Implementing HALB in Helical Insight

In this blog we are going to learn how to implement High availability and load balancing using an Apache web server with two Tomcat instances. This can help in improving performance as well as ensuring that there is no downtime. There could be other modes as well of implementing HA LB using other servers also like IIS, NGINX, HA proxy, load balancer appliances provided by AWS GCP etc. But in this blog we have covered how it can be done using Apache web server.

To implement load balancing using the Apache web server, you can use the mod_proxy and mod_proxy_balancer modules. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Tools Used :

Java JDK 1.11
Apache Tomcat servers
Apache web server
Mod_jk connector

Implementation Steps :

Note: We have 2 servers. On server 1, the Apache web server is installed, and the Helical Insight BI application is installed on both servers

Step 1: Install Apache Web Server

Make sure Apache is installed on your server. You can install it using the package manager for your operating system. For example, on a Debian-based system:

sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install apache2

Step 2: Enable Required Modules

Enable the mod_proxy, mod_proxy_balancer, mod_proxy_http, and mod_lbmethod_byrequests modules by using the below commands:

sudo a2enmod proxy 
sudo a2enmod proxy_balancer
sudo a2enmod proxy_http
sudo a2enmod lbmethod_byrequests

Step 3: Configure the Load Balancer

Open “apache2.conf” file from below server path

/etc/apache2

And add below configuration and save the file

ServerNamelocalhost
JkMountCopy On

Step 4: Open “workers.properties” from below server path

/etc/libapache2-mod-jk/

And add below configuration and save the file

worker.list=balancer,status

worker.tomcat1.port=ajp13
worker.tomcat1.host=localhost // server1-(in our case Apache web server is on same server so using localhost)
worker.tomcat1.type=ajp13
worker.tomcat1.lbfactor=1
worker.tomcat2.port=ajp13
worker.tomcat2.host=<server2-ip<
worker.tomcat2.type=ajp13
worker.tomcat2.lbfactor=1
worker.balancer.type=lb
worker.balancer.balance_workers=tomcat1,tomcat2
worker.status.type=status

Step 5: open below “jk.conf” from below server path

/etc/apache2/mods-available

And add below configuration and save the file

JkMount  /status  status
JkMount  /*  balancer

Step 6: Restart Apache web server using below command

sudosystemctl restart apache2

In order to test if HALB is working or not , please access

http://<Server1-IP>/hi-ee

Note: Stop server1 Tomcat and server2 Tomcat alternately, and you should still be able to access the Helical Insight application.”

We are sharing HALB config files for reference as well, Click here to download.

You May Also Like

Helical Insight’s self-service capabilities is one to reckon with. It allows you to simply drag and drop columns, add filters, apply aggregate functions if required, and create reports and dashboards on the fly. For advanced users, the self-service component has ability to add javascript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3 and AJAX. These customizations allow you to create dynamic reports and dashboards. You can also add new charts inside the self-service component, add new kind of aggregate functions and customize it using our APIs.
Helical Insight’s self-service capabilities is one to reckon with. It allows you to simply drag and drop columns, add filters, apply aggregate functions if required, and create reports and dashboards on the fly. For advanced users, the self-service component has ability to add javascript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3 and AJAX. These customizations allow you to create dynamic reports and dashboards. You can also add new charts inside the self-service component, add new kind of aggregate functions and customize it using our APIs.
Helical Insight, via simple browser based interface of Canned Reporting module, also allows to create pixel perfect printer friendly document kind of reports also like Invoice, P&L Statement, Balance sheet etc.
Helical Insight, via simple browser based interface of Canned Reporting module, also allows to create pixel perfect printer friendly document kind of reports also like Invoice, P&L Statement, Balance sheet etc.
If you have a product, built on any platform like Dot Net or Java or PHP or Ruby, you can easily embed Helical Insight within it using iFrames or webservices, for quick value add through instant visualization of data.
If you have a product, built on any platform like Dot Net or Java or PHP or Ruby, you can easily embed Helical Insight within it using iFrames or webservices, for quick value add through instant visualization of data.
Being a 100% browser-based BI tool, you can connect with your database and analyse across any location and device. There is no need to download or install heavy memory-consuming developer tools – All you need is a Browser application! We are battle-tested on most of the commonly used browsers.
Being a 100% browser-based BI tool, you can connect with your database and analyse across any location and device. There is no need to download or install heavy memory-consuming developer tools – All you need is a Browser application! We are battle-tested on most of the commonly used browsers.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
A first-of-its-kind Open-Source BI framework, Helical Insight is completely API-driven. This allows you to add functionalities, including but not limited to adding a new exporting type, new datasource type, core functionality expansion, new charting in adhoc etc., at any place whenever you wish, using your own in-house developers.
A first-of-its-kind Open-Source BI framework, Helical Insight is completely API-driven. This allows you to add functionalities, including but not limited to adding a new exporting type, new datasource type, core functionality expansion, new charting in adhoc etc., at any place whenever you wish, using your own in-house developers.
It handles huge volumes of data effectively. Caching, Pagination, Load-Balancing and In-Memory not only provides you with amazing experience, but also and does not burden the database server more than required. Further effective use of computing power gives best performance and complex calculations even on the big data even with smaller machines for your personal use. Filtering, Sorting, Cube Analysis, Inter Panel Communication on the dashboards all at lightning speed. Thereby, making best open-source Business Intelligence solution in the market.
It handles huge volumes of data effectively. Caching, Pagination, Load-Balancing and In-Memory not only provides you with amazing experience, but also and does not burden the database server more than required. Further effective use of computing power gives best performance and complex calculations even on the big data even with smaller machines for your personal use. Filtering, Sorting, Cube Analysis, Inter Panel Communication on the dashboards all at lightning speed. Thereby, making best open-source Business Intelligence solution in the market.
With advance NLP algorithm, business users simply ask questions like, “show me sales of last quarter”, “average monthly sales of my products”. Let the application give the power to users without knowledge of query language or underlying data architecture
With advance NLP algorithm, business users simply ask questions like, “show me sales of last quarter”, “average monthly sales of my products”. Let the application give the power to users without knowledge of query language or underlying data architecture
Our application is compatible with almost all databases, be it RDBMS, or columnar database, or even flat files like spreadsheets or csv files. You can even connect to your own custom database via JDBC connection. Further, our database connection can be switched dynamically based on logged in users or its organization or other parameters. So, all your clients can use the same reports and dashboards without worrying about any data security breech.
Our application is compatible with almost all databases, be it RDBMS, or columnar database, or even flat files like spreadsheets or csv files. You can even connect to your own custom database via JDBC connection. Further, our database connection can be switched dynamically based on logged in users or its organization or other parameters. So, all your clients can use the same reports and dashboards without worrying about any data security breech.
Our application can be installed on an in-house server where you have full control of your data and its security. Or on cloud where it is accessible to larger audience without overheads and maintenance of the servers. One solution that works for all.
Our application can be installed on an in-house server where you have full control of your data and its security. Or on cloud where it is accessible to larger audience without overheads and maintenance of the servers. One solution that works for all.
Different companies have different business processes that the existing BI tools do not encompass. Helical Insight permits you to design your own workflows and specify what functional module of BI gets triggered
Different companies have different business processes that the existing BI tools do not encompass. Helical Insight permits you to design your own workflows and specify what functional module of BI gets triggered