New to loadbalancer? Check out our Introduction to Load Balancing, which describes load balancers in terms everyone
can understand and explains how they improve the performance of websites, mobile apps, and key business systems.
Why loadbalancer?
- High availability – failover servers with no user impact
- Resilience – multi-site failover capabilities
- Reduce risk – isolate servers from network charges
- Easy maintenance – bring servers off or online at the touch of a button
- Optimal performance – distribute traffic across multiple servers
Best of all, Loadbalancer.org enables PaperCut customers to keep enterprise print environments flowing, by making them reliable and highly available.
Knowing the Lingo…
Below are some definitions of key terms and what to listen out for in the conversations that may mean a load balancer is required.
Glossary
Load Balancing – Distributing network traffic to multiple servers
HA – High Availability. Increasing service uptime by having two or more applications/servers so that if the main application server fails, the secondary server takes over
ADC – Application Delivery Controller, another name for a load balancer
Throughput – The amount of network traffic that will be passing through the load balancer
VIP – A Virtual IP address configured on the load balancer for the purpose of receiving all inbound traffic destined for a load balanced service
RIP – This is the Real IP address of an application server. Once the traffic has reached the VIP (see above) of a load balanced service, the load balancer will send the traffic to an associated Real IP address (back-end server)
Cluster – Refers to a group of real servers/RIPs behind a VIP
Health Checks – What the load balancer uses to determine if a server or application is available to receive traffic/connections
Below are some indicators of when to bring load balancing into the conversation:
All deployments will benefit from having a load balancer. PaperCut forms the backbone of many
organisations’ operations. It’s critical for their continuity of business that the application is always available
and performing well. If you are unsure how to approach the conversation of bringing in the load balancer,
below are some useful starters…
High availability
This is the most obvious indicator. If ever the question around availability, resiliency or uptime of an
application is mentioned then load balancing should be introduced to the conversation. The primary goal of
using a load balancer is to significantly increase the availability of a server or application.
Network performance
Poor load distribution can result in poor performance. Using a load balancer to optimise the traffic
distribution across the back-end servers to improve performance of the application.
Print is critical
While deployment size can dictate the necessity of a load balancer, that doesn’t mean it’s exclusive to large
organizations. If printing or any other service is critical to an organization’s continued operation then
implementing a load balancer should be a priority.
ecoprintQ is a leading authorized solution center. Experts in all things Loadbalancer, ecoprintQ is here to help you learn about loadbalancer and how it can benefit you. Contact us today by emailing us at sales@ecoprintq.com or give us a call at 800.236.8499.