Clustering documentation for NetWeaver CE 7.1

[Former Member]

We are beginning to investigate clustering for NetWeaver CE 7.1 SR3, having previously just used a simple, single server configuration.

We've done a survey of the available documentation and wanted help identifying that what we've found is the best and most complete information.

For instance: if I go to [http://help.sap.com/] and click "SAP NetWeaver CE" in the left pane and then click the "SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment Library" link to the right of "SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment 7.1 Knowledge Center" it takes me to: [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/index.htm]. I then click Advanced Search to try to find Cluster or Clustering topics there and I click the SAP NetWeaver radio button, but the drop down for Release only has: 7.0, 7.0 ehp1, and 2004; but no 7.1 selection. But, the items returned take me into what appears to be the 7.0 library, not 7.1, and there's really way too many items to reasonably sift through.

So, from manually searching around, which is tedious here's what I've found so far:

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From [http://help.sap.com/]:

These two documents seem to be one in the same as they have the same topic "Clustering the AS Java" and URL, is that the intent?:

Administrator's Guide - [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce711/helpdata/en/45/a3c3f043cb0cf0e10000000a114a6b/frameset.htm] - (Also topic "AS Java Cluster Architecture")

Configuration of SAP NetWeaver CE (7.1) - [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/45/a3c3f043cb0cf0e10000000a114a6b/frameset.htm ]

This looks like an indirect link to the information on help.sap.com:

Planning, Installing, and Updating SAP NetWeaver CE 7.1 - [ [original link is broken]]

I found topics in these other NetWeaver topics, but they appear to be non-7.1 documents, so wasn't sure of their applicability to 7.1--can they be used against 7.1 or are there 7.1 versions that I haven't been able to find:

J2EE Engine Configuration - [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp1/helpdata/en/fa/a3bef7bb049b4a81be01885e589786/frameset.htm]

Technology Consultant's Guide - [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp1/helpdata/en/42/f7bf455bb61bc7e10000000a11466f/frameset.htm]

Setting Up the Java Cluster in SAP NetWeaver Configuration - [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/ac/f01a403233dd5fe10000000a155106/frameset.htm]

Developing, Configuring, and Adapting Applications - [http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp1/helpdata/en/fa/a3bef7bb049b4a81be01885e589786/frameset.htm] - Clustering the J2EE Engine

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From SDN:

I didn't find anything relevant in these documents/sites; should there be any clustering information here:

How-to Guides for SAP NetWeaver CE/MDM/Mobile/PI 7.1 - [https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/index?rid=/webcontent/uuid/b0458509-49c1-2a10-1188-af2aeb97ed9a] [original link is broken];

SAP NetWeaver Capabilities - [https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/netweaver]

Site index - [https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/siteindex]

SAP Best Practices based on SAP NetWeaver - [http://help.sap.com/content/bestpractices/crossindustry/bestp_based_netweaver.htm]

I did find this useful overview:

Clustering Awareness of Java Applications in a SAP NetWeaver Cluster by: SAP, 30 October 2006 - [https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/e10b4b78-0801-0010-aaba-fb0a5f9c74fc]

Thanks in advance for any help available,

William

Edited by: William Walsh on Jul 10, 2009 6:18 PM

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi William,

As far as I know, currently the "Advanced Search" link in the Help portal is not context sensitive. Wherever you click it, it links to the default search page. To search the NetWeaver CE 7.1 documentation, you need to do the following:

1. Choose "SAP NetWeaver".

2. In Area, choose "SAP NetWeaver".

3. In Application, choose "SAP NetWeaver CE".

4. In Release, choose "7.1".

5. Last but not least, enter the search words in the search field on the top.

Simply searching for "cluster" this way returns more than 200 results, all for NetWeaver CE 7.1.

On the other hand, there is a dedicated Clustering the AS Java section in the NetWeaver CE 7.1 documentation. You can find it as described below:

1. Go to the CE documentation you found:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/index.htm

2. Choose +Administratoru2019s Guide" > Configuration of SAP NetWeaver CE> Initial System Configuration > Clustering the AS Java.

You should reach this page: http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/43/a36a5353664406e10000000a11466f/frameset.htm

Hope this helps,

Rossen

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Rossen, Thanks for the feedback. That's a helpful page. (Unfortunately my initial submission had no formatting and I couldn't get the line breaks etc. from my text editor to say when I submitted it.) If SAP had consistent naming/URLs it would help make things more clear--or do you know if there's special meaning to nwce10 in that URL? Since I had also found that same topic http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce711/helpdata/en/45/a3c3f043cb0cf0e10000000a114a6b/frameset.htm I'd understand it to be for NetWeaver 7.1 Enhancement Pack 1, but not sure what nwce10 relates to.

William

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi William,

I am with you on that if SAP had consistent naming/URLs it would help make things more clear.

In general, the official way to navigate to the help content is by using the pages on help.sap.com. The URL is usually meant to be read only by browsers, and only a small amount of people know the meaning of the slashes and words of which it consists. In this case, the nwce10 in the URL is probably there because CE as a product was marketed this way at the time it was released. I do agree that having nwce71 instead would make more sense.

Best regards,

Rossen

[Former Member]

Unfortunately, cannot get formatting to work:

Have implemented our cluster testing; these are the documents we found helpful in case of use to anyone else:

[Session Failover for Java EE Applications - Developer's Guide|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/library/uuid/7073bb46-2ede-2b10-189c-8bfd09a0c95e&overridelayout=true ] is the best source of how-to information that isn't found anywhere else!

[SAP High Availability FAQ|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/index?rid=/webcontent/uuid/b09d53ac-8b0f-2b10-6798-ecfd55894839&prtmode=print] [original link is broken]; - answers the question: "Is there a session failover mechanism for SAP NetWeaver AS Java?".

[Clustering Awareness of Java Applications in a SAP !NetWeaver Cluster by: SAP, 30 October 2006|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/library/uuid/e10b4b78-0801-0010-aaba-fb0a5f9c74fc&overridelayout=true] - Very helpful overview

[ SAP NetWeaver AS Java Architecture Manual|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/30c221aa-b4e5-2910-b899-d268d84c19c5] - This document provides an overview of the architecture of the Application Server Java (AS Java) in SAP !NetWeaver Composition Environment 7.1. It describes the cluster concepts in AS Java, the system component architecture, and some of the main features that AS Java provides. (This document is valid for CE 7.1 and EHP1.)

[ Architecture of AS Java|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/e1/b5443e02a9ab4186a6e1240a9a2455/content.htm]

[AS Java Cluster Architecture|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/2e/611724f410254ca12a3f396ec5ae85/content.htm] u2013 a cluster is a building unit of the application server which includes all the components that actually enable user requests to be processed.

[AS Java System Architecture|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/51/c01bc857c29f43ade7082e6a8dce07/content.htm] u2013 the logical layers of the AS Java system components and the relations among them.

[Page|http://service.sap.com/instguidesnwce] containing a matrix of detailed installation manuals by platform and configuration database

[High Availability - Achieving high availability for SAP solutionshttps|]:

[Architecting a high availability SAP NetWeaver infrastructure|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/30c221aa-b4e5-2910-b899-d268d84c19c5] - This SAP Professional Journal article discusses providing high availability (HA) for an enterprise SOA like SAP NetWeaver and how it is a challenge - typical setups include multiple integrated SAP systems that are required around the clock for continuous, one-step business scenarios. This article helps you meet this challenge in your own systems by explaining the SAP NetWeaver architecture, its configuration, the procedures involved, and the implications of these elements on systems availability. It starts with an overview of HA basics, and then discusses the technical details of an HA setup with SAP NetWeaver, including topics such as architectural single points of failure and ways to isolate and protect such failure points.

[SAP NetWeaver PI 7.1 EHP1, " SAP High Availability"|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwpi711/helpdata/en/45/1815fad1590067e10000000a1553f7/frameset.htm] -

Was suprised to find some relatively global, high-level clustering topics covered in the [Developer's Guide|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/46/7088a5f11b0e9ce10000000a155369/frameset.htm], including: Security Sessions and Failover and Creating and Configuring JMS Virtual Providers

[Former Member]

Hi William,

It's really great to have this information in the forum. Since the SDN forums currently have some strange [no formatting if more than 2500 characters|; limitation, I'll copy the information you provided in two separate posts. Thanks a lot for providing it!

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William's post with formatting kept, part 1 of 2:

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Have implemented our cluster testing; these are the documents we found helpful in case of use to anyone else:

[Session Failover for Java EE Applications - Developer's Guide|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/library/uuid/7073bb46-2ede-2b10-189c-8bfd09a0c95e&overridelayout=true ] is the best source of how-to information that isn't found anywhere else!

[SAP High Availability FAQ|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/index?rid=/webcontent/uuid/b09d53ac-8b0f-2b10-6798-ecfd55894839&prtmode=print] [original link is broken]; - answers the question: "Is there a session failover mechanism for SAP NetWeaver AS Java?".

[Clustering Awareness of Java Applications in a SAP !NetWeaver Cluster by: SAP, 30 October 2006|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/library/uuid/e10b4b78-0801-0010-aaba-fb0a5f9c74fc&overridelayout=true] - Very helpful overview

[ SAP NetWeaver AS Java Architecture Manual|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/30c221aa-b4e5-2910-b899-d268d84c19c5] - This document provides an overview of the architecture of the Application Server Java (AS Java) in SAP !NetWeaver Composition Environment 7.1. It describes the cluster concepts in AS Java, the system component architecture, and some of the main features that AS Java provides. (This document is valid for CE 7.1 and EHP1.)

[Former Member]

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William's post with formatting kept, part 2 of 2:

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[ Architecture of AS Java|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/e1/b5443e02a9ab4186a6e1240a9a2455/content.htm]

[AS Java Cluster Architecture|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/2e/611724f410254ca12a3f396ec5ae85/content.htm] u2013 a cluster is a building unit of the application server which includes all the components that actually enable user requests to be processed.

[AS Java System Architecture|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/51/c01bc857c29f43ade7082e6a8dce07/content.htm] u2013 the logical layers of the AS Java system components and the relations among them.

[Page|http://service.sap.com/instguidesnwce] containing a matrix of detailed installation manuals by platform and configuration database

[High Availability - Achieving high availability for SAP solutions|]:

[Architecting a high availability SAP NetWeaver infrastructure|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/30c221aa-b4e5-2910-b899-d268d84c19c5] - This SAP Professional Journal article discusses providing high availability (HA) for an enterprise SOA like SAP NetWeaver and how it is a challenge - typical setups include multiple integrated SAP systems that are required around the clock for continuous, one-step business scenarios. This article helps you meet this challenge in your own systems by explaining the SAP NetWeaver architecture, its configuration, the procedures involved, and the implications of these elements on systems availability. It starts with an overview of HA basics, and then discusses the technical details of an HA setup with SAP NetWeaver, including topics such as architectural single points of failure and ways to isolate and protect such failure points.

[SAP High Availability in SAP's NetWeaver PI 7.1 EHP1documentation|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwpi711/helpdata/en/45/1815fad1590067e10000000a1553f7/frameset.htm]

Was suprised to find some relatively global, high-level clustering topics covered in the [Developer's Guide|http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwce10/helpdata/en/46/7088a5f11b0e9ce10000000a155369/frameset.htm], including: Security Sessions and Failover and Creating and Configuring JMS Virtual Providers