Server parameters required for server clustering

The table below lists some of the server configuration parameters that you must define for each node in a server cluster, based on the type of clustering used. For more information about these parameters, see PPM Configuration parameters.

Table 1. Server configuration parameters affected by clustering

Parameter Namea	External Web Server, Single Machine	External Web Server, Multiple Machines	Hardware Load Balancer, Multiple Machines
KINTANA_SERVER_NAME	ü	ü
ATTACHMENT_DIRNAME		ü	ü
BASE_PATH		ü The BASE_PATH specified for the core server is inherited by all of the @node sections. Specify this in an individual @node only if the value is different for that specific instance.	ü
ORACLE_HOME		ü	ü
BASE_URL	ü	ü	ü
BASE_LOG_DIR		ü
HTTP_PORT	ü	ü	ü
EXTERNAL_WEB_PORT	ü	ü
RMI_URL	ü	ü	ü
TRANSFER_PATH		ü	ü
PACKAGE_LOG_DIR		ü	ü
REPORT_DIR		ü	ü
REQUEST_LOG_DIR		ü	ü
a.    The parameter names listed in the table are shortened versions of the actual names, all of which start with the string com.kintana.core.server. For example, the full name of the BASE_PATH parameter is com.kintana.core.server.BASE_PATH.

PPM uses Tomcat clustering technology, which enables you to set up a PPM Server cluster in various configurations. For example, you can have multiple nodes on the same host (server machine) and cluster them together. Or, you can have one or more nodes on one host and other nodes on a different host, all participating in the same server cluster.

Clustering requires that you define a specific set of ports for each node in the cluster. If the cluster consists of multiple nodes on same host, you must specify unique port values for each node to prevent port collisions. Table 3 lists the server configuration parameters you use to specify these ports.

Table 3. Required node-specific parameter for multiple nodes on a single host

Port Parameter	Description
APP_SERVER_UIL2_BINDING_PORT	Protocol listening port for the JBoss Application Server UIL2 service. For a PPM Server in a server cluster, specify a port that is unique for the node in the cluster.

Note that if that two nodes in the same server cluster are on separate machines, and they have the same port settings, no port conflicts occur.

Server Cluster Example

The figure below shows an example of a server cluster that includes two host machines, Server1 and Server2. Server1 hosts NodeA and NodeB. Server2 hosts NodeC and NodeD. You want to create a server cluster between Server1 and Server2 and include all the nodes (NodeA, NodeB, NodeC, and NodeD) on both servers. As long as the ports assigned to each PPM Server do not overlap with any port set assigned to another PPM Server on the same host, no port conflicts occur.

 

The server.conf file used for this server cluster might look as follows:

# Common Area

..
# PPM Cluster Cluster-Specific Configuration

com.kintana.core.server.KINTANA_SERVER_NAME=NodeA
com.kintana.core.server.HTTP_PORT=9000
com.kintana.core.server.RMI_URL=rmi://<IP of NodeA>:9001/KintanaServer
com.kintana.core.server.EXTERNAL_WEB_PORT=9002
# PPM Cluster Node-specific ports - Using Port Set A
com.kintana.core.server.APP_SERVER_UIL2_BINDING_PORT=8093

@node
com.kintana.core.server.KINTANA_SERVER_NAME=NodeB
com.kintana.core.server.HTTP_PORT=10000
com.kintana.core.server.RMI_URL=rmi://<IP of NodeB>:10001/KintanaServer
com.kintana.core.server.EXTERNAL_WEB_PORT=10002
# PPM Cluster Node-specific ports - Using Port Set B
com.kintana.core.server.APP_SERVER_UIL2_BINDING_PORT=8193

@node
com.kintana.core.server.KINTANA_SERVER_NAME=NodeC
com.kintana.core.server.HTTP_PORT=11000
com.kintana.core.server.RMI_URL=rmi://<IP of NodeC>:11001/KintanaServer
com.kintana.core.server.EXTERNAL_WEB_PORT=11002
# PPM Cluster Node-specific ports - Using Port Set C
com.kintana.core.server.APP_SERVER_UIL2_BINDING_PORT=8293

@node
com.kintana.core.server.KINTANA_SERVER_NAME=NodeD
com.kintana.core.server.HTTP_PORT=12000
com.kintana.core.server.RMI_URL=rmi://<IP of NodeD>:12001/KintanaServer
com.kintana.core.server.EXTERNAL_WEB_PORT=12002
# PPM Cluster Node-specific ports - Using Port Set D
com.kintana.core.server.APP_SERVER_UIL2_BINDING_PORT=8393