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Denodo 8.0 Enterprise for AliCloud Quick Start Guide

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Denodo Technologies, the data virtualization leader for unifying enterprise data and delivering data services for the business, is offering Denodo Enterprise on the Alibaba Cloud as a pay by hour (PAYG) virtual machine (VM) image. The VM image contains the latest version of Denodo Enterprise, optimized for use with the Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS).

Thank you for your confidence in Denodo and for choosing the Denodo for Alibaba Cloud as your data virtualization technology!

This quick start guide will give you an overview of  the Denodo software and how to quickly start building data virtualization solutions on Alibaba Cloud.

Marketplace Offering Overview

This Denodo Enterprise for Alibaba Cloud offering is based on a pay as you go (PAYG) model under your Alibaba Cloud account.

The Denodo Enterprise offer on Aliyum consists of:

  • The Denodo Virtual DataPort (VDP), the core Denodo Data Virtualization engine, to integrate data from any data source and deliver it to any consumer in any format allowing to connect up to 5 data sources.
  • The Denodo Scheduler, for scheduling data pipelines and cache loads among other tasks.
  • The Denodo Data Catalog webtool to enable self-service and data discovery for end users.
  • Additional tools for administering and developing like the Denodo Design Studio and the Denodo VDP Administration Tool.

In the sections below you can find more information on how to deploy.

NOTE: this offering does not require a Denodo Solution Manager with a Denodo License Server to run the VDP services in the VM.

Deploy the Denodo Enterprise for Alibaba Cloud VM

Overview

You must have an Alibaba Cloud account. You are responsible for operating your own Alibaba Cloud account. You can create and launch your Denodo Enterprise for Alibaba Cloud PAYG VM instance using that Alibaba Cloud  Account.

To quickly set up a Denodo Enterprise environment on the Alibaba Cloud, perform the following steps:

  1. Launch the Denodo Enterprise VM
  2. Login to the Design Studio
  1. Login to the Scheduler Admin
  2. Login to the Data Catalog
  1. Register for Denodo Support

Note: The Alibaba Cloud interface is subject to change and the exact options you see depend on whether or not you have existing projects.

Step 1 - Launch the Denodo Enterprise VM

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace and access the Denodo Enterprise 8.0 VDP pay per hour offering page.

And then click the Choose Your Plan button.

After that the deployment configuration appears where you can select appropriate values for zone, machine type, and so on.

For choosing the machine type please see Hardware Requirements — Installation Guide

When you complete the configuration Click the Create Instance button.

As soon as the project deploys, and the new virtual machine (VM) instance starts running, the following services are automatically started:

  • Denodo VDP Server.
  • Denodo Web Container for accessing Denodo Design Studio web tool.

Step 2 - Login to the Design Studio Web Tool

The Design Studio provides a web interface to the developers to create data sources, base views, derived views, publish web services, etc.

Check first the list of Supported Browsers for the Design Studio tool.

Then use a supported browser to point to the following URL of the Design Studio Web Tool following the pattern:

http://<vm_ip>:9090/denodo-design-studio/

Where <vm_ip> is the IP address or DNS name for the Denodo Enterprise VDP virtual machine in the deployment.

Services require some time to start, meanwhile you could get a 404 page, wait some minutes and try again.

The username is 'admin' and the password is the instance ID of the Alibaba Cloud instance that you created.

Refer to Main Areas of the Design Studio for more information.

Note that certain administrative tasks like cache configuration, setting-up the authentication, user management, etc can be done graphically only by using the Virtual Dataport Administration tool (desktop based).

Step 3 - Log into the Denodo Scheduler Admin Web Tool

The Scheduler Admin provides a web interface to administrators to create jobs.

http://<vm_ip>:9090/webadmin/denodo-scheduler-admin/

Where <vm_ip> is the IP address or DNS name for the Denodo VM. The username is admin and the password is the instance ID of the Alibaba Cloud instance that you created.

Refer to Denodo Scheduler Administration Guide for more information.

Step 4 - Log into the Denodo Catalog

The Denodo Data Catalog is a web application that allows end users to query and browse all the information accessible through Denodo.

http://<vm_ip>:9090/denodo-data-catalog

Where <vm_ip> is the IP address or DNS name for the Denodo VM. The username is admin and the password is the instance ID of the Alibaba Cloud instance that you created.

Refer to the Denodo Data Catalog Documentation for more information.

Step 5 - Register for Denodo Support

Denodo is committed to helping you succeed with the Denodo Enterprise through our comprehensive network of technical support and services.

Denodo for Alibaba Cloud Enterprise Support is available for all paying subscribers. Denodo for Alibaba Cloud Premium Support is available for all subscribers at an additional fee.

To access this service, you must first register on our website.

After you have signed-up, you will have access to the Denodo Support Site where you can get web-based support, software updates and DenodoConnects, which will improve your data virtualization experience. Denodo version upgrades are not available as version upgrades require migration between Alibaba Cloud instances procured through the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace.

 You can always post your question directly on the Q&A section, a moderated forum on our Community Site, where data virtualization professionals and enthusiasts will assist you. Our community is knowledgeable and tenacious and there is no question without a valid answer. Technical resources such as product documentation, Knowledge Base articles, step-by-step tutorials, and how-to videos are also available.

Optional Actions after Deploying

Assign a Static External IP Address to Your VM Instance

An ephemeral external IP address has been assigned to the VM instance. If you require a static external IP address, you may promote the address to static. Learn more.

You will need to restart the Denodo VDP service after the change.

Install the Denodo VDP Client

There is a Denodo client tool known as Denodo Virtual Dataport Administration Tool (desktop based) that can be used as an alternative to Design Studio (web based) to administer and develop the Denodo server (VDP) running in the Alibaba Cloud virtual machine instance.

The client installer is distributed from the running Alibaba Cloud virtual machine instance; you can find the installer files under the folder /opt/denodo/resources/Client_Installers in your running Alibaba Cloud virtual machine instance's web server. Copy the one you need to your local machine to install the Denodo VDP Administration Tool.

Once the graphical administration tool starts, it will prompt you for the connection details for the remote Denodo Enterprise server in the Alibaba Cloud virtual machine instance. The first time you can login as admin with the password the id of the instance. As Virtual Dataport Server you can enter //<vm_ip>:9999/admin where <vm_ip> is the IP address or DNS name for the virtual machine in the deployment.

Refer to Main Areas of the Administration Tool for more information.

Review the Security Configuration

There are a couple of optional steps that we recommend you to take in order to improve the security of your Alibaba Cloud deployment.

Changing the Default VDP Administration Password

As the first step of the configuration of your new Denodo Enterprise virtual machine you should change the default administrator password. It is extremely important that you change this default password to ensure that you are operating under a secure environment.

Configuring the Firewall Rules

When a new virtual image is started Alibaba Cloud creates by default firewall rules.  Firewall rules are default, you must create a security group to control all TCP ports that the Denodo Enterprise may need to use plus the ssh (for server administration) and http (for the installation instructions and client installers).

To do this, follow the steps in the Alibaba Cloud documentation about firewall rules.

Review the list of default ports Used by Denodo Platform.

Securing Denodo Communications

In order to provide secure communications among your clients and Denodo Platform services running on the Alibaba Cloud instance remember to follow the instructions in the Denodo Installation Manual.

Starting and Stopping Denodo Services

Denodo Enterprise for Alibaba Cloud includes the following services:

  • VDP
  • Scheduler Server
  • Scheduler Web Admin
  • Data Catalog
  • Design Studio

Some of these services are not running by default to not overload the instance with services that may not be required. In case you decide to begin working with them, the procedure to start them is analogous:

  1. Connect to the Denodo instance.
  2. Once connected, use the terminal to run these commands in your instance to start / stop Denodo services:

sudo systemctl [start|stop] [vqlserver | schedulerserver | schedulerwebadmintool | designstudio | datacatalog | diagnosticmonitoringtool]

Additionally you can configure these services to start automatically at instance boot time with the command:

sudo systemctl enable [vqlserver | schedulerserver | schedulerwebadmintool | designstudio | datacatalog | diagnosticmonitoringtool]

Take into account that schedulerwebadmintool requires schedulerserver to be running and so do designstudio with regard to vqlserver.

VDP Memory Assignment

Denodo Enterprise for Alibaba Cloud automatically configures Virtual DataPort Server (VDP) memory allocation the first time the virtual machine instance boots depending on the instance memory size, so that you don't need to set an appropriate value.

In case this automatic memory assignment is not the most suitable for your scenario, you can always set a memory scheme on your own. Follow these steps:

  1. Stop VDP server:

sudo systemctl stop vqlserver

  1. Open the file VDBConfiguration.properties for editing:

sudo -u denodo vim /opt/denodo/denodo-platform-8.0-linux64/conf/vdp/VDBConfiguration.properties

  1. Update the property java.env.DENODO_OPTS_START with the most suitable values for your case (i.e. 2GB). Remember that Xms and Xmx parameters should have the same value:

java.env.DENODO_OPTS_START=-server  -Xms4096m  -Xmx4096m  -XX:+DisableExplicitGC

                -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:ReservedCodeCacheSize=256m

  1. Execute the script regenerateFiles to propagate these changes:

        sudo -u denodo /opt/denodo/denodo-platform-8.0-linux64/bin/regenerateFiles.sh

  1. Relaunch VDP server:

        sudo systemctl start vqlserver

Migrate Existing Metadata from Another Denodo Installation

If you wish to migrate data from an existing Denodo installation to a new VM, proceed with the steps below. Note that each existing environment should be migrated to a different instance.

Start by exporting the metadata from the existing Virtual DataPort and importing it in the new one. The steps are detailed in the Virtual DataPort metadata export and import guide.

A similar approach is to be taken to migrate Scheduler metadata. The steps are detailed in the Scheduler metadata export and import guide.

Deploying the Denodo Solution Manager

This is optional and may be needed if you are planning to use SSO configuration with Denodo webtools (Design Studio, Scheduler Admin...) using a third party IDP such as Okta.

You need to sign-up for Denodo Support and request a license key for the Denodo Solution Manager. Later, you can use the license key with the Solution Manager BYOL instance on the Marketplace.

Further Steps

Once you are all set to start building your data virtualization solutions on Alibaba Cloud, we recommend that you check out all the available Denodo information:

If you want to move on to professionally guided training you can always check our course offerings on our training site.

To get up and running on the Denodo Enterprise for Alibaba Cloud  in the quickest time, we recommend you to take advantage of Denodo Professional Services.