7.5. The Replication Queue

In replication mode, Red Hat JBoss Data Grid uses a replication queue to replicate changes across nodes based on the following:
  • Previously set intervals.
  • The queue size exceeding the number of elements.
  • A combination of previously set intervals and the queue size exceeding the number of elements.
The replication queue ensures that during replication, cache operations are transmitted in batches instead of individually. As a result, a lower number of replication messages are transmitted and fewer envelopes are used, resulting in improved JBoss Data Grid performance.
A disadvantage of using the replication queue is that the queue is periodically flushed based on the time or the queue size. Such flushing operations delay the realization of replication, distribution, or invalidation operations across cluster nodes. When the replication queue is disabled, the data is directly transmitted and therefore the data arrives at the cluster nodes faster.
A replication queue is used in conjunction with asynchronous mode.

7.5.1. Replication Queue Usage

When using the replication queue, do one of the following:
  • Disable asynchronous marshalling.
  • Set the max-threads count value to 1 for the executor attribute of the transport element. The executor is only available in Library Mode, and is therefore defined in its configuration file as follows:
    <transport executor="infinispan-transport"/>
To implement either of these solutions, the replication queue must be in use in asynchronous mode. Asynchronous mode can be set, along with the queue timeout (queue-flush-interval, value is in milliseconds) and queue size (queue-size) as follows:

Example 7.1. Replication Queue in Asynchronous Mode

<replicated-cache name="asyncCache" 
                  start="EAGER"
                  mode="ASYNC"
                  batching="false"
                  indexing="NONE"
                  statistics="true"
                  queue-size="1000"
                  queue-flush-interval="500">   
              <!-- Additional configuration information here -->
</replicated-cache>
The replication queue allows requests to return to the client faster, therefore using the replication queue together with asynchronous marshalling does not present any significant advantages.