SSP Load Balancing Details

Hardware Configuration Options

ComponentSingle, large machine (1n)Load Balanced Web Server (2n)Dedicated Load Balancer (2n)
Load BalancerTier 1Tier 1Tier 1
SSLTier 1Tier 1Tier 1
Web Server (Apache, IIS, etc)Tier 1Tier 1Tier 2
Servlet Container (uPortal, SSP)Tier 1Tier 2Tier 2

Hardware Configuration Evaluation

CategoriesSingle, large machine (1n)Load Balanced Web Server (2n)Dedicated Load Balancer (2n)
Pros

Easy to manage

 

Easy to scale

Portal hardware is relatively inexpensive

Easier to scale

Portal hardware is relatively inexpensive

SSL is directly supported and performs well

Cons

Cost

Not scalable

Apache's load balancing features are limited

Performing SSL with Apache is CPU intensive

Most expensive configuration ($10-50k)

Software Configuration Options

SoftwareOperating SystemJava Virtual MachineDatabaseWeb Server/Server ContainerConnection PoolingLoad Testing
Options

Linux

Solaris

Windows

Sun

IBM

PostreSQL

SQL Server

Tomcat

Resin

Apache HTTP Server & Tomcat

Apache HTTP Server & Resin

Sun ONE Web Application Server

IBM Websphere

Web Container's Connection Pool

Apache Commons DBCP

JDBC Connection Pool

Jmeter