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The Processing Server runs in a failover cluster. For more information about building one, see Create a failover cluster in the Microsoft documentation. The addresses, computer names, and domain names in the following sections are examples, and an administrator can change them. The server configuration described here is intended for local use on a local area network only.
The names of servers, services, and shared folders must not contain spaces.

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Hardware requirements

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Cluster nodes

  • All cluster nodes must have identical or essentially similar hardware configuration.
  • All cluster nodes must be running the same version of Windows Server.
  • All cluster nodes must be joined to the same Active Directory domain. Otherwise, configure Basic authentication for the Processing Server. For more information, see Description of Processing Server commands.

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Shared storage

Shared storage holds a folder with the files the cluster requires. The disk must meet the following requirements:
  • The disk must be connected using Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), iSCSI, or Fibre Channel.
  • The disk must be accessible to all cluster nodes.
  • The disk must not be used as a boot or system volume.
  • The disk must not be used for swap, dump, or hibernation files.
Two storage solutions are commonly used:
  • Ready-made storage systems based on DAS, SAN, NAS, JBOD, or other technologies.
  • A separate server machine with the iSCSI Target Server role set up.
For detailed clustering hardware requirements, see failover clustering hardware requirements and storage options in the Microsoft documentation.

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Create a failover cluster

This example clusters two machines. Work through the four stages in order.
  1. Check that you have all the necessary components and that they meet the hardware requirements.
  2. Install the Failover Clustering feature.
  3. Validate the configuration to confirm that it suits failover clustering.
  4. Create the failover cluster.
Give a cluster with an even number of nodes a quorum witness resource, such as a Disk, Share, or Cloud Witness. Without one, the cluster stops if half its nodes fail.
For the quorum settings and the rest of the clustering detail, see Create a failover cluster in the Microsoft documentation.

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Basic configuration of the failover cluster

This example uses a previously created FOC cluster (FOC.cluster2016.ru). It sits in the 192.168.0.0/23 designated network in the cluster2016.ru domain, and it consists of two nodes, Node1 and Node2.

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Addressing in the cluster

Node1 and Node2 each have two network interfaces. One belongs to the 192.168.0.0/23 network, and the other may belong to a local area network, for example 10.0.2.0/24. The data storage interfaces only with the 192.168.0.0/23 network, so only the cluster nodes can reach it. Both networks are available to the cluster FOC.cluster2016.ru. For security and workload balancing, allow cluster traffic only in the designated 192.168.0.0/23 network. External users reach the data storage through requests to Node1 and Node2. To allow cluster traffic in the 192.168.0.0/23 network, open Failover Cluster Manager. Select Cluster Network in the Networks group, and then choose Cluster and Client in the Cluster Use column.
Screenshot of the Networks view in Failover Cluster Manager, where the Cluster Network in the 192.168.0.0/23 subnet is set to Cluster and Client in the Cluster Use column.
The cluster uses the following interfaces and networks.

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Set up domain user accounts

1

Create two domain users

For example, cluster2016\node1admin and cluster2016\node2admin.
2

Give each user administrator rights on its own node

Grant cluster2016\node1admin administrator rights on Node1, and cluster2016\node2admin administrator rights on Node2.
These accounts exist only for running ABBYY FlexiCapture in a failover cluster, so that shared network resources are used correctly. Clustering requires domain accounts, and a local user account will not work.

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Add the ABBYY FlexiCapture Processing Server service

Install ABBYY FlexiCapture Processing Server on Node1 and Node2. Then create a shared folder for the Processing Server service.
1

Configure the role

Right-click the Roles group and choose Configure Role….
2

Select Generic Service

Select Generic Service from the list of services and click Next.
3

Choose the Processing Server service

Choose ABBYY FlexiCapture 12 Processing Server from the list of available services and click Next.
4

Name the service

Enter the name of the service, FC12ProcServer in this example. The IP address is generated automatically. Click Next.
5

Choose the storage volume

Choose the volume you created for centralized storage and click Next.
6

Specify the registry key

Specify the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ABBYY\FlexiCapture\12.0.
7

Confirm and finish

Click Next to confirm the settings, and then click Finish to create the service in the cluster.

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Create a shared folder for the Processing Server service

Create a shared folder for the new service, to hold the temporary files for Node1 and Node2.
This network folder configuration is not fail-safe. If the storage fails, the cluster goes down.
To keep the cluster running, make the file storage fail-safe. For more information, see Set up a distributed file system.
1

Start the Add File Share wizard

Select Add File Share in the local menu of the new service, FC12ProcServer in this example.
Screenshot of Failover Cluster Manager showing the shortcut menu for the FC12ProcServer role with the Add File Share command highlighted.
2

Select the SMB Share profile

Select the SMB Share – Applications profile.
3

Specify the folder location

Select by volume is the default option.
4

Name the shared folder

Enter a name and description for the shared folder if you need them, and then click Next.
5

Keep the default settings

On the Other Settings tab, keep the default values and click Next.
6

Open the permissions editor

Click Customize permissions… to set folder permissions for the domain users you created, node1admin@cluster2016.ru and node2admin@cluster2016.ru.
7

Grant full control to each user

  1. Click Add, and then click Select a principal.
  2. Select a user and click OK.
  3. Under Basic permissions, select Full control and click OK.
  4. Repeat these steps for the node2admin user, and then click OK.
8

Create the share

Click Next, check that the settings are correct, and click Create. After the shared folder is created, click Close.

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Configure the cluster nodes

Set up the Node1 and Node2 cluster nodes. These instructions are for Node1. Node2 is set up the same way.

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Set up the ABBYY FlexiCapture Processing Server service

1

Configure the service from the command line

Enter the following command in the command line (cmd.exe):
Type this command manually. Copying and pasting it can introduce redundant new line characters, which makes the command fail.
The command changes the default settings for the ABBYY.ProcServer.FlexiCapture.12.0 process, which launches from %systemdrive%\Program Files\ABBYY FlexiCapture 12 Servers\FlexiBRSvc.exe. It also sets the path to the Processing Server settings file to \\FC12procserver\ClusterTemp\ServerSettings.xml.The ServerSettings.xml file then lives in the shared folder, where every node in the cluster can reach it.
If ServerSettings.xml is missing when the Processing Server starts, the server starts with the default settings and creates a new ServerSettings.xml.
2

Open the service properties

Find the ABBYY FlexiCapture 12 Processing Server service in the list of services (Start → Administrative Tools → Services), right-click it, and select Properties.
3

Verify the path to the executable

Check that the parameters you typed in the command line appear in the Path to executable field.
4

Set the Log On account

Click the Log On tab. On Node1, change the user NetworkService to node1admin. On Node2, change it to node2admin. Click OK.

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Change the %appdata% variable

The ABBYY.ProcServer.FlexiCapture.12.0 service creates and stores session data in the location that %appdata% points to. For the service to switch between cluster nodes, node1admin and node2admin must have the same folder specified for %appdata%. Change the %appdata% variable for the cluster2016\node1admin user on Node1, and for the cluster2016\node2admin user on Node2. You can change %appdata% from the command line or directly in the Windows registry.

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Change %appdata% from the command line

1

Run the REG ADD command

Enter the following command in the command line (cmd.exe):
Replace \\FC12ProcServer\ClusterTemp with the path to your own folder.
Type this command manually. Copying and pasting it can introduce redundant new line characters, which makes the command fail.
2

Confirm the change

Confirm that you want to change the AppData folder if it already exists.
3

Repeat for Node2

Run the same command on Node2.

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Change %appdata% in the Windows registry

1

Find the User Shell Folders key

Look for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
2

Set the AppData value

If the key does not exist, create a REG_EXPAND_SZ variable named AppData in it and set its value to \\FC12ProcServer\ClusterTemp.
3

Repeat for Node2

Make the same change on Node2.

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Connect the Processing Server Monitor

1

Select a node for the service

Select a node for the FC12ProcServer service.
2

Add the clustered Processing Server

Open the Processing Server Monitor on any computer in your LAN and add the clustered Processing Server.