Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

September 24, 2010

A Closer Look at Load Balancing

Load balancing is a method of server hardware expansion commonly found with dedicated server hosting. It balances the workload put onto the server so that resources can be maximized. This is commonly completed with the use of two or more dedicated servers to host high volume traffic sites. These sites also commonly experience traffic spikes and increased bandwidth use.

Overload of System Demands

The overload of system demands can cause servers to malfunction and shut down. This is primarily due to the increasing temperature of the hardware components as more system resources are consumed. To ensure this does not occur, review the best configuration that will benefit the performance of the servers creating balance.

An Understandable Example

If an online business is launched with many products and features, a high volume of traffic is expected. To accommodate this, a server is procured and activated. At this point the initial server load is low due to the steady stream of clients accessing the site. After a year, the business has grown and the server can no longer maintain its current performance rate so it shuts down.

The business must now make a difficult decision. They may choose to create a server farm with many servers to fulfill their business needs. If they add a server each time the company gains more traffic, they can remain online all the time. However, to ensure this is an economic move, they must attain statistics from their website data. This information is readily available in almost all control panels on the internet.

The acquired statistics will give the owners insight as to whether adding the extra server is cost effective compared to the amount of incoming traffic. Many find that this is not the most economical method for the average business owner that has moderate sales and steady traffic. Although spikes will occur, it is not necessary for them to add a server each time.

Load balancing is an effective method for large websites to maintain order and keep the performance of each site running optimally. As more users access the internet, this will become a mainstream practice to ensure consistency. Businesses will catch on as their needs change and they realize additional expansion cannot be accomplished without the assistance of load balancing.

Tags: load balancing,  hardware expansion,  dedicated server,  traffic spike,  bandwidth use,  server load