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Appendix A. workers.properties Reference

Apache httpd Server worker nodes are Servlet containers that are mapped to the mod_jk load balancer. The worker nodes are defined in HTTPD_DIST/conf/workers.properties. This file specifies where the different Servlet containers are located, and how calls should be load-balanced across them.
The workers.properties file contains two sections:
Global Properties
This section contains directives that apply to all workers.
Worker Properties
This section contains directives that apply to each individual worker.
Each node is defined using the Worker Properties naming convention. The worker name can only contain alphanumeric characters, limited to [a-z][A-Z][0-9][_-/].
The structure of a Worker Property is worker.worker_name.directive
worker
The constant prefix for all worker properties.
worker_name
The arbitrary name given to the worker. For example: node1, node_01, Node_1.
directive
The specific directive required.
The main directives required to configure worker nodes are described below.

Note

For the full list of worker.properties configuration directives, refer directly to the Apache Tomcat Connector - Reference Guide

worker.properties Global Directives

worker.list
Specifies the list of worker names used by mod_jk. The workers in this list are available to map requests to.

Note

A single node configuration, which is not managed by a load balancer, must be set to worker.list=[worker name].

workers.properties Mandatory Directives

type
Specifies the type of worker, which determines the directives applicable to the worker. The default value is ajp13, which is the preferred worker type to select for communication between the web server and Apache httpd Server.
Other values include ajp14, lb, status.
For detailed information about ajp13, refer to The Apache Tomcat Connector - AJP Protocol Reference

workers.properties Connection Directives

host
The hostname or IP address of the worker. The worker node must support the ajp13 protocol stack. The default value is localhost.
You can specify the port directive as part of the host directive by appending the port number after the hostname or IP address. For example: worker.node1.host=192.168.2.1:8009 or worker.node1.host=node1.example.com:8009
port
The port number of the remote server instance listening for defined protocol requests. The default value is 8009, which is the default listen port for AJP13 workers. If you are using AJP14 workers, this value must be set to 8011.
ping_mode
Specifies the conditions under which connections are probed for their current network health.
The probe uses an empty AJP13 packet for the CPing, and expects a CPong in return, within a specified timeout.
You specify the conditions by using a combination of the directive flags. The flags are not comma-separated. For example, a correct directive flag set is worker.node1.ping_mode=CI
C (connect)
Specifies the connection is probed once after connecting to the server. You specify the timeout using the connect_timeout directive, otherwise the value for ping_timeout is used.
P (prepost)
Specifies the connection is probed before sending each request to the server. You specify the timeout using the prepost_timeout directive, otherwise the value for ping_timeout is used.
I (interval)
Specifies the connection is probed during regular internal maintenance cycles. You specify the idle time between each interval using the connection_ping_interval directive, otherwise the value for ping_timeout is used.
A (all)
The most common setting, which specifies all directive flags are applied. For information about the *_timeout advanced directives, refer directly to Apache Tomcat Connector - Reference Guide.
ping_timeout
Specifies the time to wait for CPong answers to a CPing connection probe (refer to ping_mode). The default value is 10000 (milliseconds).

worker.properties Load Balancing Directives

lbfactor
Specifies the load-balancing factor for an individual worker, and is only specified for a member worker of a load balancer.
This directive defines the relative amount of HTTP request load distributed to the worker compared to other workers in the cluster.
A common example where this directive applies is where you want to differentiate servers with greater processing power than others in the cluster. For example, if you require a worker to take three times the load than other workers, specify worker.worker name.lbfactor=3
balance_workers
Specifies the worker nodes that the load balancer must manage. The directive can be used multiple times for the same load balancer, and consists of a comma-separated list of worker names as specified in the workers.properties file.
sticky_session
Specifies whether requests for workers with SESSION IDs are routed back to the same worker. The default is 0 (false). When set to 1 (true), load balancer persistence is enabled.
For example, if you specify worker.loadbalancer.sticky_session=0, each request is load balanced between each node in the cluster. In other words, different requests for the same session will go to different servers based on server load.
If worker.loadbalancer.sticky_session=1, each session is persisted (locked) to one server until the session is terminated, providing that server is available.