Engine Workers

Version:
2020.2
Last modified: October 14, 2020

Workers are responsible for managing one or more instances of the Alteryx engine. A single-machine install of Alteryx Analytics Hub (AAH) includes one worker, and you can install workers on other remote machines. This article describes engine worker installation, licensing, configuration, and license troubleshooting. Here's a flowchart that shows the process more visually.

Download Analytics Hub and Engine Worker Installer

Use the same installer you used to install AAH or download the Analytics Hub installer from the Alteryx Downloads and Licenses portal. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Alteryx Downloads and Licenses portal at licenses.alteryx.com.
  2. Sign in or select Don’t have an account? Create one now. If you’re creating a new account register with the email address associated with your Alteryx License.
  3. Under Product Downloads, select Alteryx Analytics Hub.
  4. On the Download Products page, select the version of the product you want to download. The latest version is available on the New Versions tab. Access previous versions on the Previous Versions tab.
  5. On the Downloads page, select the plus icon next to Alteryx Analytics Hub to display a description of the product.
  6. Select the link for Analytics Hub in the File Name column to download the file.

Enter Engine Worker License

Sign into Analytics Hub as a platform admin. Go to Platform Admin > Licenses > Engine Worker License. Enter the email address associated with the license and the License Key. Up to 9 additional workers can be installed per Alteryx Analytics Hub license. 
Screenshot showing engine worker license fields

Set Up the Analytics Hub Certificate

This section describes how to create a self-signed certificate and PFX file. You don’t have to do this if you’re using certificates issued by a Certificate Authority.

On the machine where AAH is installed, open Windows PowerShell and run these commands:

  1. Change directory
    cd "INSTALL_LOCATION\Alteryx Analytics Hub"
  2. Important: If you already have a Root CA certificate, don’t create a new one. Doing so may break connectivity for existing Designer users. Skip to Step 4. If you don’t already have a Root CA certificate, create one with this step. 

    The first argument "C:\Program Files"is the location where certificates will be stored. The second argument "YOUR_MACHINE_NAME" is the hostname to which we issue these certificates. The third argument "YOUR_DESIRED_PASSWORD" is the password to protect these certificates.

    .\ayxhub.ps1 -https generate-selfsigned "C:\Program Files" "YOUR_MACHINE_NAME" "YOUR_DESIRED_PASSWORD"
  3. Restart all services.
    .\ayxhub.ps1 -restart
  4. Generate certificates for engine worker. 
    .\ayxhub.ps1 -https generate-worker-selfsigned "C:\Program Files" "YOUR_WORKER_NAME" "YOUR_DESIRED_PASSWORD"
  5. Note the password for and file path of the CRT and PFX files to use in the next section.
    Screenshot showing PFX and CRT file paths
     

Install an Engine Worker

These steps describe the process for installing and using a self-signed certificate.

  1. On the machine where you’re installing the engine worker, run the Alteryx Analytics Hub installer. For download instructions, see Download Analytics Hub and Engine Worker Installer.
  2. Select Worker Only.
  3. Select an Installation Path. Install in a location with enough storage space for staging assets, workflows, and temporary data for workflow execution. 
  4. To get your installation key, login to Analytics Hub as a platform admin. Go to Platform Admin > Workers and select Get Installer Key. Select Copy.
    Screenshot showing Get Install Key button
  5. Paste your Installation Key. 
  6. For Choose Certificate Location, select Self-signed Certificate. Or choose Certificate if using certificates from a certificate authority.
  7. Copy your CRT and PFX files from the AAH machine to this machine (engine worker machine). 
  8. For Please provide path to certificate file, browse to the path of the PFX file you copied to this machine.
  9. For Please provide path to root certificate file, browse to the path of the CRT file you copied to this machine.
  10. For Password and Confirm Password fields, enter the password you set for your PFX certificate.
  11. Enter the Analytics Hub machine for Hub Hostname (for example, machinename.somedomain.com). Enter the hostname of this machine for Worker Hostname. Leave ports as default. 
  12. Select Test to verify that the host and port are accessible. Select Next.

The installer installs all necessary drivers and worker software. This takes 10-15 minutes. Once install completes, the worker service starts and the engine worker begins taking jobs.

Check Worker Status

Easily check the status of workers from Analytics Hub. To see Status, Worker ID, Hostname, and Port, login to AAH as a platform admin and go to Platform Admin > Workers. 

Screenshot showing workers page and worker status

Worker statuses are:

  • Alive
  • Shutdown
  • Killed
  • Stopped—If a worker doesn’t check in for 60 seconds, it’s considered stopped. A status of Stopped also displays for decommissioned engine workers. 

Shutdown Workers

Some reasons you might need to shutdown a worker include changing settings, investigating an issue, or performing maintenance. There are 2 ways to shutdown workers with an API. There is a shutdown endpoint and a kill endpoint. Shutdown shuts down the worker gracefully after it finishes the jobs in progress. Kill immediately stops the worker regardless if any jobs are running on it. To learn more, go to API docs at this address: [YourBaseAddress]/api-docs

Screenshot of worker router API commands

Worker Maintenance Script

Similar to the ayxhub.ps1 script, there is a script, ayxworker.ps1, for maintaining and controlling Analytics Hub engine workers. 

To use the script:

  1. Launch Windows Powershell as an Administrator
  2. Navigate to the Alteryx Analytics Hub folder, for example: cd 'C:\INSTALL_LOCATION\Alteryx\Alteryx Analytics Hub'
  3. Input the script file and relevant command. For example, to display a list of commands: .\ayxworker.ps1 -info

The commands available in this script are:

  • .\ayxworker.ps1 -set-certs <pfxfile> <password> <encryption-key-location> <rootcertificate>
    • Change the settings for HTTPS certificates used to connect the worker and hub, where:
      • <PFX_FILE>: Location of the PFX file to be used.
      • <PASSWORD>: Password to protect the certificate on the engine worker.
      • <ENCRYPTION_KEY_LOCATION>: Location to store encryption key on the worker.
      • <ROOT_CERTIFICATE>: Location of the root certificate file to be used.
  • .\ayxworker.ps1 -disable-https
    • Disable HTTPS connection on the engine worker.
  • .\ayxworker.ps1 -restart
    • Restart the engine worker service.

Troubleshoot License Errors

Some Reasons for Engine Worker License Errors

  • Entered License Key Is Not an Alteryx Engine Worker Product
  • License Key Is Expired
  • License Key Is Invalid
  • Cutlass (Alteryx Service) Fails to Validate the License Key
  • There Aren’t Enough Seats on the License Key

Ways to Resolve the Error State

  1. Go to http://licenses.alteryx.com/ to
    • See which License Keys are associated with which Product
    • See how many seats are on each License Key
    • See which machines have activated which License Key
    • Revoke/deactivate License Keys from machines
  2. Refresh FNO Licensing Context
    • Restart Cutlass and Alteryx License Service.
  3. Replace License
    • Go to Platform Admin > Licenses > Replace Licenses
    • Enter a new License Key
    • Restart the Cutlass service on the engine worker machine.
Files
Flowchart of the Process for Installing Multiple Engine Workers
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