Ok, here's the short story. I work at a place where we use Websphere
Application Server with Oracle. Our environment consists of around 8
servers, each with Websphere along with one of the servers as Oracle.
Our architects along with help from IBM originally setup these WAS
servers to use the IP Address instead of a hostname or FQHN, etc.
Since these clusters are setup on a private LAN to talk to one
another, this works how it is. We usually have them talking with one
another either thru their own switch or VLAN, using IP Addresses.
We have a partnership with another company who does testing (sort of
like our QA department) and they hired this guy who claims he knows
everything that takes the servers we setup and installs/integrates it
into their environment to test. Even though he's never touched
websphere before he got hired, he's now trying to demans we change our
long process of using FQHN instead, saying it's best practice and
claims that IBM Websphere documentation says to avoid using IP
Addresses, even though IBM from the beginning helped us setup our
clusters with IP Addresses. (To make that portion short, our actual
client who uses this environment will not allow a separate DNS for
FQHN). I also believe that if you want to go by best practices, you
would skip setting these up using the /etc/hosts like this guy wants
done on each server but this is just making a simple setup more
complicated cause we gave them a new cluster and they refuse to put
the backend IP Addresses we used on its own VLAN or buy a switch.
Can anyone tell me if there's any documentation that actually states
in writing that IBM says to avoid using IP addresses when setting up
WAS, even though I've seen some documentation use IP Addresses instead
of hostnames when setting up clusters?
And trust me, I've been a Unix admin for a long time, I understand
"best practices" but I also believe in, "if it isn't broke, don't fix
it". I have a case against this guys demands so we don't have to
change our whole process of delivery and we want their test
environment exactly how production is setup but I hate it when people
might be blurting out things that aren't necessarily true.
Thanks.
Newsgroups: ibm.software.websphere.application-server
From: "Ben_" <re...@newsgroup.com>
Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:27:51 +0200
Local: Sat, May 17 2008 3:27 am
Subject: Re: Best Practices
they hired this guy who claims he knows everything
Exporting your frustation here won't help... :-)
> saying it's best practice and claims that IBM Websphere documentation says
> to avoid using IP Addresses
Generally speaking, it's indeed recommended to use DNS aliases instead
of IP
addresses or real hostname for the flexibility it brings in terms of
network
and system management.
A drawback of this I can think of is that it opens the server to DNS
spoofing attacks.
> even though IBM from the beginning helped us
It's not a guarantee. I saw IBM consultants do weird things to say
the
least... :-)
> they refuse to put the backend IP Addresses we used on its own VLAN or buy
> a switch.
I don't understand what you mean here.
If they prefer to use hostname, they can put it in your/their DNS.
> Can anyone tell me if there's any documentation that actually states in
> writing that IBM says to avoid using IP addresses when setting up WAS,
> even though I've seen some documentation use IP Addresses instead of
> hostnames when setting up clusters?
There is enough formal documentation where use of IP or hostname are
mentionned, be it in Technotes or InfoCenter.
E.g. this Technote explains how to change it:
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas1c6cf048cd783df7b8625....
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