Hybrid Service

The Hybrid Service Deployment is the possibility to have the Rapidi service engine installed and running locally on your own server and at the same time, have access to the configuration and setup using the MyRapidi configuration app.

Below we will explain how it works, what the advantages are, and the steps to do the setup locally.

 

How it works:

  • The MyRapidi interface is still used to set up and change the configuration.
  • There is still a central service running, but it is no longer running the scheduler or transferring any data (only used for admin tasks).
  • On a locally installed server, you install a Rapidi windows service that will run the scheduler and transfer all data.
  • On the local server, you also have a database with Log and Scheduler setup (any data that is updated during runtime resides here).
  • The configuration data (Connections, Transfers, etc.) are stored in a central database hosted by Rapidi.
  • Each time you Deploy the changes you made to the configuration (what we call "Activate Changes"), a copy of the configuration is downloaded to the local Rapidi windows service and made active here.

 

Advantages:

  • All data transfers run locally and no data leaves your network (depending on the destination of data of course).
  • The configuration can still be accessed from everywhere through the MyRapidi app (and Partner and Rapidi have access to it and help with any problems)
  • Monitoring that the service is running is still done by Rapidi
  • Monitoring that Schedules are processing correctly and timely and notification via email are still done by Rapidi
  • Higher speed of data transfers between local databases
  • You can still make use of RapidiConnectors (for compression and packing and encryption of data) for remote sites in a private network (they can be set up to communicate on your private network or via the internet as you wish)
  • Schedules and data transfers continue to run if you lose internet connection

 

Prerequisites on local site:

  1. Dedicated server (can be virtual) with e.g. Windows Server 2012 or later
  2. Fixed external IP address

 

Steps to setup the Hybrid Service (locally)

  1. Decide if you need to use the 32bit or 64bit version of the program and drivers: you only use 32bit if you need to access MS Dynamics NAV via C/Front. In all other cases, you can use the 64bit versions (on 64bit Windows of course)
  2. Install MySQL Server on a local server (download from https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/installer/) - you can use either the standard 3306 port or another port of your choice (for example 9306)
  3. Install MySQL Connector/ODBC on the local server (download from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/odbc/) - use 32bit version or 64-bit version as needed
  4. Set up a user in MySQL for Rapidi (first set up a root user with a password, then set up a user named rapiloc with a password of your choice - please use only letters A-Za-z, underscore, and numbers for the password, i.e. K654uHye4_2 is ok to use). This user needs "create database" access and full access to the created database.
  5. Create and import self-signed certificate (pks file) into IE (Internet options -> Content -> Certificates -> Import).
    If you want additional security, we can use SSL on all connections between the central Rapidi services and the local Hybrid service. In this case, you should buy an SSL certificate for the Hybrid server (and be sure to use the fqdn of the server as the common name in the SSL certificate).
    For even higher security, we also support custom SSL certificates for these connections (this has an added cost, please ask). In this case, you also need to create an SSL certificate and you need to send us the certificate in PEM format. 
  6. In your firewall, you need to open up the following ports outbound from your server
    • port 443 (destination/wan address can be limited to the following addresses (same for EU and US hosted services - api.myrapidi.com: 3.123.99.57 and 3.121.19.9)
  7. In your firewall, you need to open up the following ports inbound to your server
    • the MySQL server port (3306 or whatever you set up above)  (destination/wan address can be limited to the following addresses: EU hosted services: 3.127.5.0 and 3.125.195.248 and for US hosted services: 44.231.117.185 and 52.89.22.131)
    • the Rapidi service port (please ask Rapidi support for this)  (destination/wan address can be limited to the following addresses: EU hosted services: 3.127.5.0 and 3.125.195.248 and for US hosted services: 44.231.117.185 and 52.89.22.131)
    8. Inform Rapidi support team about:
    • your external fixed IP address
    • the internal IP address for the server (that the MySQL server uses and that RapidiConnectors can use to connect to your server via your internal network or VPN)
    • the MySQL server port (chosen above) and
    • the MySQL username and password that you have set up for use by Rapidi
  8. The Rapidi support team can now configure your service as a hybrid service - this will automatically create a database on your MySQL server called dbbconfigxxx (where xxx is specific to your MyRapidi service)
  9. Install and setup RapidiConnector (check "Hybrid Install" during the Service configuration) (download from MyRapidi - you will have access to this after the Rapidi support team has configured your service as a hybrid service - the Rapidi support team will provide you with username and password to use during the setup)
  10. Test that there are no errors when using e.g. Get Service Status on the MyRapidi Dashboard for the specific service and do a "Activate Changes" to test that this also works.

 

That's it and you can now start setting up your Connections and Transfers etc.