Cortex XSOAR Engines Overview
Understand Cortex XSOAR engine architecture, load balancing
groups, installation and configurations.
Cortex XSOAR engines are installed in
a remote network and allow communication between the remote network
and the Cortex XSOAR server. Although you cannot run scripts, you
can run integration commands. It is possible to install a single
engine or multiple engines. An engine is used for the following purposes:
Engine Proxy
Cortex XSOAR engines enable the Cortex XSOAR server
to access internal or external services that are otherwise blocked
by a firewall or a proxy, etc. For example, if a firewall blocks
external communication and you want to run the Rasterize integration,
you need to install an engine to access the Internet.
Engine Architecture
Within the network, you need to allow the engine to access the
Cortex XSOAR server's IP address and listening port (by default,
TCP 443). The engine always initiates the communication to the server.
Engine Load-Balancing
Engines can be part of a load-balancing group, which
enables distribution of the command execution load. The load-balancing
group uses an algorithm to efficiently share the workload for integrations
that the group is assigned to, thereby speeding up execution time.
In general, heavy workloads are caused by playbooks that run a high
number of commands.
Before configuring an integration to run using multiple engines
in a load-balancing group, it is recommended that you test the integration
using a single engine in the load-balancing group.
When you add an engine to a load balancing group, you cannot use
that engine separately. The engine does not appear in the engines
drop-down menu when configuring an integration instance.
By default, the Cortex XSOAR server is part of the load balancing
group. It is recommended that you Remove the Cortex XSOAR Server From the Load-Balancing Group, which increases
performance, when there are two or more engines in the load-balancing
group, or if you use engines to access integrations that are inaccessible
from the Cortex XSOAR server.
Engine Installation and Configuration
You can Install a Cortex XSOAR Engine on Linux and Windows
machines. After installing the engine, you can Configure Engines, such as
log levels, add/remove servers to a load-balancing group, use as
a web proxy, etc. You can also Manage Engines, such as
getting logs, add/remove engines, delete engines, remove engines,
etc. Before installing, review the system requirements in Cortex XSOAR Engine.
For Linux machines, you need to install Docker before
installing an engine. If you use the Shell installer, Docker is
automatically installed.
