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Installation

Requirements​

The installation of Fast2 requires a few environment specifications to run properly :

WhatDescription
RAM8GB+We highly recommend having at least 8GB.

When switching to production environments, 16GB or 32GB will be required since more documents will be handled at once, and heavy tasks (e.g. conversion, extraction) might get short on resources.
Processor8 CPUsProcessor capabilities need to be aligned with migration requirements, such as data mapping, content conversion and heavy I/O.
Storage500GB+Although the contents dealt by Fast2 will be temporarily stored (and deleted afterwards if asked), the server needs enough storage for the files/contents alongside the database tracking all the migration information.

For production environments, we strongly recommend 500GB or more to handle large-scale migrations and prevent storage-related issues. While 128GB may work for development or testing, it is insufficient for production workloads and can lead to increased technical operations during migrations.
JavaJDK-11Any provider will fit (Oracle, OpenJDK, etc). If you have multiple JDK/JRE already installed, specify the correct one in the ./config/env.properties file.
OSWindows 7+, LinuxAll versions of Windows 7+ are supported.

All common distros of Linux are supported (Ubuntu, RedHat, CentOS, etc)

Power architecture are supported as well (except the ones running in AIX), but only Java parts will work seamlessly whereas third-party software (e.g. imagemagick, libreoffice, etc) might not, as they have not all have been developed for such platforms.

Although the broker will not run correctly on an Windows 2003, a worker can still run on it, remotely, and communicate with a broker installed on a more recent version.
Bandwidth1GBThe more calls, payloads, and contents Fast2 will have to deal with, the bigger the network bandwidth must be to reduce latency. If 250-500MB might do for lower environments, we recommend 1GB for Production environments.

While setting up the production server for Fast2, make sure to scale the Fast2 machine accordingly. You may need to increase the allocated memory for both the broker and the background database. If you planned to deal with campaigns of a few millions of documents, setting 8GB of memory for the broker and 8GB for the database as well is a good starting point.

warning

If you decide to go for a custom Elasticsearch database, make sure to confirm the compatibility with your environment at Elasticsearch Support Matrix.

Fast2 packages​

The Fast2 distribution you need depends on your target environment. It exists three way to deploy a Fast2 :

     On premise: regular package, as an all-in-one zip file
     AWS: Standard AMIs
     K8S: Docker Images

Each distribution ships the following

  • A broker with one embedded worker and a user interface
  • An additional worker with all tasks catalog
  • A template to create workers with custom tasks

Root folder anatomy​

ItemPurpose
configConfiguration files, broker endpoint, Java home
logsLogging files for both broker and worker(s)
mapsXML files of all maps accessible from the UI
opensearch-X.Y.Z or elasticsearch-X.Y.ZEither Elasticsearch or OpenSearch
serviceAll files required to start Fast2 as a service
worker-libs/*All libraries and dependencies for tasks executions
fast2-broker-package-X.Y.Z.jarBroker unit
fast2-worker-package-X.Y.Z.jarWorker main unit
startup-broker.batBinary file for Windows
startup-broker.shBinary file for Linux
startup-worker.batBinary file for Windows
startup-worker.shBinary file for Linux

Start-up sequence​

When Fast2 is started, either as a standalone application or a service, its different modules share a precisely defined roll-out schedule:

  • First, the broker and its internal databse are started. The connection between these 2 components has to be effective, otherwise Fast2 will automatically shut down after a couple of attempts to reach the database;
  • The worker is then triggered, and has to register itself to the broker.
  • Finally, the dashboard will be started if asked so, and if the binaries have been detected. First, Fast2 will try to connect to any dashboard instance running on the configured port.

There is no direct connection between the broker and the dashboard. The only exchange area is the Elasticsearch database, as explained in the architecture section.

Start Fast2 Broker​

Once the regular Fast2 package is unzipped, Fast2 can be launched right away.

Whether Fast2 is launched from the batch file or as a service on your environment, the UI will be available at http://localhost:1789/.

By default, Fast2 Broker starts an embedded Elastic Search and an embedded Fast2 Worker.

All commands below are to be run under the Fast2 install path (where the Zip has been unzipped).

From command line​

Go into the Fast2 install folder, and run :

C:\path-to-fast2\> startup-broker.bat

Administrator rights might be required since Fast2 will handle some port communications.

To end the Fast2 process, just hit Ctrl+C in the command line the startup file opened.

As service​

Go into the Fast2 installation folder, and open the Windows Command Prompt.

To install the service :

C:\path-to-fast2\service\windows> Fast2_broker_service.exe install

Your machine may prompt a message asking to download .NET components. Please click [OK] and proceed.

Once this command is complete, you should see in your services registory a newly installed Fast2 service. You can start/stop/restart it as any other service, or via the Command Prompt (just replace install in the previous command by start/stop/uninstall/restart/status).

The logs of the service will be available from the path-to-fast2\service\log folder.

Start Fast2 Worker​

The Broker starts an embedded worker by default.

If you wish to start multiple workers, just hit :

C:\path-to-fast2\> startup-worker.bat

If the worker and broker are not booted up on the same machine, you need to setup the Broker host name in the worker configuration file. Edit the file config/application.properties and modify broker.host accordingly.

You can setup Fast2 Worker as a service the same way you did for the Fast2 Broker. For a worker installed on a Windows machine, you need to edit 2 files :

  • The Fast2_broker_service.exe file in the service/windows folder has to be renamed to Fast2_worker_service.exe
  • The Fast2_broker_service.xml file in the service/windows folder has to be renamed to Fast2_worker_service.xml and requires some changes :
    • The id tag has to be changed to something different than Fast2 in case the broker has already been installed as a service on this machine. For instance,Fast2-worker.
    • The name tag has to be changed to something different than Fast2 Broker to avoid any confusion in case the broker has already been installed as a service on this machine. For instance, Fast2 Worker.
    • The description tag has to be changed to something different than Fast2 Broker vX.Y.Z to avoid any confusion in case the broker has already been installed as a service on this machine. For instance, Fast2 Worker vX.Y.Z.
    • The executable tag has to be changed to point to the startup-worker.bat file which is at Fast2 root level.

The Fast2_worker_service.xml file will look like this :

<service>
    <id>Fast2WorkerDCTM</id>
    <name>Fast2 Worker DCTM</name>
    <description>Fast2 Worker DCTM v-2.12.1</description>
    <env name="FAST2_HOME" value="%BASE%\..\.." />
    <executable>%BASE%\..\..\startup-worker.bat</executable>
    <logpath>%BASE%\..\log</logpath>
    <startmode>Manual</startmode>
    <log mode="roll-by-size">
        <sizeThreshold>10240</sizeThreshold>
        <keepFiles>8</keepFiles>
    </log>
</service>

And then, to install the worker as a service :

C:\path-to-fast2\service\windows> Fast2_worker_service.exe install
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