Planning Your SOTI MobiControl Installation

SOTI MobiControl is a flexible system that allows you to arrange its components to best address your device management needs. A basic installation of SOTI MobiControl places all three components (database, deployment server, and management service), on the same server but as your needs grow, it is beneficial to explore alternative configuration methods.

While you can modify your SOTI MobiControl server configuration at any point, planning out your arrangement from the start can reduce time and effort down the line.

Due to the variety of ways you can use SOTI MobiControl, it is difficult to present strict guidelines on when to upgrade your system. Some rough suggestions are as follows:

  • At 500+ devices, install a more robust version of Microsoft SQL server or move it to its own server, or both.
  • At 5000+ devices, and under high demand, consider adding another deployment server to balance the load.
Note: The appropriate time to add a new deployment server depends heavily on your specific SOTI MobiControl usage. Device number is not the sole factor. Static deployments with minimal fluctuations can function well with a single deployment server, while more dynamic deployments can benefit from multiple deployment servers with fewer devices. Start considering a second deployment server if you plan to manage more than 5000 devices and your SOTI MobiControl activities will consume a lot of resources.

How often will you request information or updates from devices? As the number of devices contacting the deployment server simultaneously grows, the more it stresses the deployment server. If you can, you should arrange your devices specifically to reduce this stress. Create device groups that have roughly the same number of devices and stagger their check in times so that every device in a group finishes its check in before the next group starts. Experiment with 10-15 minutes to start, though you may need to change frequency depending on how busy your check ins. For example, if you have eight device groups and you stagger the start time of each group by 15 minutes, after two hours the devices in group one will be ready to check in again, right after group eight finishes.

If you need devices to check in more frequently, or at specific times, and you plan to perform tasks during those check ins, multiple deployment servers can alleviate stress and improve performance.

How often will you make changes to devices and their configurations? If you take a more passive approach to device management, applying settings and configurations infrequently, rarely moving devices between groups, deploying minimal software packages, then you can get away with less processing power. Conversely, if you're frequently adding or removing settings, moving devices between groups, synchronizing data (files, status updates, software) between server and device, that takes a toll on the deployment server that you may want to handle with another deployment server.

Can you stagger SOTI MobiControl operations? Running multiple SOTI MobiControl operations concurrently on multiple devices can strain the deployment server. Schedule tasks so that you don't perform several heavy operations at once. If you have the flexibility to, for example, run reports at a different time than software deployments and also scheduled maintenance, that's a tactic you can use to diminish some stress on the deployment server. If you always require availability of all services, you might need another deployment server.

How much data will you retrieve from devices? and how frequently? You can collect data on many data points in SOTI MobiControl. From the obvious (location data) to the more obscure (WiFi Signal Strength). This breadth of options can lead the database to rapidly accumulate large amounts of data. If you plan to query the database often, you should move the database to a separate server.

How frequently will you archive data? If you archive your data frequently, you can get away for longer with a consolidated SOTI MobiControl system. Data truncation schedules set to more than six months can decrease performance.

How many people will have access to SOTI MobiControl? Each person may have a different understanding of the best way to accomplish a task which can lead to conflicting resolutions. Ensure you've provided guidance to your SOTI MobiControl technicians about when or how to perform certain tasks. Additionally, many users logged in at once affects performance.

Finally, how much time and effort can you devote to the maintenance of SOTI MobiControl? Even with clear guidelines for SOTI MobiControl administrators, conflicting or redundant device polices, update schedules that overlap, obsolete software packages will crop up over time as administrators change, devices retire, and company goals evolve. It's important to regularly review your SOTI MobiControl system for inefficiencies so they do not affect SOTI MobiControl performance.

Tip: For large or complex installations, you may want to contact the SOTI Professional Services team.