Engine
The engine executes workflows using high-speed data processing and analytics. This process can be entirely self-contained in Designer, scaled across an organization by the Alteryx service, or deployed in the cloud in Server.
Configure the engine component on the Engine screens in System Settings.
Engine Configuration
The Engine Configuration screen has configuration options, such as where you want to store temporary files and log files and options for specifying system resource usage to optimize performance.
Temporary Directory
The location where Server stores temporary files used in workflow processing.
Logging Directory
The location where Server stores output logs produced during workflow processing. Visit Configure and Use Server Logs for more info.
Package Staging Directory
The location where Server temporarily saves files associated with the workflow when you edit workflows stored in a Server. By default, Server saves these files inside of the Engine Temporary Directory.
Memory Limit per Anchor
The maximum memory to use to consume data for each output anchor for tools in a workflow. The default memory doesn't typically need to be changed.
Engine
The Engine setting tells the worker which engines it can use and thus, which workflows it can run. If you select AMP Engine Only or Both Engines, you also have to select Enable AMP Engine to enable AMP at the environment level. Go to the Controller help page for more info.
Select Original Engine Only to run only Original Engine workflows on this node.
Select AMP Engine Only to run only AMP Engine workflows on this node.
Select Both Engines to run Original Engine and AMP Engine workflows on this node. If you run both engines, the completion time for quality of service jobs can't be guaranteed.
For more information about AMP Engine, go to Alteryx AMP Engine and AMP Engine Best Practices help pages.
Understand AMP Engine Settings
The Enable AMP Engine setting on the System Settings > Controller screen is the on-off setting for the Server environment. This setting enables AMP at the environment level. Go to the Controller help page for more info. The setting in System Settings > Engine tells the worker which engines it can use and thus, which workflows it can run.
For example, let's take a 3-node environment. Node 1 is set up for the controller and Server and has AMP enabled. Node 2 is a worker only node with the engine set to Original Engine Only. Node 3 is a worker only node with its engine set to Both Engines. In this scenario, running AMP workflows on Server is enabled and these workflows would only run on node 3. Original engine workflows would run on either node 2 or node 3. If node 3 is offline Original-engine workflows would still run on node 2, but AMP workflows would get stuck in the queue until node 3 came back online.
Allow Server to Manage Engine Resources
Check this box if you want Server to automatically fill in Default Number of Processing Threads and Memory Limit values.
When selected, on service start-up the system will perform a check of your hardware resources, which includes logical processors and total system memory. Based on this check, the system will calculate and default the Number of Processing Threads and Memory Limit values.
When selected, the Allow users to override these settings setting is disabled.
Memory Limit
Memory Limit (MB) is the maximum memory the engine will use to perform sort and join operations in a workflow. The default memory doesn't typically need to be changed.
Important
For Server machines that act as both a worker and a controller with the embedded MongoDB, a good starting point is...
Memory Limit = (Total Physical RAM / 2)/ # Simultaneous Workflows
For standalone workers, you can allocate more memory to run workflows. However, we recommend reserving 4 GB of memory to ensure the OS and other system services have enough memory. A good starting point is...
Memory Limit = (Total Physical RAM - 4GB)/ # Simultaneous Workflows
Default Number of Processing Threads
Default Number of Processing Threads defines the number of processing threads tools or operations can use. The default value is the number of logical processors. Generally, this value shouldn't be changed.
Allow Users to Override These Settings
Select Allow users to override these settings to allow users to override the above settings to define their own memory usage, processing, threads, etc. If unchecked, the users assume the settings provided.
Run Engine at a Lower Priority
Before version 2023.1, AMP ignores the setting Run engine at a lower priority in Alteryx System Settings. This means AMP always runs at a lower priority regardless of selection.
Version 2023.1 enforces the Run engine at a lower priority setting. If the setting is unchecked, workflows built with the AMP engine can use all processor cores and a significant amount of RAM (depending on your settings). This may cause the system to be less responsive and affect Server's behavior. Find more information on Microsoft’s Scheduling Priority page.
Allow User Alias to Override the System Alias
Select Allow user alias to override the system alias to allow any user alias that is in the Alias Repository to take priority over a system alias.
Proxy
Server can use a proxy to access the internet, rather than connecting directly to an internet host.
Server pulls the proxy settings displayed in Engine > Proxy from the Windows internet settings for the user logged into the machine. If there are no proxy settings for the user logged into the machine, Engine > Proxy isn't available within the System Settings menu.
You can specify Proxy Protocol Type (HTTP and SOCKS5h are supported). If you don't specify a type, the default is HTTP.
Important
The proxy settings displayed in Engine > Proxy might not reflect the proxy settings that are actually used when the service runs during workflow execution. If your organization uses proxies for internet access, we recommend using the Worker > Run As setting to ensure access to the internet is allowed when Server users run and schedule workflows. Visit the Worker help page for more info.
If a proxy server is set up for the machine and a username and password are required, select Proxy requires password to enter the Username and Password for proxy authentication.