[asterisk-users] Load balancing Asterisk.

[Nitzan Kon]

N,

SIP-aware LBs do exist - but way way out of my price range.

Alex, 

Remember we are an Asterisk-based provider. I'm not going
to drop enough money on a load balancer to go bankrupt. ;) That's
exactly why I'm wondering if it's possible to do this with a
DUMB load balancer. i.e. one that would cost about the same as
building another Linux box for OpenSIPS.

I don't need a million concurrent connections. I'd be perfectly
happy with a fraction of that. Not looking to replace AT&T here,
just looking for something simple that will work reliably. :)

My concerns with OpenSIPS:

1. It's a software based solution, which means higher chance
of software-related failure, and higher chance of failure due
to problems with the Linux box hosting it.
2. Overkill to install and maintain (if we can get a simpler
solution)
3. Incoming calls - I admit complete ignorance. I don't know
how OpenSIPS handles incoming calls, but for those to arrive
at the user reliably they must arrive from the same IP address
the user is registered to. Otherwise their broadband router's
NAT firewall will just block the connection. How does OpenSIPS
handle this? (does it handle this??)

Thanks!

--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation
www.future-nine.com

--- On Thu, 11/20/08, SIP <sip at arcdiv.com> wrote:

> Unless the LB is SIP-aware, and can maintain a SIP session,
> I don't see
> how it would work. As the SIP command stream sends discrete
> commands,
> without some sort of basic level of session awareness,
> there's no
> guarantee over a reasonable-length call that the INVITE and
> BYE would
> even get sent to the same Asterisk box. If there are
> on-hold messages or
> transfers occurring, you add even more possibility of error
> into the
> mix.  Now... you could do some sort of VERY long session
> timeout, but
> overall, that's a hack that's going to drop your
> concurrent connection
> count faster than using a smaller box would.
> 
> I don't know of any functioning, SIP-aware load
> balancers at the moment.
> Doesn't mean they don't exist. I just can't
> think of any off the top of
> my head.
> 
> N.
> 
> 
> 
> Nitzan Kon wrote:
> > Alex,
> >
> > I realize and agree that "hardware" load
> balancers are actually
> > software based. I'm less concerned about that and
> more about the
> > general specs:
> >
> > Foundry ServerIron XL: rated for 1,000,000 concurrent
> connections
> > Linux box where OpenSIPS is sitting: rated for ...???
> >
> > Not to mention a simple rule on a load balancer would
> be much,
> > much easier to implement. All I need is IP-based load
> balancing
> > so installing and maintaining OpenSIPS is an overkill.
> >
> > Again, I appreciate the feedback but I am not asking
> nor looking
> > for a software solution. My question is simple:
> >
> > Will a HARDWARE load balancer work? any reason why it
> WON'T work?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> >
> > --- On Thu, 11/20/08, Alex Balashov
> <abalashov at evaristesys.com> wrote:
> >
> >   
> >> What do you mean by "hardware" options? 
> There are
> >> no ASIC-assisted SIP load balancers out there. 
> :-)  The
> >> embedded "hardware-based" options are
> load
> >> balancers built just like PCs - often on top of a
> UNIX
> >> kernel - that run a software application-aware
> load
> >> balancing suite.
> >>
> >> Your best bet is a proxy for the round-robin part,
> and
> >> Linux-HA for the high availability of the proxy,
> as Grygoriy
> >> suggested.
> >>
> >> Nitzan Kon wrote:
> >>
> >>     
> >>> --- On Thu, 11/20/08, Grygoriy Dobrovolskyy
> >>>       
> >> <megahohol at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>     
> >>>> 2 openser servers with 3 ip adresses (1
> virtual) +
> >>>> heartbeat to ensure the
> >>>> failover + watchdog to ensure if
> >>>>         
> >> opensips/kamalio/openser
> >>     
> >>>> crashes a nice
> >>>> failover & reboot, it is working
> stable here
> >>>> (dispatching to 10 servers +
> >>>> owners DID dispatch to their respective
> servers)
> >>>>
> >>>> join #opensips on freenode if you need
> more info.
> >>>>         
> >>> Thanks for the info. :)
> >>>
> >>> I want to stay away from software solutions
> however.
> >>>       
> >> Are there
> >>     
> >>> any hardware solutions? would a plain load
> balancer
> >>>       
> >> work?
> >>     
> >>> If we can't get it working with a LB
> we'll
> >>>       
> >> look at OpenSIPS,
> >>     
> >>> but I'd like to explore hardware options
> first.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks!
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Nitzan Kon, CEO
> >>> Future Nine Corporation
> >>> www.future-nine.com
> >>>       
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by
> http://www.api-digital.com --
> >
> > asterisk-users mailing list
> > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit:
> >   
> http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
> >