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Manual Chapter : Configuring Cost-based Load Balancing

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BIG-IP Link Controller

  • 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 12.0.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4
Manual Chapter

Configuring Cost-based Load Balancing

Overview: Configuring cost-based load balancing

This functionality is not currently available in the U.S.
You can configure BIG-IP®Link Controller™ to use cost-based load balancing to manage the traffic flowing in and out of a network. In cost-based load balancing, you prioritize link usage based on the cost of the bandwidth for the connection to the Internet. Link Controller sends traffic to the link that is currently operating at the lowest cost. As the usage cost for each link changes, Link Controller dynamically shifts traffic to the best link.
The following illustration shows a network for configuring a cost-based load balancing configuration.
Example of a network for configuring cost-based load balancing
As the illustration shows, while traffic remains below a certain level (for example, 4 Mbps), the Link Controller uses the Primary Link. If traffic exceeds a certain level (for example, 4 Mbps), the Link Controller sends the overflow traffic to the Secondary Link. If a link goes offline for any reason, Link Controller uses the Alternate and Fallback load balancing methods to route traffic through an available link.

Task summary for cost-based load balancing

This functionality is not currently available in the U.S.
Use the tasks in this implementation to create a cost-based, load balancing configuration to manage the traffic flowing in and out of a network.

Task list

Creating the first cost-based link for load balancing

Gather the IP address of the router associated with the ISP and IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection. In addition, determine an amount of appropriate bandwidth for the link.
Create and configure the first link on Link Controller™to specify how traffic enters and leaves your network.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Links
    .
    The Links List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Link screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the link.
    Link names are limited to
    63
     characters.
  4. In the
    Router Address
     field, type the IP address of the router.
  5. In the
    Uplink Address
     field, type the IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection.
  6. For the
    Service Provider
     field, type the name of the ISP provider.
  7. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
    Additional controls display on the screen.
  8. From the
    Weighting
     list, select
    Price (Dynamic Ratio)
    .
  9. From the
    Prepaid Segment
     field, type the amount of bandwidth that is prepaid for the link.
  10. From the
    Incremental Segments
     field, add the incremental segment price.
  11. Click
    Create
    .
    The Link List screen displays.

Creating the second cost-based link for load balancing

Gather the IP address of the router associated with the ISP and IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection. In addition, determine an amount of appropriate bandwidth for the link.
Create and configure the second link on Link Controller™to specify how traffic enters and leaves your network.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Links
    .
    The Links List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Link screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the link.
    Link names are limited to
    63
     characters.
  4. In the
    Router Address
     field, type the IP address of the router.
  5. In the
    Uplink Address
     field, type the IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection.
  6. For the
    Service Provider
     field, type the name of the ISP provider.
  7. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
    Additional controls display on the screen.
  8. From the
    Weighting
     list, select
    Price (Dynamic Ratio)
    .
  9. From the
    Prepaid Segment
     field, type the amount of bandwidth that is prepaid for the link.
  10. Click
    Create
    .
    The Link List screen displays.
  11. From the
    Incremental Segments
     field, add the incremental segment price.

Creating a default gateway pool

Gather the IP addresses associated with each link.
Create a default gateway pool to load balance the outbound traffic across the links.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Pools
    .
    The Pools list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Pool screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the pool.
    Names must begin with a letter, and can contain only letters, numbers, and the underscore (_) character.
    The pool name is limited to 63 characters.
  4. In the New Members area, add the IP addresses associated with each link.
    1. In the
      Address
       field, type the IP address.
    2. Click
      Add
      .
  5. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a default route to the internet

Configure Link Controller to use the pool as the default gateway connection between the internal network and the internet.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Network
    Routes
    .
  2. Click
    Add
    .
    The New Route screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name.
  4. From the
    Resource
     list, select
    Use Pool
    .
  5. From the
    Pool
     list, select
    default_gateway_pool
    .
  6. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating virtual servers to load balance connections across servers

Gather the IP addresses you want to use for creating the virtual servers.
Create two virtual servers, one for each link, to load balance inbound connections across the servers on the network.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click the
    Create
     button.
    The New Virtual Server screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the virtual server.
  4. In the
    Destination Address/Mask
     field, type the IP address you want to use for the virtual server.
  5. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    80
    , or select
    HTTP
     from the list.
  6. Click
    Finished
    .
  7. Repeat these steps to create the second virtual server.

Creating a wildcard virtual server

Create a wildcard server to load balance outbound connections across the routers.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click the
    Create
     button.
    The New Virtual Server screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the virtual server.
  4. For the
    Destination Address/Mask
     setting, select
    Host
    , and type
    0.0.0.0
     in the address field.
  5. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    0
    .
    Port
    0
     defines a wildcard virtual server that handles all types of services. If you specify a port number, you create a port-specific wildcard virtual server. In that case, the wildcard virtual server handles traffic only for the specified port.
  6. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a wide IP

Before you can create a wide IP, you need IP addresses from two previously created virtual servers.
Create a wide IP to which Link Controller™ load balances incoming DNS requests.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Inbound Wide IPs
    .
    The Wide IP List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Wide IP screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the wide IP.
  4. From the
    Type
     list, select a record type for the wide IP.
  5. From the
    Load Balancing Method
     list, make selections from the
    Preferred
    ,
    Alternate
    , and
    Fallback
     lists.
  6. For the
    Member List
     field, add the address of the appropriate virtual server.
    1. From the
      Virtual Server
       list, select a virtual server.
    2. Click
      Add
      .
  7. Click
    Create
    .

Implementation result for cost-based load balancing

You now have Link Controller™ configured to use cost-based load balancing to manage DNS traffic.
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