LOADBALANCING AT LAYER 4

Loadbalancing Server Clusters

Loadbalancing server clusters is a basic SysMaster function module. Enterprise network administrators can choose from several scheduling and packet forwarding methods to receive the best performance results of their hardware. SysMaster provides high availability and increased reliability for Internet services running on SysMaster network solutions.


Clients send requests to a Virtual Service managed by SysMaster. SysMaster analyzes the load of the servers in the server farm, and forwards the request to the least-loaded Real Server. The server processes the request and sends the reply directly to the client.

Since SysMaster takes into account the individual capabilities of every server, you can put servers with varying capabilities in one cluster, obtaining optimum performance and high utilization of the available resources, and thus reducing future investment costs.

Direct-Path Routing mode for High Speed Loadbalancing
To increase the overall throughput of the server cluster, SysMaster implements the Direct-Path Routing technique allowing servers to send responses directly to the clients without passing through the loadbalancing device.

NAT Loadbalancing
The NAT feature allows for higher security of the internal networks because all servers in the cluster are not directly visible on the Internet due to the network address translation procedure taking place at the SysMaster device.

Loadbalancing Globally Distributed Server Clusters

Global Scalability and Availability (IP Tunneling)

The unique architecture of SysMaster allows loadbalancing to be performed on both a local and global basis. Utilizing the Global IP Tunneling feature of SysMaster, real servers can be geographically distributed, maintaining uninterruptible service even when site-wide failure occurs.

Loadbalancing Network Caches

Companies use network proxy caches to improve Internet performance for internal users and reduce uplink bandwidth usage. Users access the Internet through the proxy cache server that stores frequently requested content. Instead of retrieving the information from the Internet, users use the locally stored content. SysMaster optimizes performance of proxy cache servers providing the quickest possible response to the clients.

SysMaster loadbalances user requests to the cache server best able to process the requests. If the requested data is not available locally, the Proxy server retrieves it from the Internet, and then redirects it to the end user that requested it. The whole process remains totally transparent to the end user. SysMaster facilitates this process by efficiently decreasing the latency time from requesting Internet content to actually receiving it.

Internal users request content from the Internet. SysMaster loadbalances user requests to the cache server best able to process the requests. If the requested data is not available locally, the Proxy server fetches it from the Internet. If the data is available locally, or when it comes from the Internet, it is delivered directly to the client. The whole process remains totally invisible to the end user.

Persistence
SysMaster integrates another feature allowing web users to resume their connection to same server they communicated with initially. SysMaster offers two modes of persistence: Source-Server and Mega Proxy Server.

Setting up IP Pools
With SysMaster, administrators are able to configure a pool of IP addresses that will be mapped to a single real server from the cluster.

Loadbalancing Technology Features of SysMaster

Advanced Flexibility - Huge variety of balanced traffic

SysMaster supports the following IP Protocols:

Web (http), FTP, UDP, DNS, E-Mail, LDAP, TCP, SSL, Streaming Audio, Streaming Video and others.

SysMaster allows for loadbalancing a vast number of different types of network devices:
Internet servers, Firewalls, Routers, Cache servers, Proxy servers,
Multimedia servers, VPN, NFS and LDAP servers, and others.

High Scalability

SysMaster offers exceptional scalability.

Server Level Scalability - Additional servers can be added to the cluster on the fly, or they can be taken out of service for upgrade or maintenance without affecting the quality of service (QoS).

Traffic Level Scalability - When web traffic increases, you can easily add another server to the cluster to achieve the necessary performance gain instead of upgrading expensive hardware. This way, your web site infrastructure can easily grow as the demand for its services increases, while protecting the investments made in the existing servers.

Platform Level Scalability - Can be used with multiple heterogeneous hardware platforms, allowing organizations to protect their investments in their legacy hardware installations, as well as integrate future hardware investments.

Multiple Load Balancing Methods
SysMaster provides a comprehensive choice of loadbalancing algorithms, as well as multiple modes for different VIP groups, that enables an organization to choose a configuration that best meets its needs:

Static Modes
Round Robin - Distributes connections evenly across the servers it is managing, passing connections to the next one in line;

Weighted Round Robin - The Weighted Round Robin algorithm treats the servers of different processing capacities. Each server can be assigned a weight, an integer value that indicates the processing capacity.

Dynamic Modes
Least Connections - Sends new connections to the server with least number of current connections.
Weighted Least Connections - In this mode, the servers with a higher weight value will receive a larger percentage of live connections at any one time;

Optimized Weighted Round Robin - Similar to the Weighted Round Robin algorithm with the addition that each server can be dynamically assigned a weight depending on its current availability and current load;

Optimized Weighted Least Connections - Similar again to the Weighted Round Robin algorithm, but all weights are calculated dynamically to represent the current responsiveness of the servers in the managed server array.

Rate Shaping
SysMaster can be used to assign different priority to specific connections to provide for high level of QoS.

Security

SysMaster has an inherently high level of security because using it, administrators can build high performance server arrays that can failover easily. This is a much more viable and scalable solution than using only one or two powerful but expensive servers whose failure can be critical.

Persistence

SysMaster integrates another feature allowing your users to resume their connection to the server they communicated with. SysMaster offers two modes of persistence: Source-Server and Mega Proxy Sever Persistence - Big enterprises and ISPs use loadbalancing across multiple proxy servers to connect to the Internet.

High Speed

Direct-Path Routing Performance
SysMaster includes a loadbalancing mode called Direct-Path Routing. This mode allows servers to bypass SysMaster when returning traffic to the client. This method allows for supporting an increased number of simultaneous connections that translates to greater throughput of your services as a whole.

Easy Performance Upgrades

Internet traffic demands are advancing rapidly. The SysMaster is ready, thanks to its unique hardware/software design allowing organizations to receive performance gains without having to upgrade to expensive hardware.

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