Hello.

One question about server load balancing (leaving alone storage devices etc, talking only about web servers). I do not understand this thing: how can the 2nd server stay allive, if lets say apache of operating system crashes on the 1rst. They have identical information, configuration, contains the same data. So if one system crashes, another is likely to crash as well. Or I don't understand something... :rolleyes:

I'm considering such system:
- hardware load balancer (CoyotePoint?)
- 4 web servers (2 groups)
- 4 database servers (2 groups)
- 2 webmail (1 for each node group)
- 1 storage node

Group - nodes with same information.

What do you think of such system? Such system costs at least 30-40k. Is it worth such money if we had 2000-3000 business class customers?

Thanks a lot!

Greetings Paulius Sprindys:

Apache dying on one physical server would have zero impact on the Apache on the other server.

If load balancing is set up on port 80 and related http / https ports on the servers involved, then the hardware would detect the outage and reroute traffic until the down service / server was back up.

We've been working with high end load balancing solutions since the year 2000 having started in 1995.

That stated, we've seen just as many business failures over the past ten years because of huge capital investments made on the onset without a clear, written, followed, updated as necessary daily business plan.

If you are providing the right values for the right fees, yes the investment can be very worth while.

But putting in the money, and then getting the 2,000 to 3,000 business class customers is another story.

Thank you.

Not to comment on the business aspects of your setup, I dont not know of an exmaple where someone has placed 2000-3000 customers on a Load-Balanced environment. The My merely listing so many websites, etc. the load itself would increase on the balancer, etc. Not to mention not all your clients would have plain vanilla HTTP servings of the Web Server. Some may require sticky connections, some may require JSP, etc. some sites themselves could inundate your Load Balancer as it is.

Besides I think you don't necessarily have to invest $30k-$40k to make such a setup - you could do it for a lot less.

Thank you for your answers!

dynamicnet, would I be able to contact you personaly with some questions later?