Configure Cluster Nodes

This guide will go through the steps of configuring a machine other than the master node defined in a cluster. At this point the installer will have already created the cluster but the other machines are missing the components needed to host a managed server. This guide will use the terms Master Node and Slave Node where master node is the node the installer was executed on and the slave node is one of the machines added to the cluster during the installation.
It is good to have at least some basic understanding of how to control the servers.

  1. On the master node, browse to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and run cluster.cmd/sh depending on the underlying operating system.
  2. The script will produce a compressed archive in <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/ called cluster_<instance>.zip
    Move this archive to one of the slave nodes.
  3. Create a new IFS Home on the slave node in the same manner as described in the Intro Process Document and extract the archive in this new empty IFS Home.
    On Linux you should extract the archive as user IFS and keep using this user for the remainder of this guide.
  4. Still on the slave node, go to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and there should be a file named cluster_install.cmd/sh depending on the underlying operating system.
    Run this file. The script will delete old application server and HTTP server configurations if any. Never run this on the master node.
  5. This script should populate the IFS Home with everything needed for the managed server(s) to work on the current machine and start the AS node manager. The HTTP node manager will not be started, if no external load balancer is used change the service startup type to 'Manual' instead of 'Automatic'. Note that no managed server(s) on this node will be running at this point.
  6. Repeat the previous steps for each machine in the cluster. The same archive created during the first steps can be reused, so omit those steps.
  7. Return to the master node and start all managed servers.
    Go to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and run start_all_servers.cmd/sh

Extending the Cluster

It is not possible to extend the cluster without using the IFS Installer, i.e. you cannot simply move the cluster archive to any machine and expect the cluster to grow. For information how to add additional cluster nodes using the Installer please check the installer guide

Adding servers to an already defined machine does not require anything more than to simply run the installer and create the servers. If, however you decide to add yet another machine to the cluster you will need to repeat the process of creating the cluster archive as described above and add on the newly added machine(s). Note, the archive must be recreated after changing the cluster.

Configure the Cluster For an External Load Balancer

  1. On the master node, browse to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and run cluster_client.cmd/sh depending on the underlying operating system.
  2. The script will produce a compressed archive in <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/ called cluster_<instance>_client.zip.
    Move this archive to one of the slave nodes.
  3. Unpack cluster_<instance>_client.zip in <ifs_home> and it should add all the required files to run the client.
  4. Still one the slave node, start the HTTP Node manager.
    Go to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and run start_http_nodemanager.cmd if on Windows or ./http_nodemanager.sh start if on Linux.
  5. Start the HTTP Server.
    Go to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and run start_http_server.cmd/sh.

Web Client Installation

Follow the Web Client Installation guide for the client to work on all nodes.

Remote Batch Server

It is possible to run the batch server on a remote machine.

  1. After the installation there should be a file called cluster_batchserver.cmd/sh depending on the platform under <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin. Run this and it should create cluster_batchserver_<instance>.zip.
  2. Move this to the machine where you wish to run the batchserver.
  3. Extract the archive. It might want to overwrite ifs.properties, this is ok if ifs.properties is as on the master node.
  4. Under <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin you can create a service for the remote batchserver.

Verify

From any node, browse to <ifs_home>/instance/<instance>/bin and run the script check_server_status.cmd/sh
All the managed server in the cluster should be in state RUNNING. The AdminServer should also be in state RUNNING.
If using an external load balancer, open any web browser and verify that each machine is serving requests on the http listener port specified in the installer.
Make sure the application server node manager is started. Check the log files for the particular managed server that is not running.
If using an external load balancer, make sure the the HTTP node manager is started and that the HTTP Server is running.