Improved performance and stability
Load balancing or a server cluster allow you to achieve optimal performance and high availability for your web-based applications. At plusserver we offer load balancing via an external hardware interface. This can either be dedicated or an economical shared version.
Highlights
- Operation by PlusServer
- Continuous updating and immediate replacement of defective hardware
The plusserver Dedicated Load Balancer product ensures the secure, reliable and fast provision of your applications and content. Users and connections on your system, e.g. your web server, are distributed intelligently, dynamically, and dependent on the situation via an external interface. This means you alone use the physical resources of the dedicated load balancer. This ensures maximum performance and data throughput.
Highlights of Dedicated Load Balancer
- Optional redundant design for maximum availability
- Customer-specific load balancing policy
- Next generation load distribution services for companies that really value reliability and dynamics
- Suitable for environments with high demands on throughput and performance
Dedicated Load Balancer data sheet
What is load balancing?
Load balancing or a server cluster come into use when several servers handle one and the same thing. This is often referred to as a server farm. The advantage of this type of group is that the queries (load) can be divided up over the available resources. This means that queries are generally answered more quickly and with greater reliability.
In addition, all services will remain available when a server undergoes maintenance or fails. In this case, the load balancer simply redirects all queries to another server. A load balancer, therefore, does not simply improve performance, it also increases the high availability of your setup.
Load balancer tasks
- Permanent monitoring of available servers
- Distribute incoming queries to the servers based on the default method (e.g. round robin, least connections)
- For dynamic pages: forward requests from users who have already started a session to the same server
Load balancing vs. clustering
Both terms are generally associated with high availability, but how exactly do the models differ?
In load balancing, it does not matter how the infrastructure behind the load balancer is obtained. The servers to which the requests are distributed do not necessarily need to communicate with one another. In this case, the load balancer takes on the server status request.
By contrast, a cluster is characterised by the fact that the systems involved share their resources with one another to work towards a common goal. The status of other systems is known to each system. A typical example would be two web servers that access a joint database server.
Do you need a high-availability solution? Do you always want to offer your customers the best level of service? We are happy to help you determine your optimal server cluster setup.