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Database server

Bravura Security Fabric requires Microsoft SQL Server 2022 (recommended), Microsoft SQL Server 2019 , Microsoft SQL Server 2017 , Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP2 , or Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP3 , typically with one database instance per application server. In most environments, the Microsoft SQL Server software is installed on the same hardware or VM as the Bravura Security Fabric software, on each Bravura Security Fabric server node. This reduces hardware cost, eliminates network latency and reduces the security surface of the combined solution.

Be sure to install the following services and tools that come with SQL Server:

  • Database Engine Services

  • Client Tools Connectivity

  • Management Tools - Basic

  • Management Tools - Complete

Database I/O performance on a virtualized file system (e.g., VMDK or equivalent) is slow. If the database server software runs on a VM, please use a fast, nearby NAS or SAN to store the actual data files.

Bravura Security Fabric can leverage an existing database server cluster, but Bravura Security recommends a dedicated database server instance, preferably one per Bravura Security Fabric application server, installed on the same OS image as the core application.

  1. The data managed by Bravura Security Fabric is extremely sensitive, so it is desirable to minimize the number of DBAs who can access it, despite use of encryption.

  2. SQL Server has limited features to isolate workloads between database instances on the same server. This means that a burst of activity from Bravura Security Fabric (as happens during auto-discovery) would cause slow responses in other applications. Conversely, other applications experiencing high DB load would slow down Bravura Security Fabric .

  3. Bravura Security Fabric already includes real-time, fault-tolerant, WAN-friendly, encrypted database replication between application nodes, each with its own back-end database. Use of an expensive DB server cluster is neither required nor beneficial.

  4. Deploying the database to localhost has performance advantages (minimal packet latency from the application to its storage).

  5. Allowing Bravura Security Fabric administrators full control over the database simplifies performance and related diagnostics and troubleshooting, especially when we consider that database administrators in most organizations are few in number and very busy.

  6. Eliminating reliance on shared database infrastructure also eliminates the need to coordinate events such as database version upgrades, which involve reboots. Some Bravura Security customers who leverage a shared database infrastructure have experienced application disruption due to unscheduled and un-communicated database outages and restarts.

See Installing Database and Database Client Software for details.

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