Configuring Content Based Routing

Configure Content Based Routing in production environments and realistic test environments.

Before you begin

Before setting up the Dispatcher machine, you must be the root user (for AIX, HP-UX, Linux, or Solaris systems) or the Administrator on Windows systems.

For the Dispatcher machine you will need at least two valid IP addresses.

The figure below shows how to configure three locally attached workstations using CBR along with Caching Proxy to load-balance Web traffic between two Web servers. (For simplicity, this example illustrates servers on the same LAN segment, however with CBR there is no restriction for using servers on the same LAN.)

Example of the IP addresses needed for the Dispatcher machine

About this task

Use this configuration method for a quick way to establish a connection between servers and the CBR machine.

Review the new features section for what's been added and improved in this release.

Procedure

  1. Prepare the servers
    1. For this example, set up your workstations on the same LAN segment. Ensure that network traffic between the three machines does not have to pass through any routers or bridges.
    2. Configure the network adapters of the three workstations. This example assumes you have the following network configuration:
      Workstation Name IP Address
      1 server1.mywebsite.com 9.27.27.101
      2 server2.mywebsite.com 9.27.27.102
      3 server3.mywebsite.com 9.27.27.103
      Netmask = 255.255.255.0

      Each of the workstations contains only one standard Ethernet network interface card.

    3. Ensure that server1.mywebsite.com can ping both server2.mywebsite.com and server3.mywebsite.com.
    4. Ensure that server2.mywebsite.com and server3.mywebsite.com can ping server1.mywebsite.com.
    5. Ensure that Web servers on server2.mywebsite.com and server3.mywebsite.com are operational. Use a Web browser to request pages directly from http://server2.mywebsite.com (for example, .../member/index.html) and http://server3.mywebsite.com (for example, .../guest/index.html).
    6. Obtain another valid IP address for this LAN segment. This is the cluster address you will provide to clients who wish to access your site. For example: Name= www.mywebsite.com IP=9.27.27.104
  2. Configure CBR with the command line
    1. Start the cbrserver from the <install_root>/cbr/servers/bin directory. Run the following command as root user or Administrator: cbrserver
      Attention: Start cbrserver (Content Based Routing) from the Services panel as follows: Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
    2. Start the executor function of CBR: cbrcontrol executor start
    3. Start Caching Proxy. (You can start Caching Proxy any time after you start the executor function): ibmproxy
      Note: You can also start Caching Proxy from the Services panel as follows: Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services
    4. Add the cluster (the host name and Web site to which clients connect) to the CBR configuration: cbrcontrol cluster add www.mywebsite.com
    5. Add the cluster address (9.27.27.104) for the Web site to the network interface card on the CBR machine.
    6. Add the http protocol port to the CBR configuration: cbrcontrol port add www.mywebsite.com@80
    7. Add each of the Web servers to the CBR configuration: cbrcontrol server add www.mywebsite.com@80@server2.mywebsite.com and cbrcontrol server add www.mywebsite.com@80@server3.mywebsite.com
    8. Add content rules to your CBR configuration. (A content rule defines how a URL request will be distinguished and sent to one of the servers or server sets): cbrcontrol rule add www.mywebsite.com@80@memberRule type content pattern uri=*/member/* andcbrcontrol rule add www.mywebsite.com@80@guestRule type content pattern uri=*/guest/* In the example, using the content rule, client requests to www.mywebsite.com are sent to a different server based on a directory in their URI request path.
    9. Add servers to your rule: cbrcontrol rule useserver www.mywebsite:80:memberRule server2.mywebsite.com and cbrcontrol rule useserver www.mywebsite:80:guestRule server3.mywebsite.com CBR will now do load balancing based on content-based rule. A client with a URL request containing /member/ is directed to server2.mywebsite.com. A client with a URL request containing /guest/ is directed to server3.mywebsite.com.
    10. Start the manager function of CBR: cbrcontrol manager start
    11. Start the advisor function of CBR: cbrcontrol advisor start http 80
    CBR will now make sure that client requests are not sent to a failed Web server.

Results

Your basic configuration with locally attached servers is now complete.

Example

There are many ways that you can configure CBR to support your site. If you have only one host name for your site to which all of your customers will connect, you can define a single cluster of servers. For each of these servers, you configure a port through which CBR communicates.
Example of CBR configured with a single cluster and 2 ports
In this example for the CBR component, one cluster is defined at www.productworks.com. This cluster has two ports: port 80 for HTTP and port 443 for SSL. A client making a request to http://www.productworks.com (port 80) would go to a different server than a client requesting https://www.productworks.com (port 443).
Another way of configuring CBR would be appropriate if you have a very large site with many servers dedicated to each protocol supported. In this case, you might want to define a cluster for each protocol with a single port but with many servers.
Example of CBR configured with two clusters, each with one port
A third way of configuring CBR would be necessary if your site does content hosting for several companies or departments, each one coming into your site with a different URL. In this case, you might want to define a cluster for each company or department and then define any ports to which you want to receive connections at that URL.
Example of CBR configured with 2 clusters, each with 2 ports
In this example for the CBR component, two clusters are defined with port 80 (HTTP) and port 443 (SSL) for each of the sites at www.productworks.com and www.testworks.com.
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Last updated: February 14, 2013 04:30 PM EST
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