Cells

 

Cells are arbitrary, logical groupings of one or more nodes in a WAS distributed network.

A cell is a configuration concept, a way for administrators to logically associate nodes with one another. Administrators define the nodes that make up a cell according to whatever criteria make sense in their organizational environments.

Administrative configuration data is stored in XML files. A cell retains master configuration files for each server in each node in the cell. Each node and server also have their own local configuration files. Changes to a local node or server configuration file are temporary, if the server belongs to the cell. While in effect, local changes override cell configurations. Changes at the cell level to server and node configuration files are permanent. Synchronization occurs at designated events, such as when a server starts.