Setting up dynamic routing for Liberty collectives

The Dynamic Routing feature enables routing of HTTP requests to members of Liberty collectives without regenerating the WebSphere plug-in configuration file when the environment changes. When servers, cluster members, applications, or virtual hosts are added, removed, started, stopped, or modified; the new information is dynamically delivered to the WebSphere plug-in. Requests are routed based on up-to-date information.

The Dynamic Routing feature routes application requests to all application instances when the application is deployed in multiple collectives. Previously, when routing to multiple collectives, a particular application could exist in only one of the collectives.

The Dynamic Routing feature can use rules to route requests to a smaller set of servers than can handle the request. You can configure rules to permit the request, reject the request, or redirect the request. If a request is permitted, it can be configured to load balance across a set of servers or clusters, and to fail over between servers or clusters.

Important: When dynamic routing is enabled for one or more Liberty collective controllers, all the endpoints for both the collective members and the collective controllers are available to the WebSphere® plug-in. These endpoints include system services that you might not want to expose at the WebSphere plug-in tier. You can apply targeted routing rules to prevent access to these endpoints. For more information, see Hardening Liberty collective endpoints for dynamic routing.

Before you begin

For the Dynamic Routing function to work, the dynamicRouting-1.0 feature is required in collective controllers only. There is no requirement to upgrade every collective member. Dynamic Routing can be used to route to applications installed in any Liberty server in a collective, including WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment Liberty, WebSphere Application Server Liberty Core, and WebSphere Application Server (base) Liberty editions.

Important: You must install a web server that is supported by the web server plug-in for WebSphere Application Server, such as the IBM HTTP Server, then install Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0.0.3 and later, or 9.0.0.2 with interim fix PI27023, to enable the Dynamic Routing feature.
  1. Download and install the latest version of the IBM Installation Manager. For more information on installing IBM Installation Manager, see Installing Installation Manager and preparing to install the product.
  2. Use the Installation Manager to access online product repositories to install the Web Server Plug-in for WebSphere Application Server along with the fixpack. Open the Installation Manager GUI preferences page by selecting File > Preferences .
  3. Use the Installation Manager to install the product from the web-based repository. You need an IBM ID to access the following repository: 

    http://www.ibm.com/software/repositorymanager/com.ibm.websphere.PLG.zOS.v90
    Note: You need an IBM ID to access the repository. This repository is only for distributed operating systems.
  4. Use the installation wizard to install both the web server plug-ins and the fixpack.
  5. When prompted by the wizard, specify the installation location and proceed with the installation.

Multimedia Watch: The Enabling IHS for Liberty Dynamic Routing video shows how to install IHS, install Web Server Plug-in for WebSphere Application Server, and apply the interim fix for Dynamic Routing. [Transcript]

Procedure