Configuring a centralized global datastore

In order to set up high availability MFT Server clusters, all nodes in the cluster must have exactly the same server configurations. In a default installation of MFT Server, server configuration data is stored in a built-in H2 (embedded) database that serves as the server's global datastore. The H2 database cannot be used for high availability purposes. It also should not be used in an MFT Server production environment. A more robust database should be used, as described below.

 

What is required is an external relational database management system (RDBMS) like MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle or PostgreSQL that will serve as a shared or centralized global datastore to all nodes in the HA cluster. This implementation means that any changes made to the server configuration of one MFT Server instance will be automatically applied to all other nodes in the cluster  

 

Note: If you are using the H2 database, read how to migrate the data by clicking here: Migrating existing data to a centralized global datastore

 

See the steps below to configure a centralized global datastore using your preferred RDBMS.

 

  1. Create an empty database in the external RDBMS that will hold the server configuration data and create a user account there that has the correct permissions for the said database. You will use this account to connect to this database from MFT Server. Don't create any tables on this database. Instructions for creating the necessary tables are discussed in Step 6 below.

     

  2. Install MFT Server as you normally would. Please note that during the installation, you will need to configure the database settings. Use the custom database option (not the embedded H2 database) and enter the database URL, username and password.

     

 

  1. Login to the Web-based administrative UI.

     

  2. Navigate to Settings > DATASTORE > Datastore

     

  3. Enter the JDBC URL of your external relational database. For example, for a MySQL database named jscapeconfig hosted on a machine with IP address 192.168.100.105, the jdbc URL would be jdbc:mysql://192.168.100.105/jscapeconfig. The JDBC URL varies from one RDBMS to another, so please check your RDBMS documentation for more information. Also enter the username and password of the database user account created in Step 1. Make sure that account has the necessary privileges/access rights.

     

  4. Click the Create DB button. This will populate the database with the tables needed for storing the MFT Server configurations. You may also click the Test Parameters button to test whether everything is alright.

     

  5. If everything proceeds smoothly, click on the Apply button. After doing so, you will be automatically logged out from the Web UI. You can log back in as desired.

 

This completes the instructions for configuring a centralized global datastore.