The latest version of a load balancer with special DNS traffic features operates at gigabit speeds for advanced networks.

by ISP-Planet Staff [September 15, 2003]

Today, CAI Networks, a manufacturer, and AVANU, a distributor, announced a new product in the WebMUX load balancing appliance family. The new WebMUX Pro appliance operates at gigabit speeds, complementing the regular WebMUX appliance, which operates at 100 Mbps speeds.

The new announcement comes on the heels of an improvement brought to market last month after an urgent request from a large webhost. This company found regular DNS problems when it processed its logs. Servers were generating massive numbers of reverse DNS requests, overloading the servers.

Explains Wayne Yu, CEO of CAI Networks, "no load balancer on the market could handle the problem."

DNS is one of the few network functions that uses UDP. UDP is fast, but it has no inbuilt correction for network congestion. A Burst Activity Management (BAM) feature analyzes each packet and distributes DNS requests to several servers, preventing any one server from being overloaded.

But the box does a lot more than just handle DNS requests. It starts with configuration. With a front keypad interface and menu-driven LCD display (backlit for dark data centers or computer labs), the company says installation is easy and does not require a keyboard or mouse.

The box uses flash memory instead of hard drives, which is more expensive but provides greater reliability. Says Yu, "our design priority was lower TCO. Many load balancers use hard disk drives, even though manufacturers have generally reduced the warranty from 3 years to 1 year. We do not use hard drives. We use solid state storage."

The WebMUX family comes with a three year warranty that provides phone and e-mail support (same day equipment replacement is extra) and firmware upgrades. Yu says that phone support is rarely required, but when it is, it's easily done. "The owner can enable the support team to connect directly to the device."

He says that when users call for help, the WebMUX appliance helps his staff diagnose basic network problems that would otherwise be difficult to uncover. "The most common problem we find is an IP address allocated to more than one server."

Pricing and availability
The WebMUX products are available today. WebMUX, for 10/100 networks, lists at $3,999. WebMUX Pro, for gigabit networks, lists for $8,999.

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