Installation

Overview

ScaleOut Digital Twins runs as a feature set in the ScaleOut Product Suite. To install ScaleOut Digital Twins, first install the ScaleOut Product Suite on a networked cluster of physical or virtual servers and then create a ScaleOut StateServer in-memory data grid. Next, configure the ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI, a web-based interface that lets you manage all of the product features.

Note

Documentation for the ScaleOut Product Suite can be found here.

Once you have completed these installation steps, you can then build digital twin object models in C# or Java and deploy them to the in-memory data grid using the management UI. You can connect to messaging hubs so that digital twin objects (also called instances) can receive and process incoming messages from their respective data sources. You can also run digital twin simulations, create charts and queries, record incoming messages, and much more.

Installing the In-Memory Data Grid

Before you configure and use the ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI, you need to install and configure a ScaleOut StateServer in-memory data grid. Refer to the StateServer Quick Start Guide for details on how to install on Windows or Linux.

Note

Be sure to obtain a license key from ScaleOut Software and install it using the ScaleOut Management Console or Command-Line Control Program supplied with the ScaleOut Product Suite.

Starting the UI’s Web Service

The ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI uses a built-in web service, called the ScaleOut Active Caching Web Service, to process UI commands and access the in-memory data grid. You have two options for running this web service:

Run the service locally on an existing ScaleOut StateServer host machine (preferred).
Run the service remotely on a separate machine as a remote client system.

This quickstart guide explains how to run the service on an existing ScaleOut StateServer host system, as it requires minimal additional configuration. The web service is installed by default on all ScaleOut hosts in the cluster, making it simple to configure. To activate the UI, you just need to start and configure the web service on one host system.

To run the web service on a system outside a ScaleOut cluster, you will need to install the ScaleOut Product Suite’s Remote Client Option on the remote system and then configure it to access the cluster. Please refer to the Installation and Configuration topic for more details.

Note

The ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI should only be configured to run on one system because the internal SQLite database that it uses is local to that system. Running the UI service on multiple systems may lead to conflicts and loss of data.

By default, the web service is installed but not started. To start the service, run the following command:

From an elevated command prompt, run:

net start soss-ac-web

sudo systemctl start soss-ac-web

You should also enable the web service to start automatically on system startup. To do this, run the following command:

From an elevated command prompt, run:

sc config soss-ac-web start=delayed-auto

sudo systemctl enable soss-ac-web

Installing the Provided Self-Signed Certificate

The web service requires a certificate to allow secure connections from web browsers. For your convenience, the ScaleOut Product Suite provides a self-signed TLS certificate. This self-signed certificate is not intended for production use, and you should consider using a trusted certificate; follow our step-by-step guide to use a trusted certificate within your domain.

Here are the steps needed to install the self-signed certificate:

The provided self-signed certificate is located in the installation folder:

C:\Program Files\ScaleOut_Software\StateServer\ActiveCachingWebUI\WebService.Api\certs

Right-click on the public key certificate file (default-sossac-cert.crt) and choose Install Certificate. The Certificate Import Wizard will appear.

Select the Local Machine store location and click Next.

Select Place all certificates in the following store and click on Browse.

Select the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store and click Ok.

Click Next and then Finish to complete the installation of the public key certificate.

Most browsers require a certificate exception for self-signed certificates. Add a certificate exception for the following URLs.

Service - Browser Certificate Exception
`soss-ac-web` - https://localhost:5501
`soss-ac-msg` - https://localhost:8801

In Mozilla Firefox, add a certificate exception by:

Navigating to Settings (alternatively, type about:preferences into the search bar).
Click Privacy and Security.
Scroll down to the Certificates section and select View Certificates.
Click Servers
Click Add Exception
For location, enter one of the service URLs – i.e. https://localhost:5501.
Click Get Certificate.
Click Confirm Security Exception.
Repeat for all service URLs.

Opening the ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI

Note

Be sure to install a certificate before opening the ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI.

On the system where you configured the web service, open https://localhost:5501 in a web browser to access the ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI.

UI_01

Press Login to authenticate.

UI_02

On that page, use the built-in Administrator account:

Email: admin@localhost.net
Password: Sc@le0ut

To register new users or manage passwords and membership roles, please refer to the Manage Users page.

Once authenticated, you will land on the home page of the ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI.

UI_03

The ScaleOut Digital Twins Management UI allows you to add and manage digital twin object models, add connections to external messaging services (such as Azure IoT Hub or Kafka), and add connections to persistence services (such as Dynamo DB, SQL Server, or Cosmos DB).

You will also be able to create and run queries and charts for your digital twins and track usage statistics. Please see the section ScaleOut Digital Twins™ UI Guide for a description of the user interface.

You are now ready to build your first digital twin.