Configuring the HTTP session manager with WebSphere Application Server
While WebSphere® Application Server provides session management function, the performance degrades as the number of requests increases. WebSphere eXtreme Scale comes bundled with a session management implementation that provides session replication, high availability, better scalability, and more robust configuration options.
Before you begin
- WebSphere eXtreme Scale must be installed on your WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment cell to use the eXtreme Scale session manager. For more information, see Installing WebSphere eXtreme Scale or WebSphere eXtreme Scale Client with WebSphere Application Server.
- When WebSphere eXtreme Scale for HTTP session replication is used on WebSphere Application Server, the Allow overflow session management setting must be checked for every applicable web application and application server that hosts that web application. For more information, see Session management settings.
- Global security must be enabled in the WebSphere Application Server administrative console, if the catalog servers within your catalog service domain have Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) enabled. It must also be enabled if you want to use SSL for a catalog service domain with SSL supported. You require SSL for a catalog server by setting the transportType attribute to SSL-Required in the Server properties file. For more information about configuring global security, see Global security settings.
- If you are connecting to WebSphere eXtreme Scale
servers that are configured for NIST SP800-131a compliance, then you need to configure WebSphere Application Server for NIST SP8000-131a compliance as well:
- To configure WebSphere Application Server for standard transition mode, see Transitioning WebSphere Application Server to the SP800-131 security standard.
- To configure WebSphere Application Server for strict mode, see Configuring WebSphere Application Server for SP800-131 standard strict mode.
About this task
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Embedded scenario
In the embedded scenario, the data grid servers are collocated in the same processes where the servlets run. The session manager can communicate directly with the local ObjectGrid instance, avoiding costly network delays.
If you are using WebSphere Application Server, place the supplied wxs_home/session/samples/objectGrid.xml and wxs_home/session/samples/objectGridDeployment.xml files into the META-INF directories of your web archive (WAR) files. eXtreme Scale automatically detects these files when the application starts and automatically starts the eXtreme Scale containers in the same process as the session manager.
You can modify the objectGridDeployment.xml file. Modifying this file depends on whether you want to use synchronous or asynchronous replication and how many replicas you want configured.
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Remote servers scenario
In the remote servers scenario, the container servers that are run are in different processes than the servlets. The session manager communicates with a remote container server. To use a remote, network-attached container server, the session manager must be configured with the host names and port numbers of the catalog service domain. The session manager then uses an eXtreme Scale client connection to communicate with the catalog server and the container servers.
If the container servers are starting in independent, stand-alone processes, start the data grid containers with the objectGridStandAlone.xml and objectGridDeploymentStandAlone.xml files that are supplied in the session manager samples directory.
Procedure
What to do next
- A network problem between the web container and the remote container servers.
- The remote container server processes have been stopped.