Re: load balancing with php/apache?

Wasn't directed quite at me, but I'll chime in nonetheless.... We used LocalDirector for awhile, with it's 'sticky bit' functionality, and it basically didn't work with AOL. I just looked at the coyote product and they claim it works with 'large ISP' proxies - maybe a veiled reference to AOL directly (why not just say AOL?). Do you have any more info on HOW they do this? The only thing I can think of is that they code it recognize particular IP blocks known to be proxies for AOL/mindspring/etc and route ALL traffic from these to a particular box, which doesn't seem terribly balanced. OR... they drop a separate 'cookie' or similar header data piece between the server and the client and track that. Either way, it seems a bit expensive, although cheaper than LD, last time I checked. Personally, we do the 'stateless' model with session data in a database - works fine. Your coyote solution is still stateless, but the session data is kept local to the webserver. Problem I see with that is that if you need to take a particular machine offline, hundreds of people could lose their session data. Same can be said of taking the database offline, but taking a db offline will probably affect the whole site anyway. Part of the benefit of an intelligent load balancer is that you can remove/take down machines for maintenance/upgrades without worrying about the impact on the visitors. Am I missing something? Alex Black wrote: > what? > > you use an utterly completely stateless model? > > craziness! > > so you set cookies, and store the sig in the db? > > agh! :) > > I'm using this box from "coyote systems" called, wait for it: > > "THE EQUALIZER" > > which is a really obnoxious name, but it sticks clients with a particular > server intelligently, so we can be ever-so-slightly-lazy about that. > > do you _like_ that system? (that isn't a challenge, it's real interest) > > _a > > -- > Alex Black, Head Monkey > enigma@turingstudio.com > > The Turing Studio, Inc. > http://www.turingstudio.com > > vox+510.666.0074 > fax+510.666.0093 > > Saul Zaentz Film Center > 2600 Tenth St Suite 433 > Berkeley, CA 94710-2522 >