The load balanced pair looks interesting, but we have a complex setup of Java servers and other things that are difficult to configure (perhaps impossible) in a load-balanced configuration.

Has anyone ever succeeded at getting Heartbeat / DRDB setup and working at EV1?

Years ago, the answer I got was that EV1 wouldn't install a cable to connect two servers (needed for DRDB to work efficiently).

Thanks for any and all tips!

While we cannot install a crossover cable, you could set up a private shelf with an isolated network to use for your heartbeat connection.

You could also use the pnet (10 mbps network inside ev1) but ideally I would go for a private rack with an isoloated network (just for you).

I'm not familiar with either the newer load-balanced pair offering or the PNET "ready" feature for load-balanced pairs.

Does the PNET cost extra?

Will the DRDB traffic count against our monthly limit?

We don't have that much data to sync.

Thanks!

> Does the PNET cost extra?

Normally it is $99 per server (one time fee) but it is included on a load balanced pair.

> Will the DRDB traffic count against our monthly limit?

Not if it goes out over PNET, no.

Excellent.

If we can manually set the load balancer to *not* load balance, but just use our "primary" server, and then fail over to the "backup" server, if the primary goes down (e.g. power supply quits) .. then the balanced pair should work for our needs!

I didn't bother with Heartbeat because it had so many bells and whistle and I just didn't want to waste time on the docs. Further, I only needed to failover/balancing on websites alone. But you can (I have) write something very similar to run on each webserver that monitors the others for life and can replace them if there is a problem. Its really not a difficult task.

I took the program one step further and made it record load levels remotely. Then, using another program that interacted with apache, I used the output to provide near-realtime load balancing (5 sec intervals of load checking to create new distribution rules) with extremely low overhead. So you can take it as far as you want and get complete failover and load balancing, software based, for a very low cost solution that is flexible.

The load balanced pairs are set up as active load balancers, not failover. I do not know if this will be a solution for you.

A private rack with a dedicated load balancer can be set up for failover, but is markedly more expensive.

All the more reason to do it yourself or have someone set you up the way I described. Failover is a must! Especially when you want to go on vacation...


Anyone have a ballpark figure on that?

Where would I find the "manual" for the load balancer?

Load Balanced Pair technical details are here: http://www.ev1servers.net/Turnkey/LoadBala...dPairsTech.aspx

> Mirage_Ez

If you're interested in finding out how much such a setup would cost, please go to http://www.ev1servers.net/custom/Default.aspx and ask for a custom quote.