The Basic APM System Architecture

In its most basic implementation, the APM system consists of the machines shown in the following image.

The following are critical elements of the APM system:

• The APM Server
• APM Database Server
• Redis Server
• ElasticSearch Server
• ActiveMQ Server
• SQL Server Report Server
• Web Browser
• Mobile Device

A computer on which the APM Server software is installed. The APM Server machine contains Internet Information Services (IIS), which serves as the host for communication between the various systems. The APM Server:

• Contains and executes the APM business objects implemented using the .NET transaction management framework.
• Receives requests from a client, processes those requests, connects to the database to retrieve information, and returns that information to the client.
• Executes and enforces the business logic and business rules.
• Processes data.
• Performs calculations.

Your APM system could include multiple APM Server instances.

• APM Server machines that will receive and process requests from users are referred to as dedicated APM Servers. You can have one or more dedicated APM Servers in your implementation. The number of dedicated APM Servers that you need will depend upon the number of users you have.
• APM Server instances that exist to support other APM components are referred to as supporting APM Servers. We recommend that you install a supporting instance of the APM Server on every APM Server machine.

Consult the documentation on Redis for information about its incorporation into server configurations.

The computer on which the database software (Oracle or SQL Server) and the physical APM databases or schemas reside. Your Database Server may contain multiple APM databases or schemas (e.g., a test database and a production database). The APM Database Server answers requests for data from APM Servers. The APM database or schema contains the metadata (information about Entity families, fields, System Codes, etc.) and the tables containing actual data. The APM system allows for a single, central database. This approach enables cross-site and cumulative analyses.

The computer on which the SQL Server Reporting Services is installed. The SQL Server Report Server stores SQL Server reports. Reports can be developed via APM, and when they are saved to the APM Catalog, they will be simultaneously uploaded to the SQL Server Report Server. After they exist on the SQL Server Report Server, they can be easily viewed by other APM users.

In addition to the custom reports that can be created using SQL Server Reporting Services, the APM database contains baseline SQL Server Reporting Services reports.

Note that, while the SQL Server Report Server is part of the basic APM architecture, it is not considered a APM Server. Therefore, you are not required to install a supporting instance of the APM Server on the SQL Server Report Server machine. You will, however, need to install the APM Adapter for SSRS on this machine.