topic Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware in QlikView

Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

shane_spencer — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:19:17 GMT

We've got a clustered environment with 2 QlikView Servers and 1 Publisher.

The 2 QlikView Servers are:

IBM Model: x3650 M3 - 7945 with 24 Cores and 288GB of RAM.

We've running out of capacity so one option we're looking at is adding another QlikView Server (and license etc) but we cannot get another server of the same type. However we have readily got the following we could "steal" from another environment:

HP Model: ProLiant DL380p Gen8 with 24 Cores and 256 GB of RAM.

From everything I have read Qlik does not support non-matching hardware - is that true?

but it is possible to use non-matching hardware - is that true? Does anyone have any experience of this?

We already use the "Performance" tab to make out Documents Available only on a certain server so the load balancing mechanism is redundant.

n.b. Our Servers are maxed out on RAM and we've got a six month lead time on getting new servers so we're looking for a quick win.

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 11:27:32 GMT

I can see absolutely no problem with using different hardware for the additional cluster node. This is an Application level cluster, which are hardware agnostic. [It is when doing old fashioned physical hardware level clustering that hardware differences cause issues]

I do not work for Qlik though, so it may be prudent for you to double check that they will support your proposed config.

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

shane_spencer — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 11:37:38 GMT

From what I've read some people have had issues with CPU Affinity. i.e.

But as all server have 24 CPU's that should not be an issue in this case. Also consideration will have to be given to the Working Set Low but as the RAM size is similar it should not be a big hurdle. I'm really interested though to hear from people with real world experience before I go to Qlik as their responses are often evasive, vague or contradictory.

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Bill_Britt — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:29:14 GMT

Hi,

When you have mixed hardware, you will need to setup the QMC to match the machine with the lease resources. So, if one has 8 processors and the other one 4, you will need to set the processors to 4.

Bill

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:42:48 GMT

Bill B ,

Do you know the reasoning behind setting up the QMC to match the machine with the least resources ?

Bill M

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Bill_Britt — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:52:19 GMT

Yes, It is because of the load balancing. This doesn't mean you can't use all the resources on the QVS box, but you should preload your larger QVWs on the box with the most resources.

Bil

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:55:07 GMT

Thx.

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

shane_spencer — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 13:13:13 GMT

So that's not going to be an issue for our scenario because:

a) All servers have the same number of cores (24)

b) We are pinning our documents to specific servers anyway rather than letting QlikView do the load balancing.

So Bill (Britt) do you have environments with mixed hardware yourself? Or have personal experience?

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Bill_Britt — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 14:03:05 GMT

Hi Shane,

I am a Qlik employee and have taught Server/Publisher since version 4. This is from experience and seen in the field. So, if the processors and memory is the same it doesn't matter if you have an HP paired with a Dell machine. The issue is only with mixed resources.

Bill

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

shane_spencer — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 14:13:34 GMT

Would you foresee an issue with adding a 256GB Server to a cluster of two 288GB Servers (all with 24 Cores) ?

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Jason_Michaelides — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:21:13 GMT

If number of cores per node is the same but the clock speed differs will this be a problem, Bill?

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Bill_Britt — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:27:40 GMT

Hi,

No, that shouldn't be a problem.

Bill

Re: Clustering in v11 with different Hardware

Jason_Michaelides — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:40:19 GMT

Thanks Bill. Final question - mixed RAM amounts per node isn't an issue as long as the load balancing is configured correctly is it?