Quick start configuration

This quick start example shows how to create a site name configuration using Site Selector to load balance traffic among a set of servers based on the domain name used on a client request.

Figure 20. A simple Site Selector configuration
A graphic showing a Client, Internet cloud, a Load Balancer machine, and two locally attached servers with addresses identified.

What do you need?

For this quick start configuration example, you will need the following:

How do you prepare?

For this quick start example, the company's site domain is mywebshop.com. Site Selector is responsible for a subdomain within mywebshop.com. Therefore, you need to define a subdomain within mywebshop.com. For example: apps.mywebshop.com. Site Selector is not a fully implemented DNS, such as BIND, and acts as a leafnode in a DNS hierarchy. Site Selector is authoritative for the apps.mywebshop.com subdomain. Subdomain apps.mywebshop.com will include the following site names: marketing.apps.mywebshop.com and developer.apps.mywebshop.com.

  1. Update the company site's domain name server (see Figure 20). Create a name server record in the named.data file for the subdomain (apps.mywebshop.com) where Site Selector is the authoritative name server:

    apps.mywebshop.com. IN NS siteselector.mywebshop.com

  2. Ensure that the fully qualified hostname or site does not resolve in the current domain name system.
  3. Install Metric Server on the servers (server1, server2, server3, server4) that you intend to have Site Selector load balance. See Metric Server for more information.

Configuring the Site Selector component

With Site Selector, you can create a configuration by using the command line, the configuration wizard, or the graphical user interface (GUI). For this quick start example, configuration steps are demonstrated using the command line.

Note:
The parameter values must be typed in English characters. The only exceptions are parameter values for host names and file names.

Configuring with the command line

From a command prompt, follow these steps:

  1. Start the ssserver on the machine hosting Site Selector. As root user or administrator, issue the following from a command prompt: ssserver
    Note:
    For Windows platform: Start ssserver (IBM® Site Selector) from the Services panel: Start > Settings (for Windows 2000) > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
  2. Start the name server on the Site Selector configuration:

    sscontrol nameserver start

  3. Configure the site names (marketing.apps.mywebshop.com and developer.apps.mywebshop.com) on Site Selector:

    sscontrol sitename add marketing.apps.mywebshop.com

    sscontrol sitename add developer.apps.mywebshop.com

  4. Add the servers to the Site Selector configuration. (Configure server1 and server2 to site name marketing.apps.mywebshop.com. Configure server3 and server4 to site name developer.apps.myeebshop.com):

    sscontrol server add marketing.apps.mywebshop.com:server1+server2

    sscontrol server add developer.apps.mywebshop.com:server3+server4

  5. Start the manager function of Site Selector:

    sscontrol manager start

  6. Start the advisor function of Site Selector (HTTP advisor for marketing.apps.mywebshop.com and FTP advisor for developer.apps.mywebshop):

    sscontrol advisor start http marketing.apps.mywebshop.com:80

    sscontrol advisor start ftp developer.apps.mywebshop.com:21

    Site Selector will now make sure that client requests are not sent to a failed server.

  7. Ensure the Metric Server has been started on each of the load-balanced servers.

Your basic Site Selector configuration is now complete.

Testing your configuration

Test to see if the configuration is working:

  1. From a client, that has a primary DNS configured as the nameserver responsible for mywebshop.com, try to ping one of the configured site names.
  2. Connect to the application. For example:
  3. Look at the results of the following command:

    sscontrol server status marketing.apps.mywebshop.com:

    sscontrol server status developer.apps.mywebshop.com:

    The total hits entry of each server should add up to the ping and application request

Configuring with the graphical user interface (GUI)

For information on using the Site Selector GUI, see GUI and Appendix A. GUI: General instructions.

Configuring with the configuration wizard

For information on using the Site Selector wizard, see Configuration wizard.