Closes the residual Phase-7 gap: when BOTH nodes of a 2-node pair cold-start at the
same instant, each self-first seed runs FirstSeedNodeProcess, times out waiting for
the other, and forms its own 1-node cluster — two Primaries in one pair (the Phase 6
live gate reproduced this reliably on docker). The prior mitigation was operational
(staggered start / compose depends_on), which does not exist on production hardware.
The guard (dark switch Cluster:BootstrapGuard:Enabled, default OFF) prevents the split
without giving up cold-start-alone:
- The lower-address node is the preferred founder: self-first, forms immediately.
- The higher node probes its partner's Akka port (TCP connect) up to PartnerProbeSeconds:
reachable => peer-first (join the founder, never race it); unreachable => self-first
(partner is dead, form alone). The order is decided BEFORE the single JoinSeedNodes,
from an explicit reachability signal — never re-formed mid-handshake (the retired
SelfFormAfter failure mode). When on, Akka gets no config seeds (BuildClusterOptions)
and ClusterBootstrapCoordinator drives the join.
Review-driven hardening: case-insensitive tie-break (a hostname-casing mismatch would
reopen the split); fail-fast validation of the timing knobs; the residual "founder dies
in the probe->join window" hang is documented and made operator-visible (warning + a
restart recovers). Real-ActorSystem coordinator tests cover the load-bearing higher-node
cold-start-alone case; 147/147 Cluster tests pass.
Live-gated on docker-dev (site-a = enablement demo, serialization removed, guard on;
site-b keeps depends_on-serialization + guard off as the A/B control): simultaneous
start -> site-a-1 founds, site-a-2 probes-reachable-joins -> 250/240, NO split;
higher-node-alone -> probes dead founder, self-forms -> 250; founder rejoin -> 240.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01GASWkNEi68FSCtvr6rLoEW
Akka runs FirstSeedNodeProcess -- the only bootstrap path that can form a NEW
cluster when no peer answers InitJoin -- exclusively when seed-nodes[0] is the
node's own address. Every other node runs JoinSeedNodeProcess and retries
InitJoin forever. That is why "both peers are seeds" never meant "either can
cold-start alone", and it is fixed here the way Akka itself intends: each seed
node lists ITSELF first.
- docker-dev central-2 now lists itself as SeedNodes__0 (central-1 was already
self-first). The site nodes are untouched -- they seed off central-1 only and
are deliberately not seeds.
- AkkaClusterOptionsValidator enforces the invariant at boot via the shared
ZB.MOM.WW.Configuration AddValidatedOptions/ValidateOnStart seam. The rule is
CONDITIONAL -- self must be seed[0] only IF self is in the list at all -- or it
would refuse to boot every driver-only site node. Identity is compared on
PublicHostname (falling back to Hostname when blank) AND port, i.e. the address
Akka puts in SelfAddress: matching the 0.0.0.0 bind address would find no seed
anywhere and leave the rule silently inert on the whole docker-dev rig.
- ClusterBootstrapFallback + Cluster:SelfFormAfter are DELETED. The watchdog sat
outside Akka's join handshake, so it could not distinguish "no seed answered"
from "a seed answered and the join is in flight" -- and Cluster.Join(SelfAddress)
is not ignored mid-handshake, it wins. The live gate (ea45ace1) caught it
islanding a node that a manual failover had bounced: InitJoinAck received, no
Welcome inside the window because the peer's ring still held the old
incarnation, watchdog fired, second cluster. The TCP reachability guard patched
that one shape; the race stayed. It was also inert for every non-seed node, so
after this change it can never usefully fire.
- SelfFormBootstrapTests -> SelfFirstSeedBootstrapTests: real in-process clusters
through the production bootstrap at production failure-detection timings, incl.
a falsifiability control proving the OLD peer-first ordering never forms (that
test failed at 11s against the watchdog, which is what proved the retirement),
the restart-into-a-live-peer case that killed the watchdog, and a simultaneous
cold start converging on ONE cluster.
Mirrors ScadaBridge 4a6341d8; anticipates per-cluster-mesh-program Phase 6, which
had this retirement queued.
Joseph Doherty