Creating a load balancer group profile by using the web UI

You can create a profile describing a load balancer group of LDAP servers.

1. Open the Load Balancer Group profile tab. In the Authenticate section (if you have selected the LDAP method) or Credential Mapping section (if you have selected Search LDAP for group name). Click the plus icon next to the Load balancer group field.
2. Enter a name for your load balancer group profile.
3. Ensure that Administrative state is On and optionally enter some comments.
4. Select the algorithm for choosing between the LDAP servers in your load balancer group. The following options are available:

   First Alive

   Uses the concept of a primary server and backup servers. When the health state of the primary server is up, all connections are forwarded to this server. When the health state of the primary server is softdown or down, connections are forwarded to back up servers. The primary server is the first server in the members list.

   Hash

   Uses the IP address of the client as the basis for server selection.

   With the hash algorithm, the same client is served by the same server. Use this algorithm only when clients access applications that require the storage of server-side state information, such as cookies. Hashing algorithms cannot ensure even distribution.

   Least Connections

   Maintains a record of active server connections and forward a new connection to the server with the least number of active connections.

   Round Robin

   Maintains a list of servers and forwards a new connection to the next server on the list. This setting is the default value.

   Weighted Round Robin

   Maintains a weighted list of servers and forwards new connections in proportion to the weight (or preference) of each server.

5. Specify a damp time. The damp time is the period that a server is removed from the load balancer group because it cannot connect during a normal HTTP or TCP transaction. Such a server has a health state of softdown. When this interval expires, the server is restored to the load balancer group and placed in the up state. This command does not affect servers that are in the down state. Enter a value in the range 1 - 86400. The default value is 120.
6. Optionally select Do not bypass down state to block every connection when all members of the group are in the down state.
7. Optionally select Try every server before failing. When this option is selected, the appliance sends the request to each server until one responds or all fail. This command applies only when none of the group members are in the up state. Each server that fails is set to the softdown state.
8. Optionally select Masquerade as group name to pass the name of the load balancer group as the host name to the remote server.
9. Open the Health section and specify whether health checking is enabled. A health check is a scheduled rule that sends the same request to each member. The successful completion of the health check requires that the server passes normal TCP and HTTP connection criteria, depending on check type. See health-check for more information on the available options.
10. Open the Members section to specify details of the members of the load balancer group.
11. Click Add to add a member and supply the following information:

    Actual host

    The name or IP address of the server.

    Weight

    For weighted algorithms, specifies the relative weight (preference). Enter a value in the range 1 - 65000. The default value is 1.

    Mapped server ports

    Specifies the port on the real server. If nonzero, the associated real server is contacted on this port. Normally the real server is contacted on the same port number as the one for the virtual server. In this case, retain the default value of 0. If services run on different ports for different members of the group, define this value.

    Health port

    Specifies the port to test. Retain the default value of 0 to use the port that is defined for this load balancer group.

12. Click Apply to save your load balancer group profile.