As enterprises continue their move to multi-cloud environments, data centres are becoming more distributed and security risks are increasing.
To address this new environment, EfficientIP – the network security and automation provider – have unveiled the industry’s first edge DNS Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) solution, which will help enhance user experience, while strengthening resiliency (DRP) and reducing costs by simplifying architectures.
EfficientIP’s VP strategy, Ronan David, told Information Age that “businesses can’t afford to have sluggish apps or worse, IT outages. These disruptions are detrimental to organisations and leave customers whose livelihoods heavily depend on these vital services as part of their business out in the cold. Keeping businesses online at all times is powered by the network and servers, which can struggle to manage the constant barrage of application traffic.”
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DNS Global Server Load Balancing
The solution integrates load balancing functionality into both authoritative and recursive DNS servers, allowing application traffic routing decisions to be taken from the network edge. EfficientIP said that this can be used as an alternative or as a complement to traditional load balancers/application delivery controllers (ADCs).
By adding global server load balancing to its SOLIDsever product suite, EfficientIP brings a unique all-in-one solution comprising DNS services, GSLB functions and purpose-built DNS security in the same appliance
What is GSLB?
GSLB is a method of distributing traffic amongst servers potentially dispersed across multiple geographies. Combining DNS and GSLB functionality on the same server significantly reduces capex and opex for companies, simplifying rollout throughout company infrastructure.
Enabling GSLB with EfficientIP DNS removes the requirement to move DNS domains towards specific load-balancing solutions such as ADCs. All DNS zones and records remain in a single management system easing transition to load-balancing, while at the same time centralising administration and lowering costs.
Industry first?
Standard GSLB is based on authoritative DNS services deployed within data centres. Implementing GSLB in recursive DNS servers adds unique capability for application traffic routing decisions to be made much closer to each user, enabling ‘native geolocalisation’. In the announcement, EfficientIP said that this helps accelerate app response times, which leads to improved user experience (UX), particularly with distributed topology in the context of multiple user sites. And to ensure that applications are available to users, DNS GSLB includes a constant health checking functionality.
Load balancing strategies are consequently enhanced as they can be based on the current health of each node supporting the application.
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A tool for the multi-cloud
In today’s multi-regional datacenter and multi-cloud environments, edge GSLB brings deployment simplicity for application traffic routing management. And by adding IP Address Management (IPAM) functionality, businesses can manage both their cloud and on premise apps from a central repository, bringing them significant time and cost savings.
EfficientIP CEO David Williamson commented: “Digital transformation is modifying IT landscapes by distributing applications, users are becoming more mobile, and data centres evolving towards hybrid cloud. To ensure business continuity and meet UX expectations in this challenging context, availability, performance and delays for application access are key. GSLB helps control routing of application traffic, but businesses still face challenges around multi-site deployment, app response time accuracy, and DNS resolution latency.”
