The core group bridge service can be configured for communication between core groups. Use an access point group to define the core groups that communicate. Use this task to configure communication between core groups that are in different cells.
Before you begin
You need two or more core groups that are in different cells. Core groups are a statically defined component of the high availability manager. See Core groups for more information about core groups.If multiple core groups are within any of the cells, you must configure an access point group between the core groups in the cell before you can enable communication outside of the cell. See Configuring communication between core groups that are in the same cell for more information.
Why and when to perform this task
Use the core group bridge service to share the availability status of the servers in each core group among all the configured core groups. Enable the core group bridge only when the service is required by a WebSphere Application Server component.
For example, the core group bridge is required when configuring an Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) backup cluster. Configure a backup EJB cluster in a different cell to continue servicing requests when the primary cluster fails. See Creating backup clusters for more information.
When you configure core group communication between core groups that are in different cells, you must configure an access point group to connect the core groups. The name of the access point group must be the same in all of the connected cells. This task uses the DefaultAccessPointGroup access point group, but you can create and use another access point group.
With WebSphere Application Server, Version 6.0.2 or later,
you can define the CGB_ENABLE_602_FEATURES custom property. By enabling this
property, you can add core group bridge servers to the configuration without
restarting the other servers in the configuration. When you add a core group
bridge server in one cell, you no longer need to modify the configuration
in the other cell to include peer ports for the core group bridge server.
Instead of manually configuring peer ports in each of the cells, you can configure
the peer ports in one cell and let the other cell discover the peer ports
for the first cell.
If you decide to use the CGB_ENABLE_602_FEATURES
custom property, you must decide which cell is the listener cell and which
cell initiates contact with the other cells before you begin your configuration.
The listener cell does not need to contain any peer access points or peer
ports for the other cells in the configuration. For example, in a configuration
that contains a secured cell and an unsecured cell, configure the unsecured
cell as the listener. The unsecured cell cannot access information about the
secured cell. Configure the core group bridge service on the listener cell
first.
Complete the following set of steps for each of the cells in your configuration.
Steps for this task
You can set the value to any string value. The existence of the property enables the new features. For example, setting the value to false does not disable the features. You must remove the property or change the name of the custom property to disable the features.
When you complete this step on all the access point groups in your configuration, you can add a bridge interface to one of the cells. You can save the configuration so that it is propagated to all of the nodes. Instead of restarting all of the application servers, you need to restart the new bridge interface server only.
If you enabled the CGB_ENABLE_602_FEATURES custom
property, you do not need to add peer access points or peer ports to the listener
cell.
Result
You configured the core group bridge between core groups that are in different cells.Example
The following illustration is an example of a configuration between two core groups that are in two different cells. Each cell has a defined DefaultAccessPointGroup access point group, which contains one core group access point for the core group that is in the cell and a peer access point for the other cell.
What to do next
Continue configuring the high availability environment. See Setting up a high availability environment for more information.Related concepts
Core group communications using the core group bridge service
Related tasks
Creating advanced core group bridge configurations
Setting up a high availability environment
Configuring the core group bridge service
Related reference
Core group bridge settings