Database sharing between multiple clusters
There are multiple database domains that are used in a typical IBM WebSphere Portal environment, such as...
- release domain
- customization domain
- community domain
In most cases, the relevance of data within these domains is WebSphere Portal specific. In other words, different database domains are used for different configurations because the application mix and user community is likely different. In many cases, you may want to support multiple identically configured WebSphere Portal installations in the same cell, where many of the database domains might be shared, for ease of maintenance or failover.
In the case that two independently configured clusters exist within the same cell, each cluster should have its own set of database domains. In the case that two clusters configured identically exist within the same cell, all database instances should be shared except the release database domain.
This ensures that all user-specific and community data is shared between clusters, while each cluster's static configuration can be independently updated.
Special Database Considerations when Sharing Domains
When configuring multiple clusters which will reside in the same IBM WAS cell, special attention must be given to the database settings.
- Based on your configuration case, determine which database domains you want to share with other clusters which reside in the same cell (multiple cluster environment).
If you are using WCM servers in your environment, you cannot share the JCR domain between servers.
- Assign the datasource names for the domains based on which databases should be shared between the clusters and which should be unique per cluster. A single datasource cannot be used for multiple domains if the domains are a mixture of shared and non-shared.
- Maintain the same number of datasources with identical names in the case where enterprise applications are to be shared across all clusters in the same cell, so that datasource bindings in the applications can be resolved on every cluster in which they run.
- When installing the primary node of the next cluster (Cluster B), the node can be configured to use the shared database domains by setting the appropriate property values in the wkplc_comp.properties file.
Parent topic
Planning for multiple clusters