Topology and Communication General Concepts

Before you configure your VMware GemFire members, make sure you understand the options for topology and communication.

• Topology Types

  The VMware GemFire topology options allow you to scale horizontally and vertically.

• Planning Topology and Communication

  Create a topology plan and a detailed list of machines and communication ports that your members will use. Configure your VMware GemFire systems and the communication between systems.

• How Member Discovery Works

  VMware GemFire provides various options for member discovery within a cluster and between clients and servers.

• How Communication Works

  VMware GemFire uses a combination of TCP and UDP unicast and multicast for communication between members. You can change the default behavior to optimize communication for your system.

• Using Bind Addresses

  You use a bind address configuration to send network traffic through non-default network cards and to distribute the load of network traffic for VMware GemFire across multiple cards. If no bind address setting is found, VMware GemFire uses the host machine’s default address.

• Choosing Between IPv4 and IPv6

  By default, VMware GemFire uses Internet Protocol version 4 for VMware GemFire address specifications. You can switch to Internet Protocol version 6 if all your machines support it. You may lose performance, so you need to understand the costs of making the switch.