connect to exisiting database

    Make a note of these values as you will need them again when you install a rim node.

    Information noteAll Qlik Sense servers must be in the same geographic location or data center as the repository database and the file share.
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  6. On the Database configuration window, under Advanced settings, configure the listen addresses, IP ranges, and max connections from other nodes, then click Next.

    This is an optional step if you install a local repository database. You can also configure the database service listener directly in your PostgreSQL repository database. See: Installing and configuring PostgreSQL
    Enter the following values:

    Database configuration values
    Field name Description Example Value
    Listen addresses

    The IP address(es) to listen on.

    Use the value * to allow access for all IP addresses. If entering multiple listen addresses use a comma separated list.

    		 *
    IP ranges

    To allow all servers to access the repository database, use the value 0.0.0.0/0 (for all IPv4 addresses) and ::/0 (for all IPv6 addresses).

    If entering multiple IP addresses use a comma separated list.

    		 0.0.0.0/0,::/0
    Max connections

    Specifies the maximum number of concurrent connections to the database. The default value for a single server is 100.

    In a multi-node environment, this should be adjusted to the sum of all repository connection pools + 20. By default, this value is 110 per node.

    		 110
    Information noteThis screen does not appear if you are using a remote PostgreSQL database.

  7. On the Provide information for the Qlik services (1/2) window, enter the username and password to run the services on the current computer.

    Under Additional server settings you can set the database maximum connection pool size and listening ports for http and https. Https is the default option, to use http you need to select Enable http.

    Database maximum connection pool size: This value is calculated by the installer, based on the server's configuration. The default value is usually the best option.

    Information noteThe service credentials username must be in the form domain\username.
    Information noteIf you enter a username that is more than 20 characters long, it must be in User Principal Name (UPN) format, and must include the full domain name. For example, longusername@full.domain.name.
    services 1/2 window to enter username and password to run local services
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  8. On the Provide information for the Qlik services (2/2) window, enter the path or URL to the file share you created earlier, for example, \\<domain>\QlikShare. The file share can be a local folder, or it can be hosted on another computer. Learn more about persistence, file shares, and the repository databases.

    window 1/2 to set up the services
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  9. On the Installation location window, enter the location to install Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows, or choose the default location on the C:\ drive.

  10. On the Repository Database Superuser Password window, enter a password for the PostgreSQL repository database superuser.

    Information noteThis screen does not appear if you are using a remote PostgreSQL database, or if you are installing a rim node (Join cluster option).

  11. On the Ready to install window, select the installer options.

    Ready to install screen from qlik sense installer with all options selected.
    • In the Ready to install section, clear the Start the Qlik Sense services when the setup is complete check box if you want to use a dedicated service account to run the Qlik Sense services.

    • In the Include object bundles section, optionally install the object bundles. Then, select which object bundles you want to install from the list of those available for your Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation.

      Information noteIf you are installing object bundles, read and accept the object bundles license agreement.

    • In the Help us improve section, select if you want to anonymously share system data with Qlik.

    • Click Next.

    Information noteTo add or remove object bundles after an installation, see Modifying an object bundles installation
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  12. You will see a message indicating that Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows has been installed successfully.

    13. Information noteIf you selected local system as the user account type in the Service Credentials screen, but wish to use a dedicated service account to run the Qlik Sense services, change the user account type and manually start the Qlik Sense services now. See User accounts

Configuring PostgreSQL multi-node connections

For multi-node sites, you must set the connection pool limit. This limit is determined by the max_connections setting in the postgresql.conf file. The settings value depends on the number of nodes in your site.

Information noteIf you reach the connection pool limit, PostgreSQL rejects additional connections.

Do the following:

  1. Stop the Qlik Sense services.
  2. Navigate to the postgresql.conf file in C:\ProgramData\Qlik\Sense\Repository\PostgreSQL\<version> of your Qlik Sense installation.
  3. Open the file in a text editor as an administrator.
  4. Make the following configuration changes:
    PostgreSQL configuration changes
    SettingDescriptionExample Value
    max_connections

    Specifies the maximum number of concurrent connections to the database. The default value for a single server is 100.

    In a multi-node environment, this should be adjusted to the sum of all repository connection pools + 20. By default, this value is 110 per node.

    		110
  5. Save your changes.
  6. Restart the Qlik Sense services.

You are now ready to license your Qlik Sense installation.

Licensing Qlik Sense

Before you can start using Qlik Sense you must activate your site license.

Do the following:

  1. Open the Qlik Management Console (QMC) by entering the QMC address in your browser.
    By default, the QMC address is https://<QPS server name>/qmc.

    The QMC displays the Site license properties screen the first time you open it.

  2. In the Signed license key field, paste the unique license key that was sent to you via email upon completion of your purchase.

  3. Click Apply.

    Successfully licensed is displayed.

You have activated your Qlik Sense site license.

Tip noteFor more information, see How to Apply a Signed License Key (SLK) to Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows.

You are ready to connect to a user directory (optional), allocate user access or professional access, and set up permissions.

Allocating access to users

Your license is either based on access types, with professional access allocation as an option, or on tokens, with user access allocation as an option.

Access types license

Your Qlik Sense license includes a number of professional access allocations that are used to grant users in your organization access to Qlik Sense.

Do the following:

  1. In the QMC, from the Start menu, click License management.

    The License usage summary screen is displayed.

  2. Click the Professional access allocations tab.
  3. Click the + Allocate button.

    The Users screen is displayed.

  4. Select the users that you want to provide access to from the list and click Allocate.
    Information noteAllocate is disabled if the number of allocations available is insufficient for the number of selected users.

The users that you allocated access to appear in the Professional access allocations overview table.

Information noteIn a multi-node site, all nodes share the same license, so you only need to activate your license once on the central node.

Token-based license

Your Qlik Sense license includes a number of tokens that are used to allocate Qlik Sense access to users in your organization.

Do the following:

  1. In the QMC, from the Start menu, click License management.

    The License usage summary screen is displayed.

  2. Click the User access allocations tab.
  3. Click the + Allocate button.

    The Users screen is displayed.

  4. Select the users that you want to provide access to from the list and click Allocate.
    Information noteAllocate is disabled if the number of tokens available for allocation is insufficient for the number of selected users.

The users that you allocated access to appear in the User access allocations overview table.

Information noteIn a multi-node site, all nodes share the same license, so you only need to activate your license once on the central node.

Installing a Qlik Sense rim node

A multi-node site consists of a central node and at least one rim node. Rim nodes let you designate specific nodes to handle specific roles in your site. Before you install Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows on a new server, you must:

Do the following:

  1. Right-click the installer file and select Run as administrator. Click Install to start the installation.

  2. On the License Agreement window, read and accept the Qlik User License Agreement.

  3. On the Create or join a cluster screen, select Join a cluster to install a rim node that connects to a central node.

     

    Installer window to join or create cluster

  4. On the Set up the repository database window, select Connect to an existing PostgreSQL database.

    The section of the installer to connect to an existing PostgreSQL DB.
    Installer window to join a node
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  5. On the Provide information for the Qlik services (1/2) window, enter the username and password to run the services on the current computer.

    Under Additional server settings you can set the database maximum connection pool size and listening ports for http and https. Https is the default option, to use http you need to select Enable http.

    Database maximum connection pool size: This value is calculated by the installer, based on the server's configuration. The default value is usually the best option.

    Information noteThe service credentials username must be in the form domain\username.
    Information noteIf you enter a username that is more than 20 characters long, it must be in User Principal Name (UPN) format, and must include the full domain name. For example, longusername@full.domain.name.
    services 1/2 window to enter username and password to run local services
    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.

  6. On the Installation location window, enter the location to install Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows, or choose the default location on the C:\ drive.

  7. On the Read to install window, clear Start the Qlik Sense services when the setup is complete if you want to use a dedicated service account to run the Qlik Sense services. In the Help us Improve section, select if you want to anonymously share system data with Qlik.

    Tip noteFor additional support and to learn about common issues related to the Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows installation, see Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation.
    Sense installer ready to install for rim node window

  8. You will see a message indicating that Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows has been installed successfully.

Information noteIf you selected Local System as the user account type in the Service Credentials screen, but wish to use a dedicated service account to run the Qlik Sense services, change the user account type and manually start the Qlik Sense services now.

Connecting and configuring the nodes

After installing a central node and a rim node, configure the central node to connect to the rim node. Before you can verify that a rim node is running correctly you must connect it to the central node. Use the QMC on the central node to register a rim node.

To configure a central node to connect to a rim node:

  1. On the central node, open the QMC, and click Nodes.
  2. Click Create new.
  3. In the Edit node window, enter the following configuration details about the node you want to connect to:
    4. Qlik Sense node configuration
    Field name Description Example value
    Name Provide a suitable name for the node. For example, Consumer node 1
    Host name Enter the full URL of the node you want to connect to. For example, <domain>-<server-name>.qliktech.com
    Node purpose

    Choose a suitable purpose for the node:

    • Production
    • Development
    • Both

    For example, choose Production for a scheduler node or Development for a developer node used for creating apps. For more information on types of nodes, see: Creating a node

    Check that your license supports the node purpose that you have chosen.
    Node configuration Select this node as a failover candidate. For example, if you select this node as a failover candidate it means that this node can perform the same role as the central node if the central node fails. See: Configuring failover for central node resiliency
    Service activation

    Select the services you want to run on this server node:

    • Repository
    • Engine
    • Printing
    • Proxy
    • Scheduler

    For example, if you are installing a consumer node, select the Repository and Engine services.

    For more information on which services to run on different types of nodes, see: Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows architecture and Services
  4. Click Apply. The central node generates a certificate that you use to register the rim node. If the central node cannot connect to the rim node you will see a Node registration error message. If you get this error, first check that you have opened port 4444 on the central and rim nodes to allow certificates to be sent.
  5. The Install certificates pop-up window then opens providing you with a URL and a password to authorize the certificate on the rim node.
  6. On the rim node, paste the URL into a new browser window.
  7. On the Install certificates page (in your browser), enter the password and click Submit. If successful, you see the Successfully licensed message.
  8. Follow the same authorization procedure for each node that you want to add to your deployment.
  9. To verify that all rim nodes are configured correctly, open the QMC, click Nodes and you can see the status of all the nodes in your deployment.

Verify your installation

To verify that Qlik Sense has installed correctly:

  1. Open the Qlik Management Console (QMC).
  2. Open the Qlik Sense Hub.

If the QMC and Hub open without any security warnings displayed in the browser, then you have installed Qlik Sense correctly.

Additional configuration

After you have installed and verified that Qlik Sense is running correctly, you may find the following configuration information useful:

  • Load balancing - create load balancing rules in the QMC to improve resilience and performance in a multi-node site.
  • Host allow list - configure the virtual proxy advanced settings to add your own hosts names to the allowlist.
  • User imports (UDC) - configure the user directory connector to retrieve users from a user directory.

Qlik Sense is ready to be used. But before getting started, back up your files so that you can recover from a system crash, see Backup and restore Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows

After backing up, you can begin using Qlik Sense, see Get started.

Information noteIf you are installing custom connectors in a multi-node setup, the custom connectors must be installed on each node.

Modifying an object bundles installation

You can add or remove object bundles from your Qlik Sense deployment at any moment. If you have a multi-node installation, object bundles are installed on the central node.

Tip noteYou can see which extensions are installed in your deployment by checking the Extensions section in the Qlik Management Console (QMC).

Do the following:

  1. In Windows Control Panel, open Programs and Features.

  2. In the list of programs, double-click the object bundle that you want to modify.

    A view of the Windows control panel with an object bundle selected
  3. The Object Bundle Setup Wizard opens. Click Next.
  4. Select Change.
  5. On the Custom setup screen, click on the bundle icon to select how to modify the bundle installation:
    • If the bundle is installed, select Entire feature will be unavailable to uninstall it.
    • If the bundle is not installed, select Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive to install it.

    Then, click Next.

  6. Click Change.

    Once the modification if complete, you are required to manually restart the Qlik Sense Repository Service.

  7. Click Finish to close the Object Bundle Setup Wizard.
  8. Manually restart the Qlik Sense Repository Service to apply the changes.

You can verify that the changes have been correctly applied by checking the Extensions section in the QMC.

Common issues and solutions to problems with your installation

Windows user accounts and service credentials

Host name

Shared persistence

Qlik Sense extension bundles

Anti-virus software

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