JWP Role Best Practices for Load-Balanced Environments - Automic Automation

Products

• CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine
• CA Automic One Automation

Issue/Introduction

In large or high-activity Automic Automation systems, insufficient Java Work Process (JWP) resources can lead to system slowness, login failures, and search issues. This occurs when JWPs become occupied with long-running process monitoring queries, preventing them from handling critical Authentication (AUT) and Indexing (IDX) tasks.

Environment

• Automic Automation Engine 21.x, 24.x
• Load-balanced environments with multiple server nodes.

Resolution

Follow these best practices to ensure stable performance and resource availability for critical JWP roles.

1. Configure Role Definitions in the AWI Ensure the system is configured to allow multiple processes to handle critical roles:

1. Log in to Client 0.
2. Navigate to Administration > Automation Engine Management > JWP Roles.
3. Set the Defined column to 2 for the AUT, IDX, and UTL roles. (Note: The PER role is restricted to a limit of 1).

2. Implement Dedicated Roles via Service Manager To guarantee resources for critical functions, hardcode roles to specific JWPs on each server node:

1. Start a minimum of 4 JWPs per server node.
2. Open the Service Manager dialog on each server.
3. Modify the start command for the first JWP to include -role=AUT.
   • Example: java -Xrs -Xmx2G -jar ucsrvjp.jar -Iucsrv.ini -svc%port% -role=AUT
4. Modify the start command for the second JWP to include -role=IDX.
   • Example: java -Xrs -Xmx2G -jar ucsrvjp.jar -Iucsrv.ini -svc%port% -role=IDX
5. Start the remaining two JWPs without explicit role parameters to serve as general workers.

Important Failover Note: JWPs with hardcoded roles (-role=) are dedicated to that specific task and cannot automatically take over other roles if a process fails. By running redundant dedicated JWPs across multiple load-balanced nodes, the risk of a single point of failure is mitigated while ensuring task stability.

Additional Information

• For more details on JWP configuration, see JWP Roles
• For more details on JWP recommendations, see Automic Automation System Requirements and Sizing