Installation topologies

With WebSphere® eXtreme Scale, you can create many installation topologies that include stand-alone servers, WebSphere Application Server, or both.

Development node

The simplest installation scenario is creating a development node. In this scenario, you install the client and server installation of WebSphere eXtreme Scale one time on the node where you want to develop your application.
Figure 1. Development node
On a development node, the catalog service and multiple Java virtual machines that host the container servers are on the same computer.
After you complete the installation on your development node, you can configure your development environment and begin writing your applications.

Stand-alone topology

A stand-alone topology consists of servers that are not running on WebSphere Application Server. You can create many different stand-alone topologies, but the following topology is included as an example. In this topology, two data centers are present. In each data center, WebSphere eXtreme Scale full installations (client and server) and client-only installations are installed on the physical servers. The client-only installations are on the nodes that are running the web applications that are using the data grid. These nodes do not run any catalog or container servers, so the server installation is not required. A multi-master link connects the two catalog service domains in the configuration. The multi-master link enables replication between the shards in the container servers in the different data centers.
Figure 2. Stand-alone topology with two data centers
Stand-alone topology that shows two data centers. Each data center has its own catalog service domain, clients, and container servers.
Advantages to using a stand-alone topology:

WebSphere Application Server topology

You can also create an installation that runs entirely in a WebSphere Application Server cell. The clients, catalog servers, and container servers each have an associated cluster. The nodes that run the application have the client-only installation. The other nodes have the client and server installation.
Figure 3. WebSphere Application Server topology example
A pure WebSphere Application Server topology has all nodes contained in the Network Deployment cell, including clients, catalog service domains, and container servers.
Advantages of using a WebSphere Application Server topology.

Mixed topology

You can create a mixed topology that contains both WebSphere Application Server and stand-alone servers. In the following example, the client applications are running in the WebSphere Application Server cell, while the catalog servers and container servers are running in stand-alone mode.
Figure 4. Mixed topology example
Stand-alone topology that shows two data centers. Each data center has its own catalog service domain, clients, and container servers.