Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk AssetCentre Installation Guide 5.0 - Manual (Page 58)

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5
Installing FactoryTalk AssetCentre agents
The Search feature, as well as purchased capabilities, such as the Disaster Recovery
capability, require the use of agents to perform scheduled operations. Agents are programs
that communicate with the FactoryTalk AssetCentre server and perform scheduled tasks
on behalf of the FactoryTalk AssetCentre server. Agents allow work to be distributed and
shared among multiple computers to spread processing load and speed up operations.
When a server needs an agent to perform a task, it locates the computer running the
operation and assigns the task to that agent. The agent then reports the task’s completion
to the server.
For FactoryTalk AssetCentre version 5.00, only the Disaster Recovery capability and
Search feature use agents.
These agents can be installed on the computer running the FactoryTalk AssetCentre
server, on computers running the FactoryTalk AssetCentre client, or on any other
computer that meets the system requirements and is connected to the FactoryTalk
AssetCentre server. See “Agent computer requirements” on page 7 for agent computer
requirements.
Where to install FactoryTalk AssetCentre agents
Agents can be installed on any computer that:
 is capable of running the agent software (see “Agent computer requirements” on
page 7).
 is connected to the FactoryTalk AssetCentre server.
If you intend to perform a large number of Disaster Recovery operations, you can install
the Disaster Recovery agent on up to five computers on your network to help spread out
the processing load. Contact Rockwell Automation if you need to install the agent on
more than five computers.
How do you know if you need more Disaster Recovery agents? If scheduled operations
are taking longer than desired to complete, then install more Disaster Recovery agents. To
estimate the number of necessary FactoryTalk AssetCentre agents in your system, see
Answer ID 106118 at
http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgibin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_
adp.php?p_faqid=106118
.
If your system uses PanelView Plus operator interfaces, you must install RSLinx
Enterprise and the FactoryTalk View ME Transfer Utility software on every agent
computer in the system. RSLinx Enterprise must be version 5.00.00 or later. FactoryTalk
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