Sandbox Deployment

This section describes the particulars of deploying a Sandbox instance of the Ed-Fi ODS / API in an on-premises configuration. Although a Sandbox instance should mirror a Production environment as closely as possible, the Sandbox is different from a Production deployment in a few important ways:

• The data accessed is test data that is fully disconnected from production data.

• The API documentation resides on the Sandbox instance.

• The Sandbox instance includes a Sandbox Administration Portal that should not be part of a Production deployment.

• The hardware and platform requirements are typically lower than with a Production deployment.

A Sandbox environment is generally used to support API client developers in developing client applications. It is not intended to be a staging environment for the platform host.

Sandbox Fundamentals

This section outlines the basic information you’ll need to know to get a Sandbox instance up and running.

API Sandbox Components

There are several websites and databases that work together to provide primary and supporting functions for a Sandbox instance:

• Websites

  • Ed-Fi ODS API. The REST endpoint for client applications.

  • Swagger Documentation UI. A hosted, web-based Ed-Fi ODS / API client that allows a user to interactively explore the API and read API documentation.

  • Sandbox Administration UI. This website provides administrative functions for managing sandboxes, including the keys and secrets for accessing sandboxes.

• Databases

  • EdFi_ODS_*. Databases used as templates and test data stores for a Sandbox installation of the Ed-Fi-ODS / API.

  • EdFi_Admin. A database containing authentication information for API clients.

  • EdFi_Security. A database containing authorization information for API clients.

Sandbox Security

The Sandbox system is, by definition, a test system so it has a different security profile than a production system. The following are a few guidelines applicable to Sandbox instances:

• Client applications should be assigned different OAuth key/secret pairs for the Sandbox than are used in production.
• Use test data. If you plan to use a copy of production data, scramble or otherwise de-identify the data before use in the Sandbox.
• The use of HTTPS and SSL certificates is required for production application instances, so the Sandbox instance should mimic that approach.
• Similar to production systems, Sandbox instances should use non-default service accounts configured for minimal privileges. However, note that Sandbox instances create and drop databases as part of administrative operations, which requires elevated SQL privileges. 
• It is not recommended that production platforms or servers share hosting duties with Sandbox instances.

Logical Configuration

At its most basic level, the Ed-Fi ODS / API platform consists of two logical servers: a web server (for the ODS / API), a database server (for the ODS database). A diagram showing a typical configuration follows:

These logical functions may be combined into one or more physical (or virtual) machines depending upon the scale and preferences of the hosting organization.

The ODS / API is the only component of this system that interacts outside of the firewall, and only over HTTP(S) (ports 80 and 443). The database server only uses local networking, and should not be exposed to internet traffic.

A single-server configuration does not violate the logical design of the system. We application and the database may all be installed on a single machine; in this case the internal network traffic becomes communication between services on a single computer. 

ODS / API Server

This logical server requires Internet Information Server (IIS) to be installed as well as the ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle.

ODS Database Server

Microsoft SQL Server 2016 or 2017 (Development, Standard, or Enterprise) is required for this logical server. Logins to the database may use either Windows authentication or SQL authentication. If the SQL databases are on a single server with the ODS / API or the servers are on the same domain, Windows Authentication is the recommended approach.

Sandbox Hardware Requirements

Single-Server Deployment

In a single-server deployment of an Ed-Fi ODS / API Sandbox, all components are installed on a single server. This configuration is typical for a small school district or test installations with a low expected load. While a single disk configuration is possible, a dual raid configuration is recommended for use in live Sandbox deployments. A typical single-server specification follows:
 

Two-Server Deployment

A diagram of a simple two-server deployment follows:

The two-server deployment of an Ed-Fi ODS / API Sandbox provides greater security and performance than the single server configuration. This is a common deployment configuration for very large installations. Due to the disk-intensive nature of the Ed-Fi ODS, the ODS Database server is typically much more capable, in terms of memory, disk, and CPU than the ODS / API.
 

Other Deployment Variations

Similar to Production deployments, components of an Ed-Fi ODS / API Sandbox may be segregated to individual servers for security or performance considerations; likewise, components may be duplicated across multiple servers to improve reliability.

The platform host should find the cost / benefit ratio that makes the most sense for their particular Sandbox environment.

Software Requirements

A Sandbox instance of the Ed-Fi ODS / API requires Windows Server 2012 R2 with the Web Server role, Internet Information Server, and Microsoft SQL Server 2016 or 2017.

The installation procedures for setting up a two-server Sandbox deployment follow. Strap in.

Installation Procedures for a Sandbox Instance

Migrating from a Development Instance

Typically, platform hosts will spin up a Sandbox instance of the ODS / API at some point in the platform development cycle, for example, after the core development is complete, but before the API surface and operational details are finalized. This section assumes a deployment scenario where developers are moving from the development phase to a production phase, and are thus migrating from a development instance of the ODS / API.

Each of the steps that follow can be done manually, and are described as if a user is deploying their sandbox instance interactively. However, all these steps can be performed automatically on a build or continuous integration server, and it is recommended that platform hosts do so where practical.

Step 1. Run the PowerShell initdev Script. A successful initialize development environment creates each of the required databases.

Step 2. Initialize Security Credentials:

• Run the EdFi.Ods.WebApi project locally.

• Open the Sandbox Administration website (EdFi.Ods.SandboxAdmin).

• Login as test@edfi.org and change the password.

• Do not create any sandboxes or additional users.

Step 3. Backup the ODS databases.

Open Microsoft SQL Server management Studio and backup each of the following databases:

• EdFi_Admin

• EdFi_Ods_Minimal_Template

• EdFi_Ods_Populated_Template

• EdFi_Security

Step 4. Publish Websites and Services.

Detailed instructions for each of the websites and services are included later in this document. The following steps are provided as a high-level overview. Please see the individual installation and configuration instructions as they pertain to your configuration.

Load the EdFi_ODS solution in Visual Studio and publish the following projects to a local directory with the same name as the project under a common parent directory (like C:\temp):

• EdFi.Ods.SandboxAdmin

• EdFi.Ods.SwaggerUI

• EdFi.Ods.WebApi

Deploy Databases to ODS Database

Step 1. Prerequisites.

• Install SQL Server 2016 Standard (or better) with current service packs and updates.

Step 2. Restore Databases.

• Copy the database backups that were created previously to your database sever.

• Using a local instance of Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, restore each database.

• Verify that each database is online and browsable.

Step 3. Create Database Users.

• If using Windows Authentication:

• The as-shipped configuration uses Windows Authentication.

• Add the appropriate app pool identity for each website to the Logins section of Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and assign permissions to the corresponding databases.

• If using SQL Server Authentication:

• Enable SQL Server Authentication by using the Properties context menu item for the server. From the Server Properties, Security page, select SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode.

• Create Logins for each of the database users in your appsettings.json file for your websites and applications.

• Assign permissions to the corresponding databases.

Deploy Websites to ODS / API

This section describes how to deploy and configure the web applications related to the Ed-Fi ODS / API.

The following diagram shows the relationship between the various databases and their corresponding ODS / API websites. 

Detailed instructions regarding the installation and configuration of each website are provided in the sections that follow.

EdFi.Ods.WebApi

Type. Web Application.

Description. This website provides the main functionality of transactional API over the web.

Dependencies

• EdFi_Admin (Database

• EdFi_Ods_* (Database)

• EdFi_Security (Database)

Deployment Steps (for an on-premises IIS)

1. Open the Ed-Fi-Ods solution in Visual Studio.

2. Right-click on EdFi.Ods.WebApi project and select Publish.

3. Under Profiles, choose PublishToIIS and click on Connection.

4. Choose your deployment path in the Target Location textbox. This can be a network path. The default location is C:\inetpub\wwwroot\EdFi.Ods.WebApi.

5. Click Publish.

6. Open IIS in the target machine, expand the Sites, right-click on Default Web Site and select Add Application.

7. Fill in the application name and the server location that you have published the application:
    

8. Click OK.

9. The application is ready to use. You can browse and see version information about the API.

* Values are not optional and MUST be defined at deployment time.

EdFi.Ods.SandboxAdmin

Type. Web Application.

Description. Provides and controls security of Web API. Provides administration features to vendor users and developers to manage their own sandboxes.

Dependencies

• EdFi_Admin (Database)
• EdFi_Security (Database)
• EdFi_Ods (Database)
• EdFi_Ods_YYYY (Database)
• EdFi_Ods_Populated_Template (Database)
• EdFi_Ods_Minimal_Template (Database)
• EdFi.Ods.WebApi

Deployment Steps (for an on-premises IIS)

Prerequisites:

1. IIS must be running on the target machine.

2. All dependent databases are in place.

Steps to deploy the application:

1. Open the Ed-Fi-Ods solution in Visual Studio.

2. Right-click on EdFi.Ods.SandboxAdmin project and select Publish.

3. Under Profiles, choose PublishToIIS option and click Connection.

4. Choose your deployment path in the Target Location textbox. This can be a network path. The default location is C:\inetpub\wwwroot\EdFi.Ods.SandboxAdmin.

5. Click Publish.

6. Open IIS in the target machine, expand the Sites, right-click on Default Web Site and select Add Application.

7. Fill in the application name and the server location that you have published the application:
    

8. Click OK.

9. The application is ready to use. 

   

10. The article Using the Sandbox Admin Portal has useful information about how to set up accounts for client system developers, additional configuration details, plus general usage instructions.

Contents on appsettings.json
 "User": {
        "Test Admin": {
            "Email": "test@ed-fi.org",
            "Admin": "true",
            "NamespacePrefixes": [
                "uri://ed-fi.org",
                "uri://gbisd.org"
            ],
            "Password": "f5Ejk0eIQrbqNDahvVOtJ",
            "Sandboxes": {
                "Minimal Demonstration Sandbox": {
                    "Key": "oqU2nYvOwiIsdtBj0CThb",
                    "Type": "Minimal",
                    "Secret": "c5tRIxoyb4UkCDnaB3GWv",
                    "Refresh": "false"
                },
                "Populated Demonstration Sandbox": {
                    "Key": "ThupCASBce7raw0iOxHnv",
                    "Type": "Sample",
                    "Secret": "YZhr9WImPgHpbLK73EulQ",
                    "Refresh": "false"
                }
            }
        }
    }

* Values are not optional and MUST be defined at deployment time.

EdFi.Ods.SwaggerUI

Type. Web Application.

Description. Online documentation for the Ed-Fi REST API is available through Swagger. Swagger is a visual and interactive documentation site providing detailed descriptions for each API resource as well as a simple way to test calls to the Ed-Fi REST API in sandbox environments.

Dependencies

• EdFi.Ods.WebApi (Application)

Deployment Steps (for an on-premises IIS)

1. Open the Ed-Fi-Ods solution in Visual Studio.

2. Right-click on EdFi.Ods.SwaggerUI project and select Publish.

3. Under Profiles, choose PublishToIIS option and click on Connection.

4. Choose your deployment path in the Target Location textbox. This can be a network path. The default location is C:\inetpub\wwwroot\EdFi.Ods.SwaggerUI.

5. Click Publish.

6. Open IIS in the target machine, expand the Sites, right-click on Default Web Site and select Add Application.

7. Fill in the application name and the server location that you have published the application:
    

8. Click OK.

9. The application is ready to use. 

   

* Values are not optional and MUST be defined at deployment time. 

Deploying Other Sandbox Configurations

The steps above describe the configuration for a two-server Sandbox instance. The steps and the configuration details are generally the same for other configurations — but there are a few differences worth noting. The key differences are summarized in the sections that follow.

Single-Server Sandbox Configuration

In a single-server sandbox configuration, the databases reside on the same server as the web server. This is a simpler configuration, but less scalable than a multi-server configuration. For small districts, this configuration represents the highest performance-per-dollar option.

In this configuration, SQL Server should be firewalled from the public internet, and possibly have the TCP/IP protocol disabled.

It is recommended that SQL Server Authentication be disabled in this configuration, and that only NT authentication with local machine service accounts be used as connection criteria from the API.

Sandbox Deployment in Azure and AWS Environments

Documentation and scripts for deployment of an Ed-Fi ODS / API instance in Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services can be found in the Ed-Fi Exchange. To locate these, navigate to https://exchange.ed-fi.org, and browse to the following entries:

• Ed-Fi ODS/API on AWS
• Ed-Fi ODS/API Deploy Tools for Azure

Conclusion

A Sandbox instance of the ODS / API is a critical element in the success of a large-scale deployment. This section should have provided you with the information needed to get your Sandbox instance up and running.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to consider production deployments, which are covered in the next section of this documentation.