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Choosing the correct Load Balancer
As of version 8.5.2 of IBM® Sametime®, it is recommended that all Sametime components use the IBM Edge Components User Space Load Balancer (IPv4 & IPv6), which is the strategic Load Balancer for IBM (IBM is attempting to deprecate the Legacy Load Balancer).
How can you tell the difference between the User Space and Legacy Load Balancer since these titles are not used in the product description download?
The Legacy Load Balancer has a description as shown in figure 1.
Figure 1. Legacy Load Balancer description
The User Space Load Balancer has a description that will include IPv6. Use this one, even if you are testing in an IPv4 environment.
Figure 2 shows a list of the User Space examples for the common Load Balancers that the Sametime System Verification Test team would likely use.
Figure 2. List of User Space examples
When you start launchpad.exe, select IBM Edge Components, and then the Load Balancer option at the top, as shown in figure 3.
Figure 3. launchpad.exe window
You will know you have the User Space Load Balancer because it will want to install in a ULB directory as shown in figure 4 (Legacy installs in an LB directory).
Figure 4. ULB install directory
Microsoft Windows system requirements and installation
For information on hardware and software requirements, including supported browsers, refer to the IBM Support document # 7006921, “
WebSphere Application Server detailed system requirements.”
Before you begin
Before beginning the installation procedure, ensure you have logged in as the Administrator or as a user with administrative privileges. Note that the Microsoft® Windows® version of Load Balancer cannot be installed on the same machine with an IBM Firewall.
If you have an earlier version installed, you should uninstall that copy before installing the current version. To uninstall using the Add/Remove Program, do the following:
- Select Start --- Control Panel, and double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- Select IBM WebSphere Edge Components (or a previous name, for example, IBM Edge Server)
- Click the Change/Remove button.
Installation steps
To install Load Balancer:
- Run launchpad.exe.
- Choose IBM Edge Components from the left-hand column and then choose to “Launch the installation wizard for Edge Components Load Balancer for IPv6” (see figure 5).
Figure 5. Run launchpad.exe
3. To continue, click Next on the Welcome window (see figure 6).
Figure 6. Welcome window
4. Accept the software license agreement and click Next (see figure 7).
Figure 7. Software License Agreement window
5. Choose the default install directory and click Next (see figure 8).
Figure 8. Default install directory
6. Choose your language and click Next (see figure 9).
Figure 9. Choose your language
7. Choose Typical for the setup type and click Next (see figure 10).
Figure 10. Typical setup type
8. Check your summary and click Next (see figure 11).
Figure 11. Summary window
9. Once the install completes, click Next (see figure 12).
Figure 12. Success window
10. Select to restart the computer and click Finish, to complete the install (see figure 13).
Figure 13. Restart computer
Load Balancer install paths include the following:
- Administration: C:\Program Files\IBM\edge\ulb\admin
- Load Balancer components: C:\Program Files\IBM\edge\ulb\servers
- Metric Server: C:\Program Files\IBM\edge\ulb\ms
- Documentation (Administration Guide): C:\Program Files\IBM\edge\ulb\documentation
Configuring the Load Balancer
The next step is to configure your Load Balancer after the machine restarts. To do this:
1. Launch the Load Balancer from the directory shown in figure 14.
Figure 14. Launch directory
2. Select “Connect to Host…” (see figure 15).
Figure 15. Connect to Host option
3. Select “Start Configuration Wizard” (see figure 16)
Figure 16. Start Configuration Wizard option
4. In the Welcome window, click Next (see figure 17).
Figure 17. Welcome window
5. In the What to Expect window, click Next (see figure 18).
Figure 18. What to Expect window
6. In the next window, click the Create Configuration button (see figure 19).
Figure 19. Create Configuration button
7. Accept the default port, and click Update Configuration & Continue (see figure 20).
Figure 20. Update Configuration & Continue button
8. Enter the hostname of the cluster that users will be accessing for load-balancing and click Update Configuration & Continue. Note that this is not the hostname of the machine on which the Load Balancer is installed; you must have a second hostname and IP address for the Dispatcher (see figure 21).
Figure 21. Enter the hostname
9. You should see the Cluster Added Successfully window; click Next (see figure 22).
Figure 22. Cluster Added Successfully window
10. Enter the port for the service that you want to have load-balanced, and click Update Configuration & Continue (see figure 23).
Figure 23. Adding a Port window
Remember that the service on all the servers you want to load-balance must be running on the same port. So if you have ServerX and ServerY, make sure the Sametime service you want to balance is running on the same port on both servers. In our case the service on ServerX and ServerY are both running on port 5065.
To check what port your Sametime servers are running on:
a) Log in to your Deployment Manager’s Integrated Solutions Console.
b) From the left-hand menu, select Servers --- Server Types --- WebSphere application servers.
c) Click into one of servers you are load-balancing and, under Communications, expand Ports; you will see the port on which your server is running.
d) Repeat the above step for the second server you want to load-balance (and any others if more than two), and check whether the port is the same.
e) If the port is different, click Details, and edit the port so that all servers are running on the same port.
11. Check that the port has been added to the cluster, and click Next (see figure 24).
Figure 24. Port Added Successfully window
12. Next, you are prompted for the server name that you want to load-balance. Click the Add a server button, enter the host name of any servers you want balanced, and click Update Configuration & Continue (see figure 25).
Figure 25. Adding Servers window
13. There are several advisors you can use to collect info from the server. For a full list, consult the product documentation that comes with the Load Balancer. In this case, we used http. Click Update Configuration & Continue (see figure 26).
Figure 26. Starting an Advisor window
14. You are then told that the advisor has been successfully started; click Next (see figure 27).
Figure 27. Advisor Started Successfully window
15. You are then prompted to select the OS on which your servers you want to balance are running (see figure 28). When you do, it provides instructions on how to set up the loopback address on these servers. Follow the instructions and then click Exit.
Figure 28. Setting Up the Server Machine window
Conclusion
Your Load Balancer is now configured and ready to use. For information on managing your Load Balancer, a full list of advisors, metric server functions for Dispatcher, and other advanced features, refer to the product documentation that comes with the Load Balancer.
Resources
developerWorks IBM Sametime zone:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/products/instantmessaging/
developerWorks WebSphere Application Server zone:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/zones/was/
About the authors
Conall O'Cofaigh is a Software Engineer working on the IBM Sametime Verification Test team. He's been with IBM since 2008, focusing on integration and interoperability across Sametime products. You can reach him at
OCOFAIGH@ie.ibm.com.
John Doody is a Software Engineer working on the Sametime Verification Test team. He has been with IBM since 2009, focusing on integration and interoperability across Sametime products. You can reach him at
JOHN.DOODY@ie.ibm.com.