As we already know from reading other blogs here on the phData website, Alteryx Server provides a scalable server-based analytics solution that lets you create, publish, and share analytic applications, schedule and automate workflow jobs with increased processing power, create, manage, and share data connections, and control data access.
If you are new to this world and want to understand more about the Alteryx Server universe, please see our comprehensive blog, Establishing an Analytical Culture with Alteryx Server.
Additionally, suppose this is the first Alteryx Server update you will perform. In that case, you must understand the main points of attention and concerns that we have as administrators of Alteryx Server instances. Please see our blog about the important considerations when updating the Alteryx Server.
Our main goals in this blog are to:
Understand some of the new functionality provided by the new version of Alteryx Server 2024.2
Pre-update recommended tasks
Installation steps
Post-upgrade check
Without further ado, let’s start this new journey of knowledge!
New Features in Alteryx Server 2024.2
Beforehand, we will not cover all the new features. Only the most relevant ones for our update process and day-to-day use. Let’s go to them:
UI Filter and Sort for Workflows, Schedules, and Jobs
File Browse Improvement in Analytic Apps
Ability to Resize the System Settings Window
New Admin Settings:
Timeout to Cancel Jobs
Migrate Data Connections and Workflows to DCM
Server API Updates
New Admin Setting: Restriction to Make Workflows Public
Bulk Delete for Workflows, Workflow Results, Schedules, and Collections
“AMP” Column Name Renamed to “Engine”
Open SSL Upgrade
UI Filter and Sort for Workflows, Schedules, and Jobs
Finally, they improved the searching and sorting capabilities on the Server for both admin and non-admin users, enhancing the overall experience of the Server UI. Now you can do the following with ease:
Filter by AMP or E1 on the Schedules page and My Workspace (My Files, Shared With Me, Public).
Engine column added to Admin homepage > Jobs, where you can filter by AMP or E1.
Type field sorting in Server UI > My Workspace (My files, Shared With Me, Public), and on the Admin homepage > Workflows.
Engine filter on Admin homepage > Workflows (Private, Public, All)
File Browse Improvement in Analytic Apps
If you have ever tried to upload a large xlsx file to an analytics app, you have probably faced performance issues due to the file size. From now on, the following message will be displayed to alert you about possible performance issues:
Large file sizes are more likely to experience performance/loading issues in the Server when using File Browse. This might cause the application to error.
Ability to Resize the System Settings Window
This is a problem that every Alteryx Server administrator has experienced at some point in their life: problems with the size of the Alteryx System Settings screen. Many times when opening this window, it was not possible to see part or all of the Cancel, Back, and Next buttons, making it necessary to disable the Windows taskbar or even press the tab button several times to reach these buttons.
Finally, our prayers have been answered, and it is now possible to resize these windows without any major problems. I still believe that there is another improvement that can be made: the ability to access the different menus independently without necessarily having to go through them all, one by one, sequentially. Let’s see if this will also be added in future versions.
New Admin Settings
Timeout to Cancel Jobs
One thing that sometimes happens and can snowball if not monitored properly is the growth of the job queue, whether scheduled or manual. In some cases, a job may run forever, which consumes an execution slot and, depending on demand and availability, can generate a huge increase in the queue and a huge headache for Alteryx Server users and administrators.
Now it is finally possible to configure a timeout period for both scheduled and manually executed jobs. To do so, go to Admin > Settings > Assets:
Migrate Data Connections and Workflows to DCM
In order to simplify the shift from Data Connections to DCM Connections, it is now possible to migrate all Data Connections and respective workflows to be replaced by DCM Connections. First, it is necessary to migrate each data connection and then trigger the migration of workflows.
To learn more about this, please consult the official documentation on Data Connections.
Server API Updates
If you are an Alteryx Server administrator user with advanced knowledge, especially in APIs, it is important to mention that there are now a number of improvements and new features added such as: new endpoints for updating schedules and also for server credentials, Share Workflow Job Messages to Curators via API, New API Endpoints for Subscriptions, Workflow Endpoints Updates and Support for Scheduling Analytics Apps via API.
More information can be found in the official documentation.
Restriction to Make Workflows Public
Now there is a Restrict Public Workflow (Global) setting under Admin > Settings > Security:
We, as admins, can now control the way workflows are getting published – either publicly or non-publicly. To control workflows availability to other users, simply select or clear the Restrict Public Workflow (Global) checkbox.
Bulk Delete for Workflows, Workflow Results, Schedules, and Collections
We can now delete multiple assets at once from the Alteryx Gallery interface. These are:
Workflows and Workflow Results
Admin homepage > Workflows > available for all three tabs: Private, Public, and All
User homepage > My Workspace > available for My Files (not available for Shared With Me and Public)
Schedules
Admin homepage > Schedules > available for Schedules and Designer Migrations
User homepage > Schedules
Collections
User homepage > Collections
You are now able to multi-select a workflow, workflow results, schedules, or collections using the checkbox present in each row and delete them from the page.
Before you delete the records, an alert pop-up will appear for final confirmation. Once selected records have been deleted, a snack bar message displays confirming that the selected records have been successfully deleted.
“AMP” Column Name Renamed to “Engine”
The AMP column that was already present on several pages (such as Workflows, Schedules, and Workflow Results) is now called Engine:
This column now displays the name of the engine: AMP or E1. In the previous versions, this column depicts whether a workflow is AMP-enabled or not.
OpenSSL Upgrade
As part of our daily security concerns, there has been an update to the embedded OpenSSL module version from 3.0.12 to 3.0.13, to protect against the following vulnerabilities:
CVE-2024-0727CVE-2023-6237CVE-2023-5678
These CVEs do not affect the status of the Alteryx OpenSSL FIPS 140-2 Provider. For more information, go to the OpenSSL official documentation about Vulnerabilities 3.0.
Pre-update Tasks
As we described in the previous version’s update blog, the preparations for the update remain the same, but contain only a few details to pay attention to.
It is worth remembering that we will not yet use Microsoft SQL Server as a backend database solution here. Therefore, we will continue to use MongoDB for this update.
A very important piece of documentation to also check is the Version-to-Version Server Upgrade Guide. This document highlights tasks and changes you need to be aware of when upgrading through versions of Alteryx Server. Issues are cumulative, so read through each section as you upgrade through multiple versions.
Let’s get started!
Alteryx System Settings Backup
I particularly like manually backing up the existing settings in the Alteryx System, both by copying the runtimesettings.xml file and collecting screenshots of all screens (I admit that this part is boring and far from mandatory, but I’m on the team that prefers to be better safe than sorry).
The runtimesettings.xml file can be found at the following location (please make sure to use the correct disk letter and partition relative to the path where Alteryx Server was installed):
Remember that all configuration information displayed in the Alteryx System Settings Wizard is stored in the runtimesettings.xml file. The Wizard collects this information directly from there.
Macros Backup
Another important step is to ensure the continuity of existing macros in the environment even after the upgrade. This includes user-created macros and custom tools that are not native, such as the Publish to Tableau Server Tool or even Crew Macros.
Typically, the files related to these tools/macros are available in the following folder:
C:\ProgramData\Alteryx\Tools
Again, please use the correct disk letter and partition relative to the path where the Alteryx Server was installed.
Copy the contents of this folder to a safe and accessible location for use after the upgrade.
In our case, we only have two non-native macros/tools in the environment:
It is important to note that the macros must be compatible with the most recent version. Some macros may be incompatible with newer versions or require an upgrade.
Macros that use Python or R require special attention during updates since the Python or R version may change after the upgrade for some Alteryx Server versions. Some libraries are incompatible with newer versions of the environment. So, always be aware of the versions that are used.
After the upgrade, we will return to them to copy the files from the backup folder to the folder of the new version of Alteryx Server. Keep in mind that during the installation wizard, the Alteryx installation folder can be modified, so pay attention to specifying the precise location.
It can also be beneficial to get a list of Python and R libraries installed in the environment to validate whether they will stay after the installation or need to be reinstalled. This step can be skipped if the environment does not have any Python or R workflows.
Keep in mind that the Update Wizard for the Alteryx Server version in question already includes the standard Python and R packages. In other words, they are updated and installed automatically.
MongoDB Backup
If you are using a user-managed instance of MongoDB, it is recommended that you contact the team that manages your MongoDB Server as a whole, not just the Alteryx database. This communication will be essential to align the backup procedures so as not to impact other databases in the environment.
On the other hand, if you are using an Alteryx Server with the embedded version of MongoDB, this is the easiest scenario. Our server will update this scenario.
In all cases, always consult the official Alteryx documentation.
The first step is to stop the Alteryx Service. In multi-node environments, be aware that there is a shutdown order for the following nodes/services: Workers, Gallery, Controller, and MongoDB.
After the upgrade, the initialization sequence to follow is MongoDB, Controller, and Gallery/Worker nodes.
After that, to perform a MongoDB backup, we will need to open the command prompt (cmd) with admin privileges and navigate to the folder where the binary files of the current Alteryx Server instance are stored.
From there, we can run the following command:
alteryxservice emongodump=path_to_backup_location
Adapting the command parameters to our environment:
AlteryxService.exe emongodump="D:\Alteryx Backup"
After successfully executing the command, a new cmd window will automatically open, demonstrating in real time the backup activities being done:
The estimated time for this step will vary depending on how Alteryx Gallery is used. The more workflows, macros, and input files (among other things), the longer this backup will take. Our environment does not have many users/workflows, so the backup was performed in a few seconds.
Once the backup has finished, the additional command window will close automatically, and you will return to the main screen, demonstrating that the procedure was successful:
An important tip for specifying the location of the folder to store the backup in the command is to use double quotes, especially if the destination folder has more than one name and one or more spaces between them, such as "Alteryx Backup".
Do not proceed with the update if there is an error in the MongoDB backup process. Analyze and correct the error, and only perform the update when ensuring that the MongoDB backup has been made successfully.
Migration Prep Tool
Additionally, to assist with the latest versions of Alteryx Server, Alteryx has created and made available a tool called the Migration Prep Tool to assist with the pre-migration process.
This utility allows for a pre-migration of a database of workflows and apps to be more quickly migrated to the new AES256 standard.
This Migration Prep Tool is optional and a separate command-line utility, but it is highly recommended that you use it. You only need to run it once before you upgrade from Server 2022.1 (or earlier versions) to 2022.3.x or newer.
The complete documentation for using the Migration Prep Tool on the current version of our server can be found at this URL.
It is important to note that there are some specific situations where the use of the tool is recommended; these are:
If the Server installation you are upgrading is a production system or a development system that can’t be down for more than a few hours
You have more than a few hundred workflows
You are running on MongoDB Atlas or a user-managed MongoDB
Even if your environment does not fit the above conditions, Alteryx recommends using the Migration Prep Tool before upgrading for a successful process.
Additionally, if you choose not to run the Migration Prep Tool before the upgrade, it will be installed and run as part of the 2022.3 upgrade installation or above.
The first step is downloading and installing the Migration Prep Tool from the official Alteryx website. We suggest taking advantage of this moment and also downloading the installation file for the new version of Alteryx Server:
Note that this screen also includes instructions and useful documentation links to assist with the upgrade process.
Once you have completed the Migration Prep Tool installation process, let’s run it:
There are three command options to run the Migration Prep Tool. Review the documentation to run the correct command for your environment. In our case, as we are talking about a single-node environment with MongoDB embedded, this is the command to be used:
AlteryxServiceMigrator22_2.exe -p -c "mongodb://user:NON_ADMIN_MONGO_PASSWORD@localhost:27018/AlteryxService?authSource=AlteryxService" -i <host/IP_Address> -t <Controller_Token>
Note: Unlike the previous version update, we must now specify the Controller token!
Once the command has been executed successfully, we can say that all preparations have been completed. We can finally start the upgrade!
Installation
The first step to check before installation is the compatibility between the Alteryx Server version and the MongoDB version in your environment. Use this document to reveal compatibility information.
As we will be upgrading the Alteryx Server from version 2024.1 to version 2024.2, it will be necessary to upgrade the MongoDB. The new version of Alteryx Server uses Embedded MongoDB Version 7.0.
Even more important is to check if the upgrade can be done directly from your current version to the desired version. In some cases, especially when you want to upgrade from a more defended version to the most current version, upgrading to an intermediate version that supports upgrading to the desired version will probably be necessary.
Always pay attention to this information and consult the official documentation.
Once we have confirmed that we need to upgrade the embedded MongoDB to version 7, we can begin the installation process.
Note: We will only cover some wizard screens with important information.
MongoDB will be automatically upgraded to version 7, and you will get the following message:
Click on the next button:
You can modify the Alteryx Server installation location on the screen above if you desire. You can also choose to keep the installation location.
Don’t worry about the native installed R and Python packages; at some point, the wizard will install all their dependencies automatically. See the screenshot below:
Once the Wizard responsible for upgrading the Alteryx Server has finished, the following message will be displayed:
Based on the options above, we prefer to continue with the installation process, this time with Predictive Tools. However, feel free to choose other options as needed and manually install Predictive Tools at a later time.
Note that we still have a warning related to the MongoDB update process.
Click the Finish button, and the MongoDB upgrade process will begin. After that, the Predictive Tools Install will start automatically:
Once the MongoDB upgrade is complete, the following message will appear:
Just click on the Ok button, and then the installation of Predictive Tools will start.
Once the installation is finished, the following success message will be displayed:
In our scenario, there is still one more installation, the patch 2024.2.1.3.94. Let’s then run the AlteryxServerPatchInstall_2024.2.1.3.94 file wizard.
If you receive the following message when opening the file, do not worry about it. This means that the patch has already been installed automatically along with the main Wizard:
Patching will generally only be necessary if you install a release, and a few weeks or months after Alteryx releases a bug fix. Generally, if you download the installer, the patch is already included.
After that, the installation process for Alteryx Server will be completed.
The last step is to copy the files used for the custom tools from the backup folder we created at the beginning of the process to the equivalent folder where Alteryx Server was installed (in our case, C:\ProgramData\Alteryx\Tools).
After the installation, we can upgrade to any macro version if needed and reinstall Python and R libraries previously installed by the user in case they don’t come natively in the newer version.
Post-Upgrade Check
Now that the hard part is done, it’s time to do some checks to make sure everything is working perfectly.
Here are some steps (which are not mandatory; they are just good practices that we have learned from some of our colleagues and have used in several upgrades) to check the proper functioning of your Alteryx Server:
Check if the Gallery is live.
Open the Windows Services menu and make sure the Alteryx Service is running.
Open the Gallery URL and log in with your username or configured authentication method.
For multi-node environments, confirm that all worker nodes are up and running.
Try to run a workflow, schedule a workflow
Publish a flow from the Designer to the Gallery
Create and delete a collection
Access the scheduling page (jobs) and check whether all your appointments are listed there.
Again, these procedures are not mandatory, but we prefer to check more than necessary than not check at all. As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Closing
Upgrading an environment with Alteryx Server is not easy, especially if it is a multi-node environment. However, by reading the official documentation and using the available resources correctly and efficiently, it is possible to facilitate the upgrade tasks and maintain a high standard of security to keep the process safe.
Need help managing your Alteryx Server environment?
If you’re looking for professional help or simply getting the most value out of the platform and its features, phData would love to help! Reach out to us today for any questions, advice, or best practices.
