Nodes

When you install PowerCenter Services on a machine, you add the machine to the domain as a node. You can add multiple nodes to a domain. Each node in the domain runs a Service Manager that manages domain operations on that node. The operations that the Service Manager performs depend on the type of node. A node can be a gateway node or a worker node. You can subscribe to alerts to receive notification about node events such as node failure or a master gateway election.

Gateway Nodes
A gateway node is any node you configure to serve as a gateway for the domain. One node acts as the gateway at any given time. That node is called the master gateway. A gateway node can run application services, and it can serve as a master gateway node. The master gateway node is the entry point to the domain.

The Service Manager on the master gateway node performs all domain operations on the master gateway node. The Service Manager running on other gateway nodes performs limited domain operations on those nodes.

You can configure more than one node to serve as a gateway. If the master gateway node becomes unavailable, the Service Manager on other gateway nodes elect another master gateway node. If you configure one node to serve as the gateway and the node becomes unavailable, the domain cannot accept service requests.

Worker Nodes
A worker node is any node not configured to serve as a gateway. A worker node can run application services, but it cannot serve as a gateway. The Service Manager performs limited domain operations on a worker node.