Helix Broker

This topic assumes you have read the Guidelines for setting up multi-server services

The broker A Helix Core component that is able to apply rules and scripts based on incoming commands before passing them to a designated Helix Core Server. is transparent to end users because they connect to a Helix Broker in the same way they would connect to any other Helix Core Server.

Historically, brokers were the only means to offload 'read only' traffic from a master server to a replica. We now recommend using forwarding-replica or forwarding-standby servers for such offloading because they handle it automatically. See Standby and forwarding-standby.

You do not need to back up the broker. If the broker fails, restart it and make sure that its configuration file has not been corrupted.

Broker configuration and protections

The work needed to install and configure a broker is minimal: the administrator needs to configure the broker and configure the users to access the Helix Core Server through the broker. Broker configuration involves the use of a configuration file that contains rules for specifying which commands individual users can execute and how commands are to be redirected to the appropriate Perforce service. For details, see Configure the broker.

When a user is accessing Helix Core Server through a Helix Broker or Proxy, the string proxy- is automatically prepended to the user's IP address used by the Helix Server. That string can be used in the protections table to define whether a user must connect by means of a proxy or broker, or can connect directly to the Helix Server. For details and an example, see Proxy and broker protections.