On-Premises Architecture

eLabNext On-Premises installation is a customer-specific solution hosted by the IT department of the organization and encompasses a multi-server architecture that collectively offers all functionalities as available in the eLabJournal Cloud. Multi-server setups allow for optimal application performance and scalability. For setups < 50 users, the application and database server can be combined; for setups > 50 users the application and database server should be separated (either physically or virtually). The use of the Office Online Server (OOS) is optional and licensing should be handled by the customer in the Microsoft Office365 license plan.

High Availability On-Premises

eLabJournal ELN can also be deployed as a High Availability (HA) system installation. In the HA On-Premises installation, a duplicate system installation is configured and hosted on a different server (either physically or virtually). Data is replicated in real-time to both systems and traffic is automatically routed by a load balancer to both setups. In case of an event in one of the setups that results in downtime of one of the servers, system uptime is unaffected as this server is taken out of the cluster and all communication is automatically diverted to the available server. A third database server is configured which can be used for API calls, back-ups, reporting, and exporting. The HA installation is typically used for large system installations (> 500 active users) but is also available for customers that require the highest possible uptime with more than 99.9%.

On-Premises Prerequisites

For an On-Premises installation, a set of preconfigured servers is to be provided by the customer IT department based on the provided Technical Specifications. The client is responsible for providing the network infrastructure and for the setup and maintenance of the servers, including backups.

In the standard setup, the following servers are required:

• Application server: Microsoft Windows Server 2019, including the capacity for file storage
• Database server: Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS or 20.04 LTS
• Microsoft Office Online Server (OOS): Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (if applicable)
• Reverse Proxy / Load Balancer and Firewall (e.g. Linux server; if applicable)

For a small number of users, e.g. in the On-Premises small setup for up to 50 users, the database and application servers can be combined on one Windows server. For the high availability setup, shared-nothing architecture is recommended. For this purpose, all servers are to be provided in duplicate. In addition, a third instance of the database server is recommended for the export, reporting, and backup of data.

Required licenses and keys on servers:

• Server licenses for all Windows Servers
• Microsoft Office Online server license for each OOS server (if applicable)

A detailed description of the server requirements including instructions for configuration is specified in the Technical Specifications (can be provided upon request). After setup of the servers is complete, eLabNext remotely installs the application on these servers, provided that remote access is granted using a VPN connection.