Best way to manage a web application on many servers
I currently have the following set up:
Server A: Installed SWS 6.1 with Web application
Server B: Installed SWS 6.1 with Web application
Server C: Installed SWS 6.1 with Web application
Server Cluster CD: Installed SWS 6.1 with Web application
Test server E: Installed SWS 6.1 with Web application
These four servers run the same Web application and function as backups, or regional application servers. The Web application is used in a number of countries, so one reason I have the servers is to improve speed.
When I modify a file on my test server, and am ready to make it live (i.e. a Servlet or JSP), I manually copy that file to each server. I don't compile the entire Web application into a .war to distribute the .war.
Question 1) Is this the best way to keep these servers updated and "mirrored"? Or is there some nifty process or procedure that I am not aware of that will facilitate mirroring Web applications?
Question 2) At some point, I'd like to use the new Netbeans 5 / SWS 7.0 integrated feature to update my servers. (a) will the update from SWS 6.1 to SWS 7.0 be a very difficult task - given that I want as little downtime as possible? (b) For SWS 7.0, I need to have java 5 installed. Will the update from 1.4 to 5 cause problems (i.e. from a SWS perspective)?
The Web application I create and manage never created many problems for me. But slowly, the business processes that use this Web application are growing, and mere minutes of downtime create dozens (luckily not hundreds yet) of new user complaints. So, I want to streamline the update/mirroring process as much as possible. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Dailysun
