Types of VFabric-GemFire Configurations

This post is to talk about types of configurations.
How to configure distributed system and cache properties for your vFabric GemFire installation.
For your applications, it provides guidance for writing code to manage your cache and distributed system connection, data regions, and data entries, including custom classes.

• Distributed System and Cache Configuration
  To work with your vFabric GemFire applications, you use a combination of configuration files and application code.

1. Distributed System Members
   Distributed system members are programs that connect to a vFabric GemFire distributed system. You configure members to belong to a single distributed system, and you can optionally configure them to be clients or servers to members in other distributed systems, and to communicate with other distributed systems.
2. Options for Configuring the Distributed System
   GemFire provides a default distributed system configuration, for out-of-the-box systems. To use non-default configurations and to fine-tune your member communication, you will customize your system configuration. You can use a mix of various options for customizing your distributed system configuration.
3. Options for Configuring the Cache and Data Regions
   To populate your vFabric GemFire cache and fine-tune its storage and distribution behavior, you need to define cached data regions and provide custom configuration for the cache and regions.
4. Local and Remote Membership and Caching
   For many vFabric GemFire discussions, you need to understand the difference between local and remote membership and caching.

• Cache Management
  The vFabric GemFire cache is the entry point to GemFire caching management. GemFire provides different APIs and XML configuration models to support the behaviors of different members.

1. Introduction to Cache Management
   The cache provides in-memory storage and management for your data.
2. Managing a Peer or Server Cache
   You start your peer or server cache using a combination of XML declarations and API calls. Close the cache when you are done.
3. Managing a Client Cache
   You have several options for client cache configuration. Start your client cache using a combination of XML declarations and API calls. Close the client cache when you are done.
4. Managing a Cache in a Secure System
   When you create your cache in a secure system, you provide credentials to the connection process for authentication by already-running, secure members. Clients connect to secure servers. Peers are authenticated by secure locators or peer members.
5. Managing Region Services for Multiple Secure Users
   In a secure system, you can create clients with multiple, secure connections to the servers from each client. The most common use case is a GemFire client embedded in an application server that supports data requests from many users. Each user may be authorized to access a subset of data on the servers. For example, customer users may be allowed to see and update only their own orders and shipments.
6. Launching an Application after Initializing the Cache
   You can specify a callback application that is launched after the cache initialization.

• Data Regions
  The region is the core building block of the vFabric GemFire distributed system. All cached data is organized into data regions and you do all of your data puts, gets, and querying activities against them.

1. Data Region Management
   GemFire provides different APIs and XML configuration models to support configuration and management of your data regions.
2. Creating a Region with gfsh
   A simple and fast way to create a data region in the vFabric GemFire cache is to use the gfsh command-line tool.
3. Creating a Region Through the cache.xml File
   A common way to create a data region in the vFabric GemFire cache is through cache.xml declarations.
4. Creating a Region Through the API
   You can use the GemFire caching API to create regions in your cache after startup. For run-time region creation, you need to use the API.
5. Region Naming
   To get the full range of vFabric GemFire capabilities for your cached data regions, follow Gem Fire's region naming guidelines.
6. Region Shortcuts and Custom Named Region Attributes
   GemFire provides region shortcut settings, with preset region configurations for the most common region types. For the easiest configuration, start with a shortcut setting and customize as needed. You can also store your own custom configurations in the cache for use by multiple regions.
7. Storing and Retrieving Region Shortcuts and Custom Named Region Attributes
   Use these examples to get started with GemFire region shortcuts.
8. Managing Region Attributes
   Use region attributes to fine-tune the region configuration provided by the region shortcut settings.
9. Creating Custom Attributes for Regions and Entries
   Use custom attributes to store information related to your region or its entries in your cache. These attributes are only visible to the local application and are not distributed.
• Data Entries
  The data entry is the key/value pair where you store your data. You can manage your entries individually and in batches. To use domain objects for your entry values and keys, you need to follow vFabric GemFire requirements for data storage and distribution.
  
  1. Managing Data Entries
     Program your applications to create, modify, and manage your cached data entries.
  2. Requirements for Using Custom Classes in Data Caching
     Follow these guidelines to use custom domain classes for your cached entry keys and values.

Contributed by VMware.