InterSystems External Server Requirements
All InterSystems External Servers are set to a predefined default configuration automatically on installation. If your language platforms are installed in default locations, no additional configuration should be necessary. If an external server fails to start with the predefined settings, the problem can almost always be corrected by setting the correct path to the supporting language platform (see Troubleshooting External Server Definitions for details).
This section provides information on the default location and supported versions for all Java, .NET, and Python external servers:
A supported version of Java, .NET, or Python 3 must be installed on your system in order to use External Servers for those languages. InterSystems software does not install or upgrade any version of Java, .NET, or Python 3.
External Servers do not require a local instance of InterSystems IRIS. They can be installed and used on any computer that can establish a TCP/IP connection to an InterSystems IRIS server.
InterSystems IRIS Requirements and Setup
To communicate with an InterSystems External Server, your instance of InterSystems IRIS must be version 2020.4 or higher. The default Java, .NET, and Python External Server configurations with be defined automatically if the local default settings for those language platforms can be used. If you wish to use a version other than the default for your system, changes to server configurations will be required (as described in the following sections).
The path to your InterSystems IRIS installation directory can be displayed at the Terminal by entering the following ObjectScript command:
write $SYSTEM.Util.InstallDirectory()
Java External Server Setup
The Java External Server is incorporated into the InterSystems JDBC driver, and will usually be specified automatically for the default Java server configuration (%Java Server) during installation. If you wish to use a JVM other than the one specified in your JAVA_HOME setting, some extra configuration will be required to set the path (see “Defining External Server Configurations for Java”).
.NET External Server Setup
A version of the .NET External Server assembly is provided for each supported .NET version (see Supported .NET Frameworks for details). The correct external server version will be specified automatically for the default .NET external server configuration (%DotNet Server) during installation. If you wish to use a version other than the default for your system, some extra configuration will be required to set the path (see “Defining External Server Configurations for .NET”).
In some applications, the .NET and .NET Framework assemblies may be used to load unmanaged code libraries. Both 32-bit and 64-bit assemblies are provided for each supported version, which makes it possible to create gateway applications for 64-bit Windows that can load 32-bit libraries.
Python External Server Setup
The latest version of the Python External Server package is available on PYPIOpens in a new tab. and can be installed or updated with pip (do not use the --user option). See the package README file for current requirements.
If a supported version of Python 3 is defined as the default on your system when InterSystems IRIS is installed, the correct path to the Python executable will usually be specified automatically for the default Python external server configuration (%Python_Server) during installation. If a supported version of Python 3 is not the default for your system, some extra configuration will be required to set the path (see “Defining External Server Configurations for Python”).
The InterSystems External Server for Python is not the same as InterSystems Embedded Python, which is tightly integrated with a specific instance of InterSystems IRIS. External Servers connect to the database over TCP/IP and do not require a local instance. The two systems can be used independently of each other.
