Deploying Business Central in a Two-Computer Topology
This article covers two deployment scenarios:
Scenario 1
You install the Business Central Web Server components and Business Central Server on a computer separate from the SQL Server database components.
Tip
For simplicity and performance advantages, we recommend this scenario.
Scenario 2
You install the Business Central Web Server components on a separate computer than Business Central Server and the SQL Server database components.
Many of the deployment tasks for both scenario are the same. The main difference is in the Installation Tasks section.
Pre-Installation Tasks
The following table includes tasks to do before you install the Business Central Web Server components.
| Task | Description | For more information, see... |
|---|---|---|
| Make sure that system requirements are met. | Verify that the computer has the required hardware and software installed. | System Requirements |
| Install Internet Information Services. | When you install the Business Central Web Server components, Business Central Setup creates a website for the Business Central Web client on IIS. If IIS is already installed, then make sure that the required features are enabled. Note: This step is optional because instead of installing and configuring IIS manually, you can use Business Central Setup to install IIS and enable the required features by setting the Install IIS Prerequisites option to Yes. |
Configure Internet Information Services |
| Determine the TCP ports for the Business Central Web client, client services, and SOAP/OData web services (optional) and allow communication on the port through Windows Firewall. | Business Central Setup creates a website on IIS. During Setup, you'll have to choose the port to use for the site. The default port is port 8080. The client services port facilitates communication between the Business Central Web Server and Business Central Server. The default port is 7085. For scenario 1, because the servers are on the same machine, you don't have change the Windows Firewall access on this port. For scenario 2, you must allow communication between the server hosting the Business Central Web Server and the server hosting the Business Central Server because they are hosted on different machines. In this case, you have to manually add in inbound rule for port. In addition, we recommend that you limit access to the port for security reasons. Learn more at Limiting client services port access. If you'll enable SOAP and OData web services, you'll also need to specify a port for each. The default ports are 7047 and 7048. You have to add an inbound rule in Windows Firewall that allows communication on the ports. You can choose to have Business Central Setup to add the inbound rule in Windows Firewall or do it manually. |
Identity and access management in the Windows documentation. |
| Set up the service account for Business Central Server and the SQL Server database. | Optional. When you install Business Central Server, you can specify a user account that will be used to log on to the Business Central Server instance and Business Central database. The default service account is Network Service. If you want to use Network Service, then no action is required for this task. | Provisioning a Service Account |
| Obtain and install an SSL certificate. | Optional. If you want to configure SSL on the connection to Business Central Web client, then complete the following procedures: - Obtain an SSL certificate. - Import the certificate into the local computer store of the computer on which you'll install the Business Central Web Server components. - Obtain the certificate's thumbprint. Note: You can also configure SSL after you've installed the Business Central Web client. For more information, see Post-installation Tasks. |
Configure SSL to Secure the Web Client Connection |
Installation Tasks
See the section that matches your deployment scenario. Each section contains a table with the tasks specific to the scenario.
Scenario 1
| Task | Description | For more information, see... |
|---|---|---|
| On one computer, install SQL Server Database Components. | Run the Business Central Setup setup.exe file, choose Advanced installation options > Choose an installation option > Custom, and then choose the SQL Server Database Components option. | Install Business Central Using Setup |
| Start the SQL Server Browser Service on the SQL Server computer. | This task is only required if you're using a named database instance for Business Central. By default, Business Central uses the database instance named BCDEMO. The SQL Server Browser Service is required so that the database instance can be discovered by the Business Central Server instance, which in this scenario, is another computer. To start the SQL Server, use SQL Server Configuration Manager. | Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, Restart SQL Server Services |
| On the other computer, install the Business Central Server and Business Central Web Server components . | Run Business Central Setup, choose Advanced installation options > Choose an installation option > Custom, and then the Server and Web Server Components options. | Install Business Central Using Setup Business Central Web Server Overview |
Scenario 2
| Task | Description | For more information, see... |
|---|---|---|
| On one computer, install Business Central Server and SQL Server Database Components. | Run the Business Central Setup setup.exe file, choose Advanced installation options > Choose an installation option > Custom, and then choose the Server and SQL Server Database Components options. | Install Business Central Using Setup |
| On the other computer, install the Business Central Web Server components. | Run Business Central Setup, choose Advanced installation options > Choose an installation option > Custom, and then the Web Server Components option. | Install Business Central Using Setup Business Central Web Server Overview |
| Configure delegation from the web server to Business Central Server. | Because Business Central Server is running on a different computer than the Business Central Web Server components, you must configure the computer that is running Business Central Web Server components to delegate its access to Business Central Server on behalf of the device trying to access from the Business Central Web client. | Configure Delegation for Business Central Web Server |
Post-installation Tasks
The following table includes tasks to configure the Business Central Web Server components after installation. These tasks are optional depending on your organizational and network requirements.
| Task | Description | For more information, see |
|---|---|---|
| Change the user authentication method. | The Business Central supports the following authentication methods: Windows, UserName, NavUserPassword, and AccessControlService. By default, Windows authentication is used. | Authentication and User Credential Type |
| Secure the connection to the Business Central Web client with SSL. | You can help secure Business Central data that is transmitted over the Internet by enabling Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) on the connection to the Business Central Web client. | Configure SSL to Secure the Web Client Connection |
| Change the configuration of the Business Central Web Server. | There are several parameters in the navsettings.json configuration file for the Business Central Web Server that you can modify to change the behavior of the Business Central Web client. Some of the more common parameters include the Business Central Server instance, company, language, time zone, regional settings, session time-out, and online Help URL. | Configuring Business Central Web Server |
| Set up multiple Business Central Web client applications on a website. | You can set up multiple web server instances for the Business Central Web client on the existing website. The web server instances will use the same address (URL) except with an alias that specifies the specific application. | Creating and Managing Business Central Web Server Instances Using PowerShell |
| Configure web browsers on devices. | The Business Central Web client supports several different web browsers. To access the Business Central Web client, the web browser must be enabled on a device with cookies and JavaScript. | Web Client Requirements |
Related information
Business Central Web Server Overview
Installing Business Central in a Single Computer Environment
Installing Business Central in a Three Computer Environment