This document is written for application developers and administrators who are developing or deploying Web-based applications on one or more clusters. It also contains information that is useful for business analysts and system architects who are evaluating WebLogic Server or considering the use of WebLogic Server clusters for a particular application.
The topics in this document are primarily relevant to planning, implementing, and supporting a production environment that includes WebLogic Server clusters. Key guidelines for software engineers who design or develop applications that will run on a WebLogic Server cluster are also addressed.
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with Java EE, HTTP, HTML coding, and Java programming (servlets, JSP, or EJB development).
Communications In a Cluster, describes how WebLogic Server instances communicate to one another in a cluster and how they utilize a cluster-wide JNDI tree.
Understanding Cluster Configuration, explains how the information that defines the configuration of a cluster is stored and maintained, and identifies the methods you can use to accomplish cluster configuration tasks.
Load Balancing in a Cluster, describes the load balancing support that a WebLogic Server cluster provides for different types of objects, and provides planning and configuration considerations for architects and administrators.
Failover and Replication in a Cluster, describes how WebLogic Server detects failures in a cluster, and summarizes how failover is accomplished for different types of objects.
Cluster Architectures, describes alternative architectures for a WebLogic Server cluster.
Clustering Best Practices, provides recommendations for design and deployment practices that maximize the scalability, reliability, and performance of applications hosted by a WebLogic Server cluster.