Load-balancing is a process of connecting multiple servers together in order to increase performance, reliability, and capacity for your web application. Interpole offers an advanced, highly-reliable load-balancing solution that is perfect for any application that demands 100% uptime. It employs a variety of methodologies in load-balancing technology to deliver the server performance your application demands. Coupled with Interpole's network infrastructure, this load-balancing solution delivers unparalleled performance and reliability. One such example of our Load Balancing setup is illustrated below. Various other lower and higher-end configurations are available suiting your requirement

What is Load Balancing

Load-balancing enables the distribution of internet traffic among multiple servers. The traffic distribution can be based on several different matrices - such as round-robin (whereby traffic is evenly distributed among all servers in the cluster) or weighted round-robin (where traffic is weighted more heavily.) Using this technology, multiple small servers can be used in the place of one large server. This not only provides high performance and throughput, it will also ensure redundancy. If a server in a cluster fails (or experiences an unusually heavy load) it will no longer receive traffic and the other servers will take over the load. Load-balancing will also allow for seamless scalability as well. Servers can be added or removed from the cluster on demand without any downtime.

Can I cluster my existing server?

Yes, you can cluster your existing dedicated servers hosted by Interpole. The applications on the servers may need to be set up correctly for load balancing.

Is all the traffic (www, ftp, telnet, etc.) automatically distributed?

No. Load-balancing is done based on port. Traffic on individual ports can be distributed. During the setup of your load-balanced servers, you need to specify which types of traffic (which ports) you would like to have distributed.

Will I be able to reach my servers directly?

Yes. There will be a virtual IP that represents the cluster and each server will also have its own real IP that can be used to access the server directly.

Can I add or remove servers from my cluster without downtime?

Absolutely. One of the best things about load-balancing is that it will allow you to add or remove servers from the cluster without any downtime. It will also allow you to upgrade software or the OS on one server at a time while the cluster continues to function and serve content.

How much traffic can a cluster handle?

That depends on the individual servers in the cluster. The cluster can handle the total traffic that all the servers in the cluster can handle.

Do the servers in a cluster have to be identical?

No. You can have servers with different hardware and software specifications clustered together. This allows for great flexibility in your growth path.

For more information about load-balancing, please contact Sales