This document discusses planning a deployment for Pipeline Pilot 9.0 on a 64-bit server. It outlines key differences between Linux and Windows environments and identifies 32-bit components that may require modifications. It recommends using tools included with Pipeline Pilot to identify protocols and components dependent on 32-bit functionality to assess risks before migrating servers. Support resources are provided to help plan and execute the server migration.

1. (ATS4-PLAT10) Planning your
deployment for a 64 bit world
Lynn Miller
Principal Technical Support Scientist
Lynn.Miller@accelrys.com

2. The information on the roadmap and future software development efforts are
intended to outline general product direction and should not be relied on in making
a purchasing decision.

3. Agenda
• Pipeline Pilot 9.0 requires 64-bit server deployments,
requiring many sites to migrate from their current 32-bit
environment. This session will outline:
– Key differences between Linux and Windows
– 32-bit-specific vs. 64-bit functionality on Windows
– Using the Component Reader to help identify and
assess published protocols and components that
might require modifications when deployed to a new
platform.

4. Linux vs. Windows
• Linux-specific
– Clustering and Grid Computing (PBS, LSF or SGE/OGE)
– Next-Gen Sequencing Collection
• Windows-specific
– Pro Client can be invoked on server
– Windows-specific Components
see (ATS2-25) Advanced Planning for Pipeline Pilot Deployments for
complete list

5. Migration Risk Introduction
• The Windows operating system does not allow calls to
32-bit libraries within the 64-bit process. This means
that there is some 32-bit-specific functionality that
cannot be directly or readily migrated from a 32-bit
Windows Server to a 64-bit Windows server.
• Some components are Windows-specific and will not
work in Linux servers

6. Migration risks from 32 to 64-bit Windows
32-bit component 64-bit options today
Excel Reader (On Server) (Deprecated) Excel Reader (Cross Platform)
Excel XY Scatter Plot (Deprecated) Excel Report Writer / reporting collection
Excel Structure Writer * Excel Report Writer / reporting collection
ISIS for Excel Reader (On Server) none
ISIS for Excel Writer * Office Chemistry Sketcher ** / Excel Report Writer
In progress.
ISIS Reader Hope to have it working in the AEP 9 release
* Not an Accelrys component
** Available on Windows only

7. Migration risks from 32 to 64-bit Windows
32-bit component comments
IronPython prototype may be included in AEP (Windows
Python (On Server) only)

8. Migration risks from 32 to 64-bit Windows
The Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable has enabled MS Access
connections to work under 64-bit PP for several customers with caveats.
1) Change the beginning of the connection string (add ", *.accdb") so that it matches the
newly installed driver name. ie:
Before: DRIVER=Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb);
After: DRIVER=Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb);
2) The drivers will not install with Office 2007. A Microsoft forum post indicates it is
possible to uninstall Office 2007, install the 2010 Access drivers, then install Office 2007
again.
Ironically we have found that this seems to fail entirely if you have Office 2010 installed
on your server.

9. Migration risks from 32 to 64-bit Windows
32-bit component comments
When migrating servers, evaluate all protocols that use this and
related integration components like Run Program (SSH) to ensure
Run Program (On that the server-based command you are calling is available and
Server) compatible with the new server.
On Windows, a 64-bit process cannot instantiate a 32-bit
application. In practice this means that any VBScript (On Server)
component used in a protocol should be checked. A very common
use case for using VB is to automate Microsoft Excel for advanced
formatting of Excel spreadsheets, and this is known to fail. This can
VBScript (On Server) impact a wide range of integration calls to third-party software.

10. Migration risks from Windows to Linux
– Python (On Server) – Excel Writer
– VBScript (On Server) – Excel Reader (On Server)
– Run Program (On Server) (deprecated)
– Dynamic .NET (on Server) – Check Memory Use
– Dynamic C# (on Server) – TIFF (OCR) Reader
– Dynamic VB.NET (on Server) – ISIS Reader
– Office Chemistry Sketcher – ISIS for Excel Reader (On
– PRISM Dose Response Fit Server)
– JMP Custom Script – ISIS for Excel viewer

11. Identify Dependencies Before Migration
Identify and assess any dependencies required by production protocols.
• File Dependencies
• Database Dependencies
• Web Service Dependencies
• Third-party Application Dependencies
• Integrations to external resources (SSH/FTP etc)

12. Identifying at-risk protocols and components
• AEP 9 will include built-in functionality to catalog and
query your protocol database (ATS4-PLAT05) Accelrys Catalog - A Search
Index for AEP
• Use the Component Reader and related components to
build your own analysis tools for PP 8.5 and earlier

13. Existing tools for XMLDB searching and validation
• Validation Protocol Example
Components/Data Access and Manipulation/Utilities/Internals/Validation
• Search Protocol Database Example
Components/Data Access and Manipulation/Utilities/Prototypes/Protocol
Database Searching
• Find Protocols that Contain a Component
Protocols/Examples/Generic/Merging and Manipulating Data

14. Demo
• Overview of included tools for XML
database searching
• How to build your own custom tool

15. Summary
Prepare for Server Migrations by identifying protocol
dependencies and those that use platform-specific calls.
Other resources:
• Pipeline Pilot Server Migration document in support library
• (ATS2-21) Best Practices for Pipeline Pilot Upgrades and
Server Migration
• (ATS4-PLAT03) Balancing Security with access for
Development

16. Support
• We pride ourselves on our excellent support!
– Reach us by email at support@accelrys.com
– Call the support hotline
– Take advantage of the Accelrys Community
• No login is required to read the forums.
• Logging in to your Accelrys Community account gives you access to the
Support Center where you can access the software download center and
documentation libraries. From here you can also access change request
widgets, the Pipeline Pilot product documentation, post to the forums,
etc….