Planning a PolicyCenter cluster

Plan the cluster so that if any one server fails, the other servers in the cluster can handle its traffic without being overwhelmed. PolicyCenter servers in the cluster can run on separate computers, or you can run multiple servers on the same computer. Guidewire recommends you maintain at least three PolicyCenter servers in the cluster, whether on the same or different physical computers. With multiple servers running on the same computer, in the event of a failure, then all servers are unusable. Of course, the exact configuration depends on specific usage needs.

To establish a cluster, you must also install your own load balancing solution. The load balancer acts as the bridge between client connections and the private network. Clients send a connection request to the load balancer and it routes the request to a PolicyCenter server. The load balancer must implement session affinity, meaning that it must route connections from the same user session to the same PolicyCenter server. If the load balancer directed a user to a different server, the session is reset. This can result in loss of unsaved data.