Load balancing improves network performance by distributing traffic efficiently so that individual servers are not overwhelmed by sudden fluctuations in activity. Server Load Balancing is a guide to this critical component of high availability, clustering, and fault tolerance, all of which provide the infrastructure for reliable Internet sites and large corporate networks. Much of the information on load balancing comes from vendor-specific manuals that use inconsistent terminology and are often biased toward the products they cover. Server Load Balancing explains to engineers and technicians the concepts and terminology of load balancing and offers practical guidance for planning and implementing it in almost any environment. It includes a configuration guide with diagrams and sample configurations for installing, configuring, and maintaining products from the four major vendors:

• Alteon WebSystems
• Cisco's CSS Series (formerly ArrowPoint)
• F5's BIG-IP
• the Foundry ServerIron series

By comparing several load balancing products, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the technology and how best to use it to improve your network performance. No system administrator responsible for traffic management should be without this practical guide.

Rating:

Rating:

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Server Load Balancing Review,  August 05 2002
Submitted by Wade Savage   [Respond | View]

I came here purposely to express and warn other O'Reilly readers to avoid this clunker of a book. I see I'm not the only one who felt this way. Just my two cents.


Server Load Balancing Review,  February 13 2002
Submitted by Eric Moy   [Respond | View]

This book is really bad. Whoever gave it a higher rating than one is either a total jackass or a total jackass. Seriously, I am pissed off that I bought this book. I wish I had read these reviews first.

ERIC


Server Load Balancing Review,  January 08 2002
Submitted by Cara Carver   [Respond | View]

Having been thrusted into a consulting position with a company who uses Alteon-based products, this book has been like a bible to me. I recommend this book to anyone who does not know much about server load balancing but has a need to.


Server Load Balancing Review,  January 06 2002
Submitted by -adam   [Respond | View]

I had high hopes for this title. Tony's O'Reilly article on bridge-path versus

route-path return traffic was interesting and informative. However, the book

is unable to substain any high level of instruction. A few discussions in the book are confusing, and quite a bit of information is repeated too many times (better editing might have helped on these points). However, I'm not sure Tony had a target audience well thought out while writting this book. The small chapter on performance would definitely not be useful for an experienced network admin, and would be little help to someone just starting to work with server load balancers. More in-depth discussion of load balancing setups for particular protocols (POP, SMTP, HTTP, streaming, FTP, etc) would have been helpful. Real world examples, case studies, and "gotchas" about the major vendor's products would have all made this a more useful book. At least a chapter on open source solutions might have been helpful (example, using apache's mod_rewrite and mod_proxy to reverse-proxy CPU intensive parts of a web site to multiple back end machines, leaving the main server to handle basic web file serving).

Unlike the 20 or so O'Reilly titles on my shelf at work, this one will be staying home or returned to the bookstore.

-adam


Server Load Balancing Review,  November 06 2001
Submitted by calvin   [Respond | View]

the book is good if you know little about load balancing. But if you look at actual Alteon manual for example, It covers more ideas about load balancing and how it solves problems on different situation but lack a bit of basic theory which it covers well by this book.

It will be good if this book can explain more than those written on the vendors manual.




Server Load Balancing Review,  November 06 2001
Submitted by Peter Wallen   [Respond | View]

This book might be good if you run across a cheap load balancer on Ebay and can't get the manufacturer to send you a manual.

Otherwise, don't waste your time.




Server Load Balancing Review,  November 05 2001
Submitted by Bill Bradford   [Respond | View]

This is absolutely the best oreilly title i have ever owned. It is a MUST read for advanced systems admins and solaris gurus like myself. Kudos to the author on this fantastic gem!


Server Load Balancing Review,  October 26 2001
Submitted by S. Simpson   [Respond | View]

A waste of good paper. About a half of book is regurgitation of configuration

information for four vendors SLB products. In places the exact same paragraphs

have been printed twice. For example page 107 discussing VIPs is identical to

the page 111 discussion of VIPs.

There is next to no discussion of Open Source solutions or software techniques.

I am disappointed that O'Reilly would publish a book like this. I hope this

isn't a negative trend for O'Reilly.


Server Load Balancing Review,  September 17 2001
Submitted by Steven T. Darschman   [Respond | View]

In my personal experience , O'Reilly books are an indispensable part of my library. Unfortunately, Tony Bourke's book on server load-balancing has been collecting dust under my desk for several months. I borrowed it from a friend who said he had no use for it, and after reading the first couple chapters I can understand why.

As a seasoned system administrator, I can appreciate the need for a comprehensive treatment on the critical subject of server load-balancing and traffic management, yet Mr. Bourke's attempt is a painful and useless read. The book is overly simplistic, and offers no new insight. Mr. Bourke's writing is awkward and confusing at times as well.

I have come to expect a lot more from O'Reilly books. Nonetheless, I will continue to purchase your titles, despite this one bad apple.


Server Load Balancing Review,  September 10 2001
Submitted by Rafi Nourian   [Respond | View]

Useless.

This book might be useful to junior network admins only, but then again, junior net adms have no business designing networks. Any net admin should aready know and bypass sections 1 and 2: "Concepts and Theories of Server Load Balancing" and "Practice and Implementation of Server Load Balancing". The third section "Configuring Server Load Balancers" is also completely useless as most (if not all) vendors provide manuals on how to configure their SLB.

Bottom line: A waste of $34.95

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