subject: Avoid The Clusters: Load Balancing Servers [print this page] Any large company that has an exhaustive list of IT demands requires the services of a dedicated server in order to meet the increasing traffic. A company opts for the dedicated server because it offers them the convenience of a larger bandwidth, easy communication within the network and fast response time. However, over a period of time, as the web traffic increases, this dedicated server might not be able to manage all the tasks by itself.
Though, the server may try to cater to all the requirements of the end users, people will begin to face issues with respect to response time and performance. The first option that you have, is to increase the hardware resources of the server. This, again, has a limitation to it. Any computer, even if it is a server, can be expanded only to a certain extent. Beyond that, you will have to look for other alternatives. This is where the concept of load balancing for dedicated servers comes into play.
Load balancing for dedicated servers is a process where the inbound traffic to the server is distributed over a number of other servers. If your network is susceptible to a lot of traffic with innumerable users placing requests at the same time to the server, then, it is a wise choice to consider this option. Implementing this concept can put a stop to a number of network issues related to poor performance and indefinite response time.
When you bring the concept of load balancing for dedicated servers into the picture, you will be able to utilize your resources better and enhance network connectivity and performance. There are two or more servers that share the work, thus balancing the load. As requests are placed by the end users, they are directed towards one server. As the load of that particular server increases, it directs the traffic to the next server that is relatively free.
The process of load balancing is quite simple and can be easily understood. When the request for a particular web page is sent to the dedicated server, which also doubles up as a load balancer, it directs the request to one of the servers in the server farm that has bandwidth at that particular point of time. This server processes the requests and sends a response to the user who placed the request.
Load balancing for dedicated servers is an extremely beneficial concept and should be put to use as the traffic over a network to a particular server becomes too much to handle. Implementing this also ensures that, irrespective of the dedicated server downtime due to server maintenance or in the case of server failure, your clients will not be left stranded. They will still be able to get their requested servers, thanks to the other servers sharing the load.
Depending on the hardware specifications of the dedicated server, there are various load balancing options you can choose from. Some of the common load balancing methods that are used when all the servers of the server farm have same configuration are fastest response time method and perceptive method. The weighted robin method is used when the servers of the server farm differ in hardware specifications.
In conclusion, if your dedicated server, which was once doing a terrific job, seems to be throwing up a poor performance because of increased traffic, then, it is time to implement load balancing for dedicated servers and restore normalcy.
