39.26 Summary

This chapter provided a detailed discussion of IceGrid, including the modifications required to incorporate IceGrid into client and server applications, as well as the configuration and administration of IceGrid components. Once you understand the basic concepts on which IceGrid is founded, you quickly begin to appreciate the flexibility, power, and convenience of IceGrid’s capabilities:

• Replication, load balancing, and automatic server activation increase reliability and make more efficient use of processing resources.

• The location service simplifies administrative requirements and minimizes coupling between clients and servers.

• Deploying an application can be done using easily-understood, reusable XML files, or interactively using a graphical client.

• Distributing and updating executables, dependent libraries and other files on all nodes can be automated and managed remotely.

In short, IceGrid provides the tools you need to develop robust, enterprise-class Ice applications.