Quality Center JBoss cluster with Apache as the load-balancer

How to implement a JBoss cluster with Apache as the load-balance?

Below are the steps explained in the KM189086 to implement this.

Configuring Apache as a load-balancer for JBoss cluster nodes1. Download and install Apache2 Web Server.
2. Make sure that it is working properly before proceeding further. Example:
http://<servername>
3. Install Quality Center on the 1st server node. Below are some steps that need to be taken:

• Since this is the first node, you will want to select the "First node/Standalone" option during installation when selecting Cluster configuration.
• For repository path, you need to select a shared folder that is accessible for all your Secondary nodes.
  Example:
  \\&ltservername>\respository
  Note:
  For information on how to performed a mount on Linux/Unix, please refer to the link below:
  Document ID 35095 - How to mount a file system for Quality Center 8.2 in a cluster environment
  
• For Web Server Configuration, select Apache as the "Web Server that you want to integrate with JBoss."
  

4. After installation has completed, you need to confirmed that Apache-JBoss integration works correctly.
Example: http://<Server_Name>/qcbin
5. Install Quality Center on the 2nd, 3rd, etc. nodes.
Note:
There are a few points to consider during installation of Secondary nodes:

• Secondary nodes must be installed on the same operating system. You cannot have one node that is install on Windows 2000 and others on Windows 2003 or Linux 9 or Unix 8.
• You must select the "Secondary node" option when selecting Cluster configuration.
• Secondary nodes will need to run JBoss as the web server. As a result, you need to select "Run JBoss As Web Server" option for Web Server Configuration.
• The domain repository must points to the same shared (mounted) repository. In this case, the domain repository is the same shared folder that was entered in installation of the 1st server node. Again, you will need to use a network path that is accessible for all nodes.
• The Site Administrator Database Name must be the same. This means that you will need to connect to the same database server and schema.
  Example:
  qcsiteadmin_db

6. Open the Apache configuration file, httpd.conf, under <APACHE_HOME>\conf on the 1st server node. You will see the following lines were added:

Windows: # These Lines were added by the Mercury Quality Center Installation # This include points to the jboss-apache configuration file (for the Mercury Quality Center) LoadModule jk_module "C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\Quality Center\jboss\modules\mod_jk-2.0.42.dll" Include "C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\Quality Center\jboss\server\default\conf\mod_jk.conf" Unix # These Lines were added by the Mercury Quality Center Installation # This inclue points to the jboss-apache configuration file (for the Mercury Quality Center) LoadModule jk_module "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality_Center/jboss/modules/mod_jk_solaris8_sparc.so" Include "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality_Center/jboss/server/default/conf/mod_jk.conf" Linux # These Lines were added by the Mercury Quality Center Installation # This include points to the jboss-apache configuration file (for the Mercury Quality Center) LoadModule jk_module "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality_Center/jboss/modules/mod_jk.so" Include "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality_Center/jboss/server/default/conf/mod_jk.conf" Notes:
• The first line loads the mod_jk which is the JBoss-Apache plug-in that handles communication between JBoss and Apache. The second line request Apache to read the configuration setting in the mod_jk.conf file.
• If Apache fails to integrate with JBoss after installation on a Linux/Unix OS, please refer to Document ID 35254 - Failed to install Quality Center on Solaris/Linux when integrating with Apache.
• Your JBoss installation path is dependent on where you installed Quality Center. Please make a note of this when implementing the procedures below. The path given here is the default path.

7. Open the mod_jk.conf file located in the path indicated in step 6. Edit the file as indicated below:

Windows: <IfModule !mod_jk.c>    LoadModule jk_module libexec/mod_jk.so </IfModule> JKWorkersFile "C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\Quality Center\jboss/server/default/conf/workers.properties" JKLogFile "C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\Quality Center\jboss/server/default/log/mod_jk.log" JkLogLevel emerg JkMount /sabin loadbalancer JkMount /sabin/* loadbalancer JkMount /qcbin loadbalancer JkMount /qcbin/* loadbalancer JkMount /mtours loadbalancer JkMount /mtours/* loadbalancer Unix: <IfModule !mod_jk.c>    LoadModule jk_module libexec/mod_jk_solaris8_sparc.so </IfModule> JKWorkersFile "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality Center/jboss/server/default/conf/workers.properties" JKLogFile "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality Center/jboss/server/default/log/mod_jk.log" JkLogLevel emerg JkMount /sabin loadbalancer JkMount /sabin/* loadbalancer JkMount /qcbin loadbalancer JkMount /qcbin/* loadbalancer JkMount /mtours loadbalancer JkMount /mtours/* loadbalancer Linux: <IfModule !mod_jk.c>    LoadModule jk_module libexec/mod_jk.so </IfModule> JKWorkersFile "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality Center/jboss/server/default/conf/workers.properties" JKLogFile "/opt/Mercury_Interactive/Quality Center/jboss/server/default/log/mod_jk.log" JkLogLevel emerg JkMount /sabin loadbalancer JkMount /sabin/* loadbalancer JkMount /qcbin loadbalancer JkMount /qcbin/* loadbalancer JkMount /mtours loadbalancer JkMount /mtours/* loadbalancer

8. Open the workers.properties file located under the path specified in step 7. Make the following modifications:

   worker.list=loadbalancer    #First node    worker.jboss0_ajp13_qc.port=8009    worker.jboss0_ajp13_qc.type=ajp13    worker.jboss0_ajp13_qc.host=<node1 server name>    worker.jboss0_ajp13_qc.lbfactor=1    #Second node    worker.jboss0_ajp14_qc.port=8009    worker.jboss0_ajp14_qc.type=ajp13    worker.jboss0_ajp14_qc.host=<node2 server name>    worker.jboss0_ajp14_qc.lbfactor=1    worker.loadbalancer.balanced_workers=jboss0_ajp12_qc,jboss0_ajp13_qc,jboss0_ajp14_qc    worker.loadbalancer.type=lb Note: In the example above, there are two workers, jboss0_ajp13 and jboss0_ajp14. You will need to add a worker for each new server node.

9. Restart the server node. Please refer to Document ID 33218 - How to start/stop the deployment of Quality Center on the application server for more information. 10. Log into the Site Administrator and navigate to the Servers tab. You should now see two cluster nodes.
Note:
Any update made to one cluster node will be reflected in all nodes in the cluster. If a node goes off-line, Apache will check its state periodically and in the meantime, forward requests to peer workers (application server nodes). The load-balancer schedule is based on a weighted round-robin load balancing system with sticky sessions.
Related Articles:
Document ID 34235 - How to implement a WebLogic cluster using Apache as a load balancer for QC 8.0