Experiences using software load balancing vs. a hardware load balancer?

Question

The ASP.NET application that I am currently responsible for at my day job has hit its limit in terms of its ability to scale inside a single server. Obviously we are working toward moving session out of process and the test and hopefully deploy date draws near. I would like to draw on the experiencies of people using the built in load balancing in Windows vs. an appliance solution such as one by Baracudda, Coyote Point, F5 etc. Did you start with one and move to the other and why ? thoughts and advice appreciated in advance... JavaScript questions and answers, JavaScript questions pdf, JavaScript question bank, JavaScript questions and answers pdf, mcq on JavaScript pdf, JavaScript questions and solutions, JavaScript mcq Test , Interview JavaScript questions, JavaScript Questions for Interview, JavaScript MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions)

Answer 1

I have some experience with load balanced solutions, however it really depends how your network and software are designed as to which is the best solution for you to go for. In terms of solutions I've encountered: Built in load balancing in windows works well for most cases, although you need to ensure your applications can handle sessions correctly if they're not sticky. etc. I've used F5 products, mainly as a caching solution, however they were overly complex for us. We are currently moving off them, as developers were not using them correctly as they were too complex. (Please note these were quite old F5 products.) We're currently trialing hardware load balancers from Foundry, and we'll probably go with them as they will fit in well with our network architecture. (Which is quite complex.). So I'd say, if you want a simple solution use load balancing in windows (If your applications will work correctly.). If not use something more complex. Regardless of which load balancer you go with, you're making your architecture more complex. So plan and test it carefully.