Adding a cluster to a bus with a custom configuration

You can add a cluster as a member of a bus and use messaging engine policy assistance and the custom messaging engine policy. In this situation, messaging engine policy assistance helps you to create and configure messaging engines in a cluster that is a member of a bus when the predefined messaging engine policy types do not meet your needs. You can configure the messaging engine behavior, and the appropriate messaging engine policies are created automatically.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have defined the resources listed in Adding a cluster as a member of a bus.

About this task

When you use the custom messaging engine policy, you can create any number of messaging engines for the cluster. For each messaging engine, you must specify the behavior that you require, such as whether it can fail over and whether it uses preferred servers. The core group policies and match criteria for each messaging engine are automatically created. Use this option when the other options of High availability, Scalability, or Scalability with high availability do not provide the messaging engine behavior you require, and you are familiar with creating messaging engines and configuring messaging engine policy settings.

[AIX Solaris HP-UX Linux Windows][IBM i]You can optionally tune the initial and maximum Java™ virtual machine (JVM) heap sizes. Tuning the heap sizes helps to ensure that application servers hosting one or more messaging engines are provided with an appropriate amount of memory for the message throughput you require.

If you are working in a mixed-version cell, a service integration bus running in this version of the product can only include WebSphere® Application Server Version 6 bus members that are running in the following versions of the product:
  • 6.0.2 (Fix Pack 23 or later)
  • 6.1.0 (Fix Pack 13 or later)

If security is enabled, and the bus has mixed-version bus members, the bus members establish trust by using an inter-engine authentication alias. If you add a server cluster as a bus member at WebSphere Application Server Version 6, and it is the first bus member at this level, you must select or create an authentication alias during this task. This action sets the inter-engine authentication alias.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, click Service integration -> Buses -> bus_name -> [Topology] Bus members.
  2. Click Add to start the Add a new bus member wizard.
  3. In the first pane, select Cluster, and, from the drop-down list, select the cluster that you want to make a member of the bus.
  4. In the Messaging engine policy assistance settings pane, ensure that the Enable messaging engine policy assistance check box is selected, and select Custom.
  5. Select the type of message store that you have already defined.
  6. In the Configure messaging engines pane, click Add to add and configure at least one messaging engine.
  7. In the Configure the messaging engine policy pane, use the options and the preferred servers list to set the messaging engine behavior you require.
    The messaging engine name is automatically generated, in the format cluster_name.nnn-bus_name.
  8. Enter details for the message store.
    • If you use a file store, specify the directory paths for the log files, the permanent file store, and the temporary file store. Do not use the default path, and ensure that you use a unique path for each messaging engine.
    • If you use a data store, specify the JNDI name of the data source that provides access to the database that holds the data store.
  9. Optional: [AIX Solaris HP-UX Linux Windows][IBM i]In the Tune performance parameters pane, you can view the current settings of the initial and maximum Java Virtual Machine (JVM) heap sizes. If you want to tune performance by changing the current settings, select the Change heap sizes check box and enter the required changes in the Proposed heap sizes fields.
  10. If security is enabled, and adding this cluster bus member creates a mixed-version bus, the wizard prompts for an authentication alias. Do one of the following:
    • Select an existing authentication alias.
    • Create a new authentication alias. Specify a unique alias name and password.
    This action sets the inter-engine authentication alias.
  11. Optional: Repeat the steps to add and configure further messaging engines for the cluster.
  12. When the Add a new bus member wizard is finished, save your changes to the master configuration.

Results

You have created a cluster bus member and at least one messaging engine, named cluster_name.nnn-bus_name. For each messaging engine, there is a core group policy named messaging_engine_name-numberPolicy. This core group policy is configured with the behavior you chose for the messaging engine policy, and is associated with the messaging engine through its match criteria.

What to do next

To see a diagram of the cluster and the messaging engine configuration you have created, click the bus member name in the Bus members collection pane.