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From: Luigi Rizzo <luigi@labinfo.iet.unipi.it>
Message-Id: <199608121804.UAA07814@labinfo.iet.unipi.it>
Subject: Re: Load-balancing box
To: terry@lambert.org (Terry Lambert)
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 20:04:37 +0200 (MET DST)
Cc: michaelh@cet.co.jp, freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
In-Reply-To: <199608121626.JAA25431@phaeton.artisoft.com> from "Terry Lambert" at Aug 12, 96 09:26:02 am
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> > A designated IP number can be setup so that when it hits the box it
> > translates it to one of the IP addresses for the multiple servers sitting
> > behind it.  Otherwise it just functions as bridge.
...
> 
> I think this is only marginally more useful than using DNS to set
> up cluster aliases.

Agreed.

> The whole problem is that you connect to an address instead of a service
> in the first place -- this type of load balancing assumes all clients
> have statistically identical duration, and doesn't truly balance the
> load between the boxes.  For example, if I have 3 boxes, and 300 incoming
> connections are made, and 200 of them leave, one box can have 100
> connections and the other two can be idle.

Statistically this is _very_ unlikely. You will not have perfect
balancing, but not this kind of unbalancing.

	Luigi
====================================================================
Luigi Rizzo                     Dip. di Ingegneria dell'Informazione
email: luigi@iet.unipi.it       Universita' di Pisa
tel: +39-50-568533              via Diotisalvi 2, 56126 PISA (Italy)
fax: +39-50-568522              http://www.iet.unipi.it/~luigi/
====================================================================