Load Balancing ProClarity Dashboard - Migration
Welcome to the inaugural post on the Microsoft ProClarity Team Blog. I'm honored to begin what I hope is a great compliment to the TechNet ProClarity forum for sharing information and receiving feedback and tips from customers.
Why does the Dashboard need special consideration when used in an NLB configuration?
Dashboard 6.2 and earlier databases need special care when migrated to a 6.3 NLB configuration. A machine key is generated by ASP.NET that allows Dashboard system users to have encrypted passwords which are stored in the Dashboard database. This key is auto-generated in default Dashboard installations. However, 6.3 NLB configurations require the machine key to be manually generated and added to each node of the NLB cluster inside the web.config file.
Since the 6.2 database key was auto-generated and is hidden, the system users and LDAP Security Providers in the existing 6.2 database will lose their passwords after migration. Also, in the Dashboard Studio, each user’s My Dashboard listing will no longer be followed by the user’s logon name. This makes special steps necessary to allow admin access after migration from a single machine to NLB – except in the rare case that the 6.2 administrators created manual keys during installation which may be copied and reused in 6.3. Integrated users seem unaffected by the migration.
-Joey Pruett