Upgrading to a clustered listener environment

Follow these instructions if you want to upgrade your existing single-listener configuration for Unica Campaign to a clustered listener configuration. A listener cluster is a set of two or more listeners that act as a unit to provide load balancing and high availability. Unica Campaign listener clusters are Active-Active; meaning each node serves requests using the load-balanced approach. Each Unica Campaign listener provides an interface between front-end clients (such as the Unica Campaign web application) and back-end analytical server processes.

Procedure

  1. Confirm that you have met the prerequisites listed in Supported listener clustering configurations. For example, it is important that a shared file location is already configured and that you have prepared separate machines for each node in the cluster.
  2. Follow the instructions in Planning the Unica Optimize and Unica Optimize upgrade.
  3. Familiarize yourself with the material in Upgrading Unica Campaign and Unica Optimize.
  4. Follow the instructions below to upgrade to a clustered listener configuration.
    StepDescription
    A. Start the installer. Go to the folder where you saved the Unica installer and run the installer. This invokes all of the product installers that are in that location (Unica Platform, Unica Campaign).
    B. Upgrade Unica Platform if necessary. If you have not already done so, complete the screens that upgrade Platform, and click Done on the Installation Complete window.
    C. Upgrade Unica Campaign in a clustered listener configuration, optionally including the first listener. The Unica Campaign installer opens. In this installer, you must configure Unica Campaign for a clustered configuration and, optionally, upgrade the first listener in the cluster as well. One listener in the cluster may already be installed on the Unica Campaign server; however, each subsequent listener must be installed on its own standalone server. To upgrade Unica Campaign to a clustered listener configuration, complete the following screens:
    • Introduction
    • Software License Agreement
    • Installation Directory
    • Components: Select the desired options and be sure to select Unica Campaign Server, which is the option to install the listener.
    • Single or Multiple Listeners: Select Clustered listener configuration (two or more nodes)
    • Listener Node Properties: "Run Campaign flowcharts" or "Run Optimize Sessions" or "Run Campaign flowcharts and Optimize Sessions both" to install Campaign Analytical Server to serve Campaign or Optimize or both.
    • Complete the following screens to upgrade the first listener:
      • Shared Network File Location. The clustered listener configuration requires that certain files and folders are shared and accessible to all of the listeners in a cluster. Use this screen to specify the path to the shared file location. Use a mapped Microsoft Windows server path (such as Z:\Campaign_Shared) or a mounted UNIX path (such as /mnt/Campaign_Shared). This location is known as the campaignSharedHome.
      • Move Listener files to the Shared Network Location. Choose Automatic (recommended) or Manual. If you choose Automatic, the installer copies partition data to the campaignSharedHome location. If you choose Manual, you must manually copy the partition[n] data to campaignSharedHome.
      • Listener Node Properties. For each listener node that you install in a cluster, you must specify properties such as a unique name for the node, the node's network host and port, and so on.
      • Master Listener Priority. The priority determines which node in the listener cluster is the master listener and which node to use in the event of failover.
      • Load Balancing Weight. The weight determines how much listener traffic the node can support to share processing with the other nodes. Specify any value other than zero because a value of zero prevents the node from handling any listener connections.
    D. Continue with the upgrade process.

    From this point in the upgrade process, the remaining screens are essentially the same as for a single-node upgrade. When you complete the Pre-installation Summary screen, click Install to complete the upgrade of Unica Campaign and the first listener node in the cluster.

    The Unica Campaign installer runs with the options that you specified.

    If you selected Automatic for Move Listener files to the Shared Network Location, certain files are moved from the original installation directory to the campaignSharedHome directory structure. Unica Campaign-related objects (such as .ses files and .dat files) are now located under the shared partition location, not the local installation location. For details, see Shared network location for clustered listeners: campaignSharedHome.
    E. Run the acUpgrade tool. Run the acUpgrade tool as described in Running acUpgradeTool and complete any additional upgrade tasks before continuing.
    F. Deploy and package the EAR file.

    For the first installer node in the cluster, which you are installing on the main Unica Campaign server, the installer displays screens to deploy and package the EAR file, the same as for a single-node installation.

    Continue with the process of deploying and running Unica Campaign in your web application server, and running the listener on the Unica Campaign server.
    G. Install the second node in the cluster.
    Important: Each listener node must be installed on a separate machine.

    If you have not already done so, copy the Unica master installer and the Unica Campaign installation files onto the server where your next Unica Campaign installer node will run, and launch the master installer.

    In the master installer, provide the information necessary to connect to the Unica Platform database, exactly the same way as for the first listener that you installed. Each listener in the same cluster must use the same master installer configuration.

    When the Unica Campaign installer appears, complete the screens described here:

    • Introduction
    • Software License Agreement
    • Installation Directory
    • Campaign Components: Select only Campaign Server, because you are only installing the listener on this system.
    • Single or Multiple Listeners: Select Clustered listener configuration (two or more nodes)
    • Complete the following screens to install the second listener:
      • Shared Network File Location. The clustered listener configuration requires that certain files and folders are shared and accessible to all of the listeners in a cluster. Use this screen to specify the path to the shared file location. Use a mapped Microsoft Windows server path (such as Z:\Campaign_Shared or \\hostname.example.com\Campaign_Shared) or a mounted UNIX path (such as /mnt/Campaign_Shared).
        Note: The value that you enter here must be the same for every listener in the cluster.
      • Listener Node Properties. For each listener node that you install in a cluster, you must specify properties such as a unique name for the node, the node's network host and port, and so on.
      • Master Listener Priority. The priority determines which node in the listener cluster is the master listener, and the priority used to determine which node to use in the event of failover.
      • Load Balancing Weight. The weight determines how much listener traffic the node can support for sharing the processing with the other nodes. Specify any value other than zero, because a value of zero prevents the node from handling any listener connections.

    From this point in the installation process, the remaining screens are essentially the same as for a single-node install. When you complete the Pre-installation Summary screen, click Install to complete the installation of Unica Campaign and the first listener node in the cluster.

    The Unica Campaign installer runs with the options that you specified.
    H. Start the Unica Campaign listener on the second node.

    When the installation is complete, start the Unica Campaign listener. See Starting the Unica Campaign server.
    I. Install each subsequent node in the cluster. Repeat the installation steps that you performed for the second listener node for each additional node that you want to install. Remember that each node must be installed on a separate system from the other nodes. Start the listener on each node as you complete its installation.
    J. This step is required only if you did a Manual update. If you did an Automatic update, skip this step.

    If you selected Manual for Move Listener files to the Shared Network Location, set up the campaignSharedHome folder structure as described above, and copy the required files from the local installation directory to the campaignSharedHome.
    K. Adjust configuration settings, then restart the web application server and listeners. Log in to Unica Campaign and set the following configuration properties:
    • Campaign|campaignClustering: Set enableClustering to TRUE.
    • Campaign|campaignClustering: Set campaignSharedHome to the Shared Network File Location (campaignSharedHome) that you specified during the upgrade.

    Configuration properties are explained in the Unica Campaign Administrator's Guide.

    Be sure to restart the web application server and the listeners.

Results

You have now upgraded to a clustered listener configuration.