Site-specific considerations when setting up load balancing for IMPAX

Each site's unique and specific configurations must be considered to ensure proper load balancing of a site. The following considerations will assist you when defining the need for and the type of load balancer for a site.

Load per Application Server: CPU consumption

CPU consumption of the Application Server is a good primary indicator of the IMPAX workload, as long as platform definition guidelines have been followed. Memory, disk, and network performance on a server can be addressed by adding resources to the server; however, CPU consumption cannot be easily addressed.

Load balancing should be designed so if any individual Application Server fails, the others in the load-balancing group can handle the additional work and provide acceptable response times to the clients. Therefore, in a configuration of n systems, if one Application Server fails or is removed from service, the other Application Servers can support the additional CPU load diverted from that Application Server and still maintain Client response time.

Network bandwidth

Ensure that the bandwidth of the network supports the IMPAX application traffic mix. Measure the latency seen by clients and profile the network to determine the average latency. Load balancers that can dynamically adapt the TCP parameters with the Client connection must be employed in high latency networks.