Author Topic: NetScaler Service Group Active Passive  (Read 987 times)

Offline zmiller

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NetScaler Service Group Active Passive
« on: September 22, 2011, 01:57:01 PM »
We are currently looking to transition from a F5 environment to a NetScaler solution.  We are hitting one road block.  We use Microsoft UAG as a reverse proxy for all our websites and have a Active/Passive cluster.  The problem is within each vserver or services are assigned for the Active/Passive Cluster.  There isn't a load balancing method that will allow us to force the vserver to use Service 1 until it is down then swap to Service 2 unless we look at backup vservers, but this would become a real headache to setup several hundred sites.  I was wondering if anyone has come up with a good way to do this.  For better clarification here is an example:

1. Request for www.site.com comes into the NetScalers
2. The request gets checked against two services, service 1 is the Active UAG node and service 2 is the passive UAG node
3. The request should always hit service 1 while it is up, then swap over to service 2 when its down

I can't find a load balancing method that will guarantee this even with weights.  It comes down to a licensing issue from Microsoft if we have an Active/Active cluster we would need to purchase another External Connector license which is NOT cheap.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Zach

Offline evildani

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Re: NetScaler Service Group Active Passive
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2011, 08:06:18 AM »
You do have a choice, you can use backup virtual server, it is set up on the advance tab of the virtual server, you assign a second non addressable virtual server that will get traffic when your primary virtual service is down.
So set up a VIP normally.
Bind a active service
Create a second VIP non addressable
Bind passive service.
On primary VIP assign as backup virtual service the second virtual service.

Done.