Engine Management Service (EMS) FAQ

Engine Management Service (EMS) FAQ

What is EMS (Engine Management Service)?
  • The Engine Management Service is the primary tool used for deployment and normal daily control of Neverfail Continuity Engine. Most routine operations can be performed from the Engine Management Service User Interface thereby providing a lightweight, easily accessible, method of conducting Neverfail Continuity Engine operations.
  • The EMS application is deployed as a service (Neverfail Engine Management Web Services) on a server or workstation that has access to the Production servers, which will be protected by Engine - the agent service deployed on the target system.
How do I know if I already have EMS installed on one of my servers?
  1. The EMS server/workstation has the Neverfail Engine Webservices installed:
How do I know if my EMS/Engine version is still supported?
  1. For checking which versions are still supported, please see our EOL Policy page: https://support.neverfail.com/portal/en/kb/articles/end-of-life-policy-for-neverfail-continuity-engine
  2. The latest EMS release and its corresponding documentation can be found on our main download page: https://support.neverfail.com/portal/en/kb/articles/neverfail-continuity-engine
What user accounts can be used for EMS login?
  1. For login you can use any existing Windows local or Domain admin accounts; Domain user accounts should be used with the domain\user format.
My EMS portal is not accessible or won't accept any user account
  1. Ensure that the Neverfail Engine Management Web Service is running in the Windows Services application.;
  2. If the service is running, restart it, wait for 5-10 seconds, and then reload the EMS portal;
  3. Refresh the connection by deleting the URL text after the port number and pressing Enter. If that still doesn't work then you can reinstall the EMS application, the settings and server list will be saved.
Does EMS or Engine upgrade require a server reboot/downtime?
  1. No, the EMS upgrade doesn't have any impact on the Engine cluster and won't require a server reboot, it's a simple in-place upgrade;
  2. Upgrading Engine does not impact Production applications and does not require a server restart. However, we recommend scheduling a maintenance window for this procedure to ensure there are no environmental interference.
Can I upgrade EMS from version X directly to the latest version?
  1. Yes, a direct upgrade is possible if your current version is v8 or higher.
Where can I find the latest version of EMS software?
  1. The latest release can be downloaded from this link: https://download.neverfail.com/Product/downloads/engine/v17-1/Neverfail-CE-17-1-33593-x64.msi
  2. Once you run the MSI installer from the downloaded kit, it will do an in-place upgrade of your existing EMS application. After that, using the upgraded EMS web console, you'll have the ability to upgrade Neverfail Engine on your Primary and Secondary servers by navigating to the Actions\Upgrade Server menu option within the EMS web console.
Will upgrading EMS application also upgrade Engine agent on the cluster(s)?
  1. No, these are two different procedures.
  2. The EMS application can be upgraded by simply running the latest installer on the EMS machine. 
  3. For upgrading Engine on the cluster please follow the dedicated KB: https://support.neverfail.com/portal/en/kb/articles/how-to-upgrade-an-existing-neverfail-continuity-engine-cluster-to-the-latest-version
Will installing/uninstalling/upgrading EMS have any impact on the Engine clusters?
  • You can have multiple EMS instances in your environment. The EMS application can be installed, uninstalled, or upgraded as needed without affecting the Engine clusters.
  • The only limitation is that EMS application cannot be installed on the same servers as the main Engine agent (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary servers).
How to use the EMS portal for licensing the cluster(s) or renewing a license - using Online Licensing
  • The EMS portal can be used to apply online licenses - a connection to our licensing server will be mandatory from the EMS machine.
  • Please see below the procedure:

1. Login to the EMS portal using the https://localhost:9727/ link;

2. From the Servers panel, select the cluster that you want to license;

3. Next, click on the Actions menu and select License Server;

4. In the License server window use the Customer ID and License Activation Key that were sent by our team via e-mail when the license was purchased;

5. Click on Next, and after the EULA is accepted you can apply the license on the cluster.
How to use the EMS portal for licensing the cluster(s) or renewing a license - using Offline Licensing
  1. For offline licensing please use the following procedure:
1. On the Active Engine node, retrieve Scope telemetry XML file, copied from %programdata%\Neverfail-SCOPE\Data\24 Hour Data folder (*only telemetry data for Engine deployments with valid license subscription is accepted for upload)
2. On EMS, login to Web UI (https://localhost:9727/) using a local or Domain administrator account 
3. Navigate to Support -> Claim license key and click Claim.  
4. Provide your supplied credentials License Activation Key, Customer ID  along with SCOPE telemetry XML file. 
5. Accept EULA if needed then Copy/Save the generated License Key. 
























6. On Engine nodes:
   a) Shutdown Engine (leaving the protected applications running on the Active)
   b) Open Configure Server Wizard , go to License tab and Apply the License key generated at previous step. 
   c) Start Engine on all the servers from the cluster.
While trying to license the server I get a 415 error code
  1. Please note that starting March 2025, Neverfail introduced a new licensing model that ensures only supported versions of Neverfail Continuity Engine are running in production. Like all software manufacturers, Neverfail relies on code libraries from Microsoft, Java, and other providers. As vulnerabilities are discovered in these libraries, we are committed to releasing updated versions that incorporate the latest security fixes, to keep your environment secure and optimized.
  2. To check which versions are still supported, please visit our EOL Policy page: https://support.neverfail.com/portal/en/kb/articles/end-of-life-policy-for-neverfail-continuity-engine
  3. To refresh your license, you'll need to upgrade your Neverfail EMS web console to the latest release by downloading and running the installer from our main download page: https://support.neverfail.com/portal/en/kb/articles/neverfail-continuity-engine
    If your Primary and Secondary servers are running an unsupported version of Neverfail Engine, you'll need to upgrade the cluster for the new license key to work.
Does Neverfail provide assistance for EMS/Engine install or upgrade?
  1. Yes, we can provide assistance for this type of work, if you would prefer a hassle-free install/upgrade experience and would like a Neverfail Professional Services engineer to do the process on your servers, including running a failover and fail-back test at the end and completing an installation/configuration report. 
  2. Please don't hesitate to let us know and we'll be happy to put you in contact with your account manager to provide you with a quote for a Professional Services engagement.
Where can I find a detailed KB for EMS usage?
  1. The "How to use the EMS application" KB can be found at this link: https://download.neverfail.com/Product/downloads/engine/doc/Neverfail-CE-Using-the-Continuity-Engine-Management-Service.pdf
Can I still use Engine without an EMS server?
  1. Yes, Engine can be managed by using the local Advanced Management Client (installed on all servers from the cluster) if EMS is not available.
  2. We strongly recommend using the EMS application for cluster management, as it offers automated procedures for licensing, cloning, installation and other features that are not available in the Advanced Management Client.