Step 2: Select the membership method for the new dynamic cluster

The membership method defines how cluster instances are added to the dynamic cluster. You can create a membership policy to automatically place cluster instances on certain nodes, or you can manually add cluster instances to the dynamic cluster.

You can define a membership method for application servers and PHP servers. All other server types have manually defined membership.

To access this administrative console page, click Servers > Clusters > Dynamic clusters > New.

Automatically define cluster members with rules

With this membership method, you create a policy that defines which servers join the dynamic cluster. You can define a policy for servers with complete lifecycle management, including application servers and PHP servers. If you create a PHP dynamic cluster, you must use this option.

Dynamic cluster name: If you are creating a dynamic cluster that is made of application servers, specify a name for the dynamic cluster. The name for a dynamic cluster must be unique among all clusters in the cell.
The name field cannot contain the following characters: # \ / , : ; " * ? < > | = + & % ' . The name cannot begin with a period (.) or a space. A space does not generate an error, but leading and trailing spaces are automatically deleted.
Prefer local enabled: To enable or disable node scoped routing optimization, select Prefer local enabled. The default is enabled, which indicates that, if possible, Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) requests are routed to the client node. If you enable this feature, performance is improved because client requests are sent to local enterprise beans.
This option is not available for managed Liberty servers.
Create a replication domain for this cluster: Specifies that a replication domain is created for the dynamic cluster. The name of the replication domain is set to the name of the dynamic cluster that uses this domain. Use replication domains to transfer data, objects, or events for session manager, dynamic cache, or stateful session beans among the application servers in a cluster.
This option is not available for managed Liberty servers.

Manually define cluster members

With this membership method, you manually define the servers that join the dynamic cluster. Use this option to convert an existing static cluster to a dynamic cluster. This option is automatically used for servers with assisted lifecycle management.

If you choose this option, after you create your dynamic cluster, you can add dynamic cluster members by clicking Servers > Clusters > Dynamic clusters > dynamic_cluster_name > Dynamic cluster members > Add. You can add dynamic cluster members only to dynamic clusters that are in manual membership mode and do not have a membership policy defined.

Deprecated feature: Assisted and Complete Lifecycle servers have been deprecated in WebSphere® Application Server Version 9.0.