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Global Server Load Balancing

Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) provides load balancing and high availability across web sites or server farms hosted in multiple data centers. Using GSLB, customers can be directed to the data center that can provide fastest response time. In case of a data center failure, GSLB transparently directs customers to the best alternate location to provide uninterrupted service.

Brocade ServerIron web switches provide the most comprehensive GSLB available in the industry both within the DNS framework and without using DNS. ServerIron DNSProxy leverages existing DNS servers and provides GSLB with the least disruption possible to the existing DNS infrastructure. The Brocade Global IP provides GSLB using unique route injection and retraction techniques with no need for DNS involvement. The Brocade comprehensive GSLB ensures that your customers are directed to the nearest data center hosting your web servers for the fastest web response. If a data center fails, ServerIron automatically directs the customers to alternate locations.

ServerIron DNSProxy provides:

  • Three different ways to work within DNS framework to accommodate various customer needs
    • Acts as a forward proxy to existing DNS servers, and provides load balancing of DNS traffic and GSLB at the same time.
    • Acts as a transparent proxy, when deployed in the DNS traffic path, by transparently modifying the DNS responses to pick the best site.
    • Acts as the authoritative DNS to respond to resolve host names to IP addresses by itself
  • Most comprehensive and flexible site selection policies
  • Site, server, and application health checks
  • FlashBack speed measures the response time to each data center
  • Dynamic proximity measurements from each customer to various sites
  • Exploration to detect changing conditions in the Internet response times
  • Geography based site selection to contain requests within continental boundaries
  • Monitors the site load conditions to ensure appropriate load distribution
  • Configurable site load threshold conditions to avoid sites beyond certain load threshold
  • Configurable tolerance values to ignore minor differences in proxmity or load conditions
  • Affinity based site selection to assign static preferences for known address blocks (such as branch offices)

Brocade Global IP provides Global Server Load Balancing using standard routing protocols, without using DNS. By leveraging the Global IP approach with DNSProxy, customers can build superior content distribution networks.

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