Cross-site replication configures Infinispan to back up data across clusters. With cross-site replication you create global clusters that span multiple geographic locations to protect against disaster and ensure continuity of service.

1. Cross-site replication

This section explains Infinispan cross-site replication capabilities, including details about relay nodes, state transfer, and client connections for remote caches.

1.1. Cross-site replication

Infinispan can back up data between clusters running in geographically dispersed data centers and across different cloud providers. Cross-site replication provides Infinispan with a global cluster view and:

  • Guarantees service continuity in the event of outages or disasters.

  • Presents client applications with a single point of access to data in globally distributed caches.

Cross-site replication with a Infinispan deployment.
Figure 1. Cross-site replication

1.2. Relay nodes

Relay nodes are the nodes in Infinispan clusters that are responsible for sending and receiving requests from backup locations.

If a node is not a relay node, it must forward backup requests to a local relay node. Only relay nodes can send requests to backup locations.

For optimal performance, you should configure all nodes as relay nodes. This increases the speed of backup requests because each node in the cluster can backup to remote sites directly without having to forward backup requests to local relay nodes.

Diagrams in this document illustrate Infinispan clusters with one relay node because this is the default for the JGroups RELAY2 protocol. Likewise, a single relay node is easier to illustrate because each relay node in a cluster communicates with each relay node in the remote cluster.

JGroups configuration refers to relay nodes as "site master" nodes. Infinispan uses relay node instead because it is more descriptive and presents a more intuitive choice for our users.

1.3. Infinispan cache backups

Infinispan caches include a backups configuration that let you name remote sites as backup locations.

For example, the following diagram shows three caches, "customers", "eu-orders", and "us-orders":

xsite caches

  • In LON, "customers" names NYC as a backup location.

  • In NYC, "customers" names LON as a backup location.

  • "eu-orders" and "us-orders" do not have backups and are local to the respective cluster.

1.4. Backup strategies

Infinispan replicates data between clusters at the same time that writes to caches occur. For example, if a client writes "k1" to LON, Infinispan backs up "k1" to NYC at the same time.

To back up data to a different cluster, Infinispan can use either a synchronous or asynchronous strategy.

Synchronous strategy

When Infinispan replicates data to backup locations, it writes to the cache on the local cluster and the cache on the remote cluster concurrently. With the synchronous strategy, Infinispan waits for both write operations to complete before returning.

You can control how Infinispan handles writes to the cache on the local cluster if backup operations fail. Infinispan can do the following:

  • Ignore the failed backup and silently continue the write to the local cluster.

  • Log a warning message or throw an exception and continue the write to the local cluster.

  • Handle failed backup operations with custom logic.

Synchronous backups also support two-phase commits with caches that participate in optimistic transactions. The first phase of the backup acquires a lock. The second phase commits the modification.

Two-phase commit with cross-site replication has a significant performance impact because it requires two round-trips across the network.

Asynchronous strategy

When Infinispan replicates data to backup locations, it does not wait until the operation completes before writing to the local cache.

Asynchronous backup operations and writes to the local cache are independent of each other. If backup operations fail, write operations to the local cache continue and no exceptions occur. When this happens Infinispan also retries the write operation until the remote cluster disconnects from the cross-site view.

Synchronous vs asynchronous backups

Synchronous backups offer the strongest guarantee of data consistency across sites. If strategy=sync, when cache.put() calls return you know the value is up to date in the local cache and in the backup locations.

The trade-off for this consistency is performance. Synchronous backups have much greater latency in comparison to asynchronous backups.

Asynchronous backups, on the other hand, do not add latency to client requests so they have no performance impact. However, if strategy=async, when cache.put() calls return you cannot be sure of that the value in the backup location is the same as in the local cache.

1.5. Automatic offline parameters for backup locations

Operations to replicate data across clusters are resource intensive, using excessive RAM and CPU. To avoid wasting resources Infinispan can take backup locations offline when they stop accepting requests after a specific period of time.

Infinispan takes remote sites offline based on the number of failed sequential requests and the time interval since the first failure. Requests are failed when the target cluster does not have any nodes in the cross-site view (JGroups bridge) or when a timeout expires before the target cluster acknowledges the request.

Backup timeouts

Backup configurations include timeout values for operations to replicate data between clusters. If operations do not complete before the timeout expires, Infinispan records them as failures.

In the following example, operations to replicate data to NYC are recorded as failures if they do not complete after 10 seconds:

XML
<distributed-cache>
  <backups>
    <backup site="NYC"
            strategy="ASYNC"
            timeout="10000" />
  </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "backups": {
      "NYC" : {
        "backup" : {
          "strategy" : "ASYNC",
          "timeout" : "10000"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  backups:
    NYC:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
        timeout: "10000"

Number of failures

You can specify the number of consecutive failures that can occur before backup locations go offline.

In the following example, if a cluster attempts to replicate data to NYC and five consecutive operations fail, NYC automatically goes offline:

XML
<distributed-cache>
  <backups>
    <backup site="NYC"
            strategy="ASYNC"
            timeout="10000">
      <take-offline after-failures="5"/>
    </backup>
  </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "backups": {
      "NYC" : {
        "backup" : {
          "strategy" : "ASYNC",
          "timeout" : "10000",
          "take-offline" : {
            "after-failures" : "5"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  backups:
    NYC:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
        timeout: "10000"
        takeOffline:
          afterFailures: "5"

Time to wait

You can also specify how long to wait before taking sites offline when backup operations fail. If a backup request succeeds before the wait time runs out, Infinispan does not take the site offline.

One or two minutes is generally a suitable time to wait before automatically taking backup locations offline. If the wait period is too short then backup locations go offline too soon. You then need to bring clusters back online and perform state transfer operations to ensure data is in sync between the clusters.

A negative or zero value for the number of failures is equivalent to a value of 1. Infinispan uses only a minimum time to wait to take backup locations offline after a failure occurs, for example:

<take-offline after-failures="-1"
              min-wait="10000"/>

In the following example, if a cluster attempts to replicate data to NYC and there are more than five consecutive failures and 15 seconds elapse after the first failed operation, NYC automatically goes offline:

XML
<distributed-cache>
  <backups>
    <backup site="NYC"
            strategy="ASYNC"
            timeout="10000">
      <take-offline after-failures="5" min-wait="15000"/>
    </backup>
  </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "backups": {
      "NYC" : {
        "backup" : {
          "strategy" : "ASYNC",
          "timeout" : "10000",
          "take-offline" : {
            "after-failures" : "5",
            "min-wait" : "15000"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  backups:
    NYC:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
        timeout: "10000"
        takeOffline:
          afterFailures: "5"
          minWait: "15000"

1.6. State transfer

State transfer is an administrative operation that synchronizes data between sites.

For example, LON goes offline and NYC starts handling client requests. When you bring LON back online, the Infinispan cluster in LON does not have the same data as the cluster in NYC.

To ensure the data is consistent between LON and NYC, you can push state from NYC to LON.

  • State transfer is bidirectional. For example, you can push state from NYC to LON or from LON to NYC.

  • Pushing state to offline sites brings them back online.

  • State transfer overwrites only data that exists on both sites, the originating site and the receiving site. Infinispan does not delete data.

    For example, "k2" exists on LON and NYC. "k2" is removed from NYC while LON is offline. When you bring LON back online, "k2" still exists at that location. If you push state from NYC to LON, the transfer does not affect "k2" on LON.

To ensure contents of the cache are identical after state transfer, remove all data from the cache on the receiving site before pushing state.

Use the clear() method or the clearcache command from the CLI.

  • State transfer does not overwrite updates to data that occur after you initiate the push.

    For example, "k1,v1" exists on LON and NYC. LON goes offline so you push state transfer to LON from NYC, which brings LON back online. Before state transfer completes, a client puts "k1,v2" on LON.

    In this case the state transfer from NYC does not overwrite "k1,v2" because that modification happened after you initiated the push.

Automatic state transfer

By default, you must manually perform cross-site state transfer operations with the CLI or via JMX or REST.

However, when using the asynchronous backup strategy, Infinispan can automatically perform cross-site state transfer operations.

When a backup location comes back online, and the network connection is stable, Infinispan initiates bidirectional state transfer between backup locations. For example, Infinispan simultaneously transfers state from LON to NYC and NYC to LON.

To avoid temporary network disconnects triggering state transfer operations, there are two conditions that backup locations must meet to go offline. The status of a backup location must be offline and it must not be included in the cross-site view with JGroups RELAY2.

The automatic state transfer is also triggered when a cache starts.

In the scenario where LON is starting up, after a cache starts, it sends a notification to NYC. Following this, NYC starts a unidirectional state transfer to LON.

Additional resources

1.7. Client connections across sites

Clients can write to Infinispan clusters in either an Active/Passive or Active/Active configuration.

Active/Passive

The following diagram illustrates Active/Passive where Infinispan handles client requests from one site only:

xsite active passive

In the preceding image:

  1. Client connects to the Infinispan cluster at LON.

  2. Client writes "k1" to the cache.

  3. The relay node at LON, "n1", sends the request to replicate "k1" to the relay node at NYC, "nA".

With Active/Passive, NYC provides data redundancy. If the Infinispan cluster at LON goes offline for any reason, clients can start sending requests to NYC. When you bring LON back online you can synchronize data with NYC and then switch clients back to LON.

Active/Active

The following diagram illustrates Active/Active where Infinispan handles client requests at two sites:

xsite active active

In the preceding image:

  1. Client A connects to the Infinispan cluster at LON.

  2. Client A writes "k1" to the cache.

  3. Client B connects to the Infinispan cluster at NYC.

  4. Client B writes "k2" to the cache.

  5. Relay nodes at LON and NYC send requests so that "k1" is replicated to NYC and "k2" is replicated to LON.

With Active/Active both NYC and LON replicate data to remote caches while handling client requests. If either NYC or LON go offline, clients can start sending requests to the online site. You can then bring offline sites back online, push state to synchronize data, and switch clients as required.

Backup strategies and client connections

An asynchronous backup strategy (strategy=async) is recommended with Active/Active configurations.

If multiple clients attempt to write to the same entry concurrently, and the backup strategy is synchronous (strategy=sync), then deadlocks occur. However you can use the synchronous backup strategy with an Active/Passive configuration if both sites access different data sets, in which case there is no risk of deadlocks from concurrent writes.

1.7.1. Concurrent writes and conflicting entries

Conflicting entries can occur with Active/Active site configurations if clients write to the same entries at the same time but at different sites.

For example, client A writes to "k1" in LON at the same time that client B writes to "k1" in NYC. In this case, "k1" has a different value in LON than in NYC. After replication occurs, there is no guarantee which value for "k1" exists at which site.

To ensure data consistency, Infinispan uses a vector clock algorithm to detect conflicting entries during backup operations, as in the following illustration:

            LON       NYC

k1=(n/a)    0,0       0,0

k1=2        1,0  -->  1,0   k1=2

k1=3        1,1  <--  1,1   k1=3

k1=5        2,1       1,2   k1=8

                 -->  2,1 (conflict)
(conflict)  1,2  <--

Vector clocks are timestamp metadata that increment with each write to an entry. In the preceding example, 0,0 represents the initial value for the vector clock on "k1".

A client puts "k1=2" in LON and the vector clock is 1,0, which Infinispan replicates to NYC. A client then puts "k1=3" in NYC and the vector clock updates to 1,1, which Infinispan replicates to LON.

However if a client puts "k1=5" in LON at the same time that a client puts "k1=8" in NYC, Infinispan detects a conflicting entry because the vector value for "k1" is not strictly greater or less between LON and NYC.

When it finds conflicting entries, Infinispan uses the Java compareTo(String anotherString) method to compare site names. To determine which key takes priority, Infinispan selects the site name that is lexicographically less than the other. Keys from a site named AAA take priority over keys from a site named AAB and so on.

Following the same example, to resolve the conflict for "k1", Infinispan uses the value for "k1" that originates from LON. This results in "k1=5" in both LON and NYC after Infinispan resolves the conflict and replicates the value.

Prepend site names with numbers as a simple way to represent the order of priority for resolving conflicting entries; for example, 1LON and 2NYC.
Backup strategies

Infinispan performs conflict resolution with the asynchronous backup strategy (strategy=async) only.

You should never use the synchronous backup strategy with an Active/Active configuration. In this configuration concurrent writes result in deadlocks and you lose data. However you can use the synchronous backup strategy with an Active/Active configuration if both sites access different data sets, in which case there is no risk of deadlocks from concurrent writes.

Cross-site merge policies

Infinispan provides an XSiteEntryMergePolicy SPI in addition to cross-site merge policies that configure Infinispan to do the following:

  • Always remove conflicting entries.

  • Apply write operations when write/remove conflicts occur.

  • Remove entries when write/remove conflicts occur.

Additional resources

1.8. Expiration with cross-site replication

Expiration removes cache entries based on time. Infinispan provides two ways to configure expiration for entries:

Lifespan

The lifespan attribute sets the maximum amount of time that entries can exist. When you set lifespan with cross-site replication, Infinispan clusters expire entries independently of remote sites.

Maximum idle

The max-idle attribute specifies how long entries can exist based on read or write operations in a given time period. When you set a max-idle with cross-site replication, Infinispan clusters send touch commands to coordinate idle timeout values with remote sites.

Using maximum idle expiration in cross-site deployments can impact performance because the additional processing to keep max-idle values synchronized means some operations take longer to complete.

2. Configuring Infinispan cross-site replication

Set up cluster transport so Infinispan clusters can discover each other and relay nodes can send messages for cross-site replication. You can then add backup locations to Infinispan caches.

2.1. Configuring cluster transport for cross-site replication

Add JGroups RELAY2 to your transport layer so that Infinispan can replicate caches to backup locations.

Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Add the RELAY2 protocol to a JGroups stack.

  3. Specify the stack name with the stack attribute for the transport configuration so the Infinispan cluster uses it.

  4. Save and close your Infinispan configuration.

JGroups RELAY2 stacks

The following configuration shows a JGroups RELAY2 stack that:

  • Uses the default JGroups UDP stack for inter-cluster transport, which refers to communication between nodes at the local site.

  • Uses the default JGroups TCP stack for cross-site replication traffic.

  • Names the local site as LON.

  • Specifies a maximum of 1000 nodes in the cluster that can send cross-site replication requests.

  • Specifies the names of all backup locations that participate in cross-site replication.

<infinispan>
  <jgroups>
    <stack name="xsite" extends="udp">
      <relay.RELAY2 xmlns="urn:org:jgroups"
                    site="LON"
                    max_site_masters="1000"/>
      <remote-sites default-stack="tcp">
        <remote-site name="LON"/>
        <remote-site name="NYC"/>
      </remote-sites>
    </stack>
  </jgroups>
  <cache-container>
    <transport cluster="${cluster.name}" stack="xsite"/>
  </cache-container>
</infinispan>
Additional resources

2.1.1. Custom JGroups RELAY2 stacks

You can add custom JGroups RELAY2 stacks to Infinispan clusters to use different transport properties for cross-site replication. For example, the following configuration uses TCPPING instead of MPING for discovery and extends the default TCP stack:

<infinispan>
  <jgroups>
    <stack name="relay-global" extends="tcp">
      <TCPPING initial_hosts="192.0.2.0[7800]"
               stack.combine="REPLACE"
               stack.position="MPING"/>
    </stack>
    <stack name="xsite" extends="udp">
      <relay.RELAY2 site="LON" xmlns="urn:org:jgroups"
                    max_site_masters="10"
                    can_become_site_master="true"/>
      <remote-sites default-stack="relay-global">
        <remote-site name="LON"/>
        <remote-site name="NYC"/>
      </remote-sites>
    </stack>
  </jgroups>
</infinispan>
Additional resources

2.2. Adding backup locations to caches

Specify the names of remote sites so Infinispan can replicate data to caches on those clusters.

Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Add the backups element to your cache configuration.

  3. Specify the name of the remote site as the backup location.
    For example, in the LON configuration, specify NYC as the backup.

  4. Repeat the preceding steps on each cluster so that each site is a backup for other sites.
    For example, if you add LON as a backup for NYC you should also add NYC as a backup for LON.

  5. Save and close your Infinispan configuration.

Backup configuration

The following example shows the "customers" cache configuration for the LON cluster:

XML
<replicated-cache name="customers">
  <backups>
    <backup site="NYC"
            strategy="ASYNC" />
  </backups>
</replicated-cache>
JSON
{
  "replicated-cache": {
    "name": "customers",
    "backups": {
      "NYC": {
        "backup" : {
          "strategy" : "ASYNC"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
replicatedCache:
  name: "customers"
  backups:
    NYC:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"

The following example shows the "customers" cache configuration for the NYC cluster:

XML
<distributed-cache name="customers">
  <backups>
    <backup site="LON"
            strategy="ASYNC" />
  </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "name": "customers",
    "backups": {
      "LON": {
        "backup": {
          "strategy": "ASYNC"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  name: "customers"
  backups:
    LON:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
Additional resources

2.3. Backing up to caches with different names

Infinispan replicates data between caches that have the same name by default. If you want Infinispan to replicate between caches with different names, you can explicitly declare the backup for each cache.

Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Use backup-for or backupFor to replicate data from a remote site into a cache with a different name on the local site.

  3. Save and close your Infinispan configuration.

Backup for configuration

The following example configures the "eu-customers" cache to receive updates from the "customers" cache on the LON cluster:

XML
<distributed-cache name="eu-customers">
  <backups>
    <backup site="LON"
            strategy="ASYNC" />
  </backups>
  <backup-for remote-cache="customers"
              remote-site="LON" />
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "name": "eu-customers",
    "backups": {
      "LON": {
        "backup": {
          "strategy": "ASYNC"
        }
      }
    },
    "backup-for" : {
      "remote-cache" : "customers",
      "remote-site" : "LON"
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  name: "eu-customers"
  backups:
    LON:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
  backupFor:
    remoteCache: "customers"
    remoteSite: "LON"

2.4. Configuring cross-site state transfer

Change cross-site state transfer settings to optimize performance and specify whether operations happen manually or automatically.

Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Configure state transfer operations as appropriate.

    1. Specify the number of entries to include in each state transfer operation with chunk-size or chunkSize.

    2. Specify the time to wait, in milliseconds, for state transfer operations to complete with timeout.

    3. Set the maximum number of attempts for Infinispan to retry failed state transfers with max-retries or maxRetries.

    4. Specify the time to wait, in milliseconds, between retry attempts with wait-time or waitTime.

    5. Specify if state transfer operations happen automatically or manually with mode.

  3. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

State transfer configuration

XML
<distributed-cache name="eu-customers">
  <backups>
    <backup site="LON"
            strategy="ASYNC">
      <state-transfer chunk-size="600"
                      timeout="2400000"
                      max-retries="30"
                      wait-time="2000"
                      mode="AUTO"/>
    </backup>
  </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "name": "eu-customers",
    "backups": {
      "LON": {
        "backup": {
          "strategy": "ASYNC",
          "state-transfer": {
            "chunk-size": "600",
            "timeout": "2400000",
            "max-retries": "30",
            "wait-time": "2000",
            "mode": "AUTO"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  name: "eu-customers"
  backups:
    LON:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
        stateTransfer:
          chunkSize: "600"
          timeout: "2400000"
          maxRetries: "30"
          waitTime: "2000"
          mode: "AUTO"

2.5. Configuring conflict resolution algorithms

Configure Infinispan to use a different algorithm to resolve conflicting entries between backup locations.

Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Specify one of the Infinispan algorithms or a custom implementation as the merge policy to resolve conflicting entries.

  3. Save and close your Infinispan configuration for editing.

Infinispan algorithms

Find all Infinispan algorithms and their descriptions in the org.infinispan.xsite.spi.XSiteMergePolicy enum.

The following example configuration uses the ALWAYS_REMOVE algorithm that deletes conflicting entries from both sites:

XML
<distributed-cache>
   <backups merge-policy="ALWAYS_REMOVE">
      <backup site="LON" strategy="ASYNC"/>
   </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "backups": {
      "merge-policy": "ALWAYS_REMOVE",
      "LON": {
        "backup": {
          "strategy": "ASYNC"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  backups:
    mergePolicy: "ALWAYS_REMOVE"
    LON:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"

Custom conflict resolution algorithms

If you create a custom XSiteEntryMergePolicy implementation, you can specify the fully qualified class name as the merge policy.

XML
<distributed-cache>
   <backups merge-policy="org.mycompany.MyCustomXSiteEntryMergePolicy">
      <backup site="LON" strategy="ASYNC"/>
   </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "backups": {
      "merge-policy": "org.mycompany.MyCustomXSiteEntryMergePolicy",
      "LON": {
        "backup": {
          "strategy": "ASYNC"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  backups:
    mergePolicy: "org.mycompany.MyCustomXSiteEntryMergePolicy"
    LON:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
Additional resources

2.6. Cleaning tombstones for asynchronous backups

With the asynchronous backup strategy Infinispan stores metadata, known as tombstones, when it removes keys. Infinispan periodically runs a task to remove these tombstones and reduce excessive memory usage when backup locations no longer require the metadata. You can configure the frequency for this task by defining a target size for tombstone maps as well as the maximum delay between task runs.

Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Specify the number of tombstones to store with the tombstone-map-size attribute.

    If the number of tombstones increases beyond this number then Infinispan runs the cleanup task more frequently. Likewise, if the number of tombstones is less than this number then Infinispan does not run the cleanup task as frequently.

  3. Add the max-cleanup-delay attribute and specify the maximum delay, in milliseconds, between tombstone cleanup tasks.

  4. Save the changes to your configuration.

Tombstone cleanup task configuration

XML
<distributed-cache>
   <backups tombstone-map-size="512000" max-cleanup-delay="30000">
      <backup site="LON" strategy="ASYNC"/>
   </backups>
</distributed-cache>
JSON
{
  "distributed-cache": {
    "backups": {
      "tombstone-map-size": 512000,
      "max-cleanup-delay": 30000,
      "LON": {
        "backup": {
          "strategy": "ASYNC"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
distributedCache:
  backups:
    tombstoneMapSize: 512000
    maxCleanupDelay: 30000
    LON:
      backup:
        strategy: "ASYNC"
Additional resources

2.7. Verifying cross-site views

When you set up Infinispan to perform cross-site replication, you should check log files to ensure that Infinispan clusters have successfully formed cross-site views.

Procedure

  1. Open Infinispan log files with any appropriate editor.

  2. Check for ISPN000439: Received new x-site view messages.

For example, if a Infinispan cluster in LON has formed a cross-site view with a Infinispan cluster in NYC, logs include the following messages:

INFO  [org.infinispan.XSITE] (jgroups-5,<server-hostname>) ISPN000439: Received new x-site view: [NYC]
INFO  [org.infinispan.XSITE] (jgroups-7,<server-hostname>) ISPN000439: Received new x-site view: [LON, NYC]

2.8. Configuring Hot Rod clients for cross-site replication

Configure Hot Rod clients to use Infinispan clusters at different sites.

hotrod-client.properties
# Servers at the active site
infinispan.client.hotrod.server_list = LON_host1:11222,LON_host2:11222,LON_host3:11222

# Servers at the backup site
infinispan.client.hotrod.cluster.NYC = NYC_hostA:11222,NYC_hostB:11222,NYC_hostC:11222,NYC_hostD:11222
ConfigurationBuilder
ConfigurationBuilder builder = new ConfigurationBuilder();
builder.addServers("LON_host1:11222;LON_host2:11222;LON_host3:11222")
       .addCluster("NYC")
       .addClusterNodes("NYC_hostA:11222;NYC_hostB:11222;NYC_hostC:11222;NYC_hostD:11222")

Use the following methods to switch Hot Rod clients to the default cluster or to a cluster at a different site:

  • RemoteCacheManager.switchToDefaultCluster()

  • RemoteCacheManager.switchToCluster(${site.name})
Additional resources

3. Performing cross-site operations with the CLI

Use the Infinispan command line interface (CLI) to connect to Infinispan Server clusters, manage sites, and push state transfer to backup locations.

3.1. Bringing backup locations offline and online

Take backup locations offline manually and bring them back online.

Prerequisites

  • Create a CLI connection to Infinispan.

Procedure

  1. Check if backup locations are online or offline with the site status command:

    site status --cache=cacheName --site=NYC

    --site is an optional argument. If not set, the CLI returns all backup locations.

    Use the --all-caches option to get the backup location status for all caches.

  2. Manage backup locations as follows:

    • Bring backup locations online with the bring-online command:

      site bring-online --cache=customers --site=NYC

    • Take backup locations offline with the take-offline command:

      site take-offline --cache=customers --site=NYC

Use the --all-caches option to bring a backup location online, or take a backup location offline, for all caches.

For more information and examples, run the help site command.

3.2. Configuring cross-site state transfer modes

You can configure cross-site state transfer operations to happen automatically when Infinispan detects that backup locations come online. Alternatively you can use the default mode, which is to manually perform state transfer.

Prerequisites

  • Create a CLI connection to Infinispan.

Procedure

  1. Use the site command to configure state transfer modes, as in the following examples:

    • Retrieve the current state transfer mode.

      site state-transfer-mode get --cache=cacheName --site=NYC

    • Configure automatic state transfer operations for a cache and backup location.

      site state-transfer-mode set --cache=cacheName --site=NYC --mode=AUTO

Run the help site command for more information and examples.

3.3. Pushing state to backup locations

Transfer cache state to backup locations.

Prerequisites

  • Create a CLI connection to Infinispan.

Procedure

  • Use the site push-site-state command to push state transfer, as in the following example:

    site push-site-state --cache=cacheName --site=NYC

Use the --all-caches option to push state transfer for all caches.

For more information and examples, run the help site command.

4. Performing cross-site operations with the REST API

Infinispan Server provides a REST endpoint that exposes methods for performing cross-site operations.

4.1. Getting status of all backup locations

Retrieve the status of all backup locations with GET requests.

GET /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/

Infinispan responds with the status of each backup location in JSON format, as in the following example:

{
  "NYC": {
    "status": "online"
  },
  "LON": {
    "status": "mixed",
    "online": [
      "NodeA"
    ],
    "offline": [
      "NodeB"
    ]
  }
}
Table 1. Returned Status
Value Description

online

All nodes in the local cluster have a cross-site view with the backup location.

offline

No nodes in the local cluster have a cross-site view with the backup location.

mixed

Some nodes in the local cluster have a cross-site view with the backup location, other nodes in the local cluster do not have a cross-site view. The response indicates status for each node.

4.2. Getting status of specific backup locations

Retrieve the status of a backup location with GET requests.

GET /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}

Infinispan responds with the status of each node in the site in JSON format, as in the following example:

{
  "NodeA":"offline",
  "NodeB":"online"
}
Table 2. Returned Status
Value Description

online

The node is online.

offline

The node is offline.

failed

Not possible to retrieve status. The remote cache could be shutting down or a network error occurred during the request.

4.3. Taking backup locations offline

Take backup locations offline with POST requests and the ?action=take-offline parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=take-offline

4.4. Bringing backup locations online

Bring backup locations online with the ?action=bring-online parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=bring-online

4.5. Pushing state to backup locations

Push cache state to a backup location with the ?action=start-push-state parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=start-push-state

4.6. Canceling state transfer

Cancel state transfer operations with the ?action=cancel-push-state parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=cancel-push-state

4.7. Getting state transfer status

Retrieve status of state transfer operations with the ?action=push-state-status parameter.

GET /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups?action=push-state-status

Infinispan responds with the status of state transfer for each backup location in JSON format, as in the following example:

{
   "NYC":"CANCELED",
   "LON":"OK"
}
Table 3. Returned status
Value Description

SENDING

State transfer to the backup location is in progress.

OK

State transfer completed successfully.

ERROR

An error occurred with state transfer. Check log files.

CANCELLING

State transfer cancellation is in progress.

4.8. Clearing state transfer status

Clear state transfer status for sending sites with the ?action=clear-push-state-status parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/local?action=clear-push-state-status

4.9. Modifying take offline conditions

Sites go offline if certain conditions are met. Modify the take offline parameters to control when backup locations automatically go offline.

Procedure

  1. Check configured take offline parameters with GET requests and the take-offline-config parameter.

    GET /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}/take-offline-config

    The Infinispan response includes after_failures and min_wait fields as follows:

    {
  "after_failures": 2,
  "min_wait": 1000
}

  2. Modify take offline parameters in the body of PUT requests.

    PUT /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}/take-offline-config

    If the operation successfully completes, the service returns 204 (No Content).

4.10. Canceling state transfer from receiving sites

If the connection between two backup locations breaks, you can cancel state transfer on the site that is receiving the push.

Cancel state transfer from a remote site and keep the current state of the local cache with the ?action=cancel-receive-state parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=cancel-receive-state

4.11. Getting status of backup locations

Retrieve the status of all backup locations with GET requests.

GET /rest/v2/container/x-site/backups/

Infinispan responds with status in JSON format, as in the following example:

{
   "SFO-3":{
      "status":"online"
   },
   "NYC-2":{
      "status":"mixed",
      "online":[
         "CACHE_1"
      ],
      "offline":[
         "CACHE_2"
      ],
      "mixed": [
         "CACHE_3"
      ]
   }
}
Table 4. Returned status
Value Description

online

All nodes in the local cluster have a cross-site view with the backup location.

offline

No nodes in the local cluster have a cross-site view with the backup location.

mixed

Some nodes in the local cluster have a cross-site view with the backup location, other nodes in the local cluster do not have a cross-site view. The response indicates status for each node.

 
GET /rest/v2/container/x-site/backups/{site}

Returns the status for a single backup location.

4.12. Taking backup locations offline

Take backup locations offline with the ?action=take-offline parameter.

POST /rest/v2/container/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=take-offline

4.13. Bringing backup locations online

Bring backup locations online with the ?action=bring-online parameter.

POST /rest/v2/container/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=bring-online

4.14. Retrieving the state transfer mode

Check the state transfer mode with GET requests.

GET /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{site}/state-transfer-mode

4.15. Setting the state transfer mode

Configure the state transfer mode with the ?action=set parameter.

POST /rest/v2/caches/{cacheName}/x-site/backups/{site}/state-transfer-mode?action=set&mode={mode}

4.16. Starting state transfer

Push state of all caches to remote sites with the ?action=start-push-state parameter.

POST /rest/v2/container/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=start-push-state

4.17. Canceling state transfer

Cancel ongoing state transfer operations with the ?action=cancel-push-state parameter.

POST /rest/v2/container/x-site/backups/{siteName}?action=cancel-push-state

5. Performing cross-site operations via JMX

Perform cross-site operations such as pushing state transfer and bringing sites online via JMX.

5.1. Registering JMX MBeans

Infinispan can register JMX MBeans that you can use to collect statistics and perform administrative operations. You must also enable statistics otherwise Infinispan provides 0 values for all statistic attributes in JMX MBeans.

Use JMX Mbeans for collecting statistics only when Infinispan is embedded in applications and not with a remote Infinispan server.

When you use JMX Mbeans for collecting statistics from a remote Infinispan server, the data received from JMX Mbeans might differ from the data received from other APIs such as REST. In such cases the data received from the other APIs is more accurate.
Procedure

  1. Open your Infinispan configuration for editing.

  2. Add the jmx element or object to the cache container and specify true as the value for the enabled attribute or field.

  3. Add the domain attribute or field and specify the domain where JMX MBeans are exposed, if required.

  4. Save and close your client configuration.

JMX configuration

XML
<infinispan>
  <cache-container statistics="true">
    <jmx enabled="true"
         domain="example.com"/>
  </cache-container>
</infinispan>
JSON
{
  "infinispan" : {
    "cache-container" : {
      "statistics" : "true",
      "jmx" : {
        "enabled" : "true",
        "domain" : "example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}
YAML
infinispan:
  cacheContainer:
    statistics: "true"
    jmx:
      enabled: "true"
      domain: "example.com"

5.2. Performing cross-site operations with JMX clients

Perform cross-site operations with JMX clients.

Prerequisites

  • Configure Infinispan to register JMX MBeans

Procedure

  1. Connect to Infinispan with any JMX client.

  2. Invoke operations from the following MBeans:

    • XSiteAdmin provides cross-site operations for caches.

    • GlobalXSiteAdminOperations provides cross-site operations for Cache Managers.

      For example, to bring sites back online, invoke bringSiteOnline(siteName).

Additional resources

5.3. JMX MBeans for cross-site replication

Infinispan provides JMX MBeans for cross-site replication that let you gather statistics and perform remote operations.

The org.infinispan:type=Cache component provides the following JMX MBeans:

  • XSiteAdmin exposes cross-site operations that apply to specific cache instances.

  • RpcManager provides statistics about network requests for cross-site replication.

  • AsyncXSiteStatistics provides statistics for asynchronous cross-site replication, including queue size and number of conflicts.

The org.infinispan:type=CacheManager component includes the following JMX MBean:

  • GlobalXSiteAdminOperations exposes cross-site operations that apply to all caches in a cache container.

For details about JMX MBeans along with descriptions of available operations and statistics, see the Infinispan JMX Components documentation.

Additional resources