answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

I will make a few assumptions here: 1) By "Windows Clustering Network Load Balancing" you mean Windows Network Load Balancing software included in Windows Server software a.k.a NLB., and 2) By Round Robin, you mean DNS Round Robin meaning the absence of a software or hardware load balancing device, or the concept of the Round Robin algorithm available in just about every load balancing solution.

Microsoft NLB is designed for a small number (4 - 6) of Windows Servers and a low to moderate number of new connections per second, to provide distribution of web server requests to multiple servers in a virtual resource pool. Some would call this a "cluster", but there are suttle differences between a clustered group of devices and a more loosely configured virtual pool. From the standpoint of scalability and performance, almost all hardware load balancing solutions are superior to this and other less known software load balancing solutions [e.g. Bright Tiger circa 1998].

DNS Round Robin is an inherent load balancing method built into DNS. When you resolve an IP address that has more than one A record, DNS hands out different resolutions to different requesting local DNS servers. Although there are several factors effecting the exact resulting algorithm (e.g. DNS caching, TTL, multiple DNS servers [authoritative or cached]), I stress the term "roughly" when I say it roughly results in an even distribution of resolutions to each of the addresses specified for a particular URL. It does not however, consider availability, performance, or any other metric and is completely static. The basic RR algorithm is available in many software and hardware load balancing solutions and simply hands the next request to the next resource and starts back at the first resource when it hits the last one.

NLB is based on proprietary software, meant for small groups of Windows servers only on private networks, and is dynamic in nature (takes into account availability of a server, and in some cases performance). "Round Robin", DNS or otherwise, is more generic, static in nature (does not take into account anything but the resource is a member of the resource pool and each member is equal), and ranges from DNS to the default static load balancing method on every hardware device in the market.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Differences between Windows Clustering Network Load Balancing and Round Robin?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What is clustering.?

Clustering is when two or more servers are linked together with the Network Load Balancing protocol (in Windows) to allow for faster response time and reliability. This way, if one server goes down, another can pick up the slack without any interuption in network performance - in theory anyway! :-)The word clustering means alot of numbers (:


What are the differences between Windows Clustering Network Load?

The difference is that Windows Clustering provides three different, but complementary, clustering technologies. The clustering technologies, which ship in a number of different products, can be used separately or combined to provide scalable and highly-available services and Network Load Balancing to enhance the scalability and availability of server applications. Applications that can take advantage of Network Load Balancing include Web services like HTTP and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (using Internet Information Services (IIS)), firewall and proxy (using ISA 2000), virtual private networking, Windows Media Services, Mobile Information Server, and Terminal Services. Network Load Balancing can also help you scale your server's performance to keep up with the increasing demands of your Internet-based clients. A new Network Load Balancing feature is Network Load Balancing Manager. Network Load Balancing Manager allows you to create, configure, and manage all hosts of a Network Load Balancing cluster from a single computer.A diferença é que o Windows Clustering oferece três diferentes, mas complementares, clustering tecnologias. O agrupamento tecnologias, que um navio em número de produtos diferentes, podem ser utilizadas separadamente ou combinadas para proporcionar escalável e altamente disponível serviços e Balanceamento de Carga de Rede para aumentar a escalabilidade e disponibilidade de aplicações de servidor. As aplicações que podem tirar partido de Balanceamento de Carga de Rede incluir serviços da Web como HTTP e FTP (File Transfer Protocol) (usando o Internet Information Services (IIS)), firewall e proxy (utilizando o ISA 2000), rede privada virtual, o Windows Media Services, Mobile Information Server e Terminal Services. Balanceamento de Carga de Rede também pode ajudá-lo a escala de desempenho do seu servidor para acompanhar as crescentes exigências de seus clientes com base na Internet. Uma nova característica é Network Load Balancing Network Load Balancing Manager. Network Load Balancing Manager permite-lhe criar, configurar e gerenciar todos OS hosts de um cluster de Balanceamento de Carga de Rede um único computador.


Differences between Win 2000 server and Advanced Server?

Windows 2000 Advanced Server adds advanced symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) support, clustering, and load-balancing to the other technologies in Windows 2000 Server, so you can run more demanding e-commerce and line-of-business applications."


What is meant by the term 'server clustering'?

When using the term server clustering in reference to computer lingo, this would mean a group of of servers running Windows Server 2003. One can find more information on the Wikipedia website.


Is a Windows 2003 network or an Ethernet network better?

Un-comparable, even if it were such thing as 'windows 2003 network'.


What is the default clustering size setting when formatting a windows ntfs partition on a hard disk drive larger than 2gb?

4kb


What is the different between network ability in windows server and windows client?

The Windows server OS has the ability to establish and manage a domain network. A Windows client on the other hand can only join such a network but not control it.


What is the newest network of Microsoft Windows?

Windows 7


What is network neighbourhood?

Network Neighborhood is the Microsoft Windows name for a way/method to browse the Local Area Network. Network Neightborhood has now become My Network Places in Windows XP. The function remains the same.


How do you network Windows xp and vista?

Set up a "Home Network"


Can you have the windows welcome screen on a network?

no


What is the purpose of MY Network Places on window XP?

In the Microsoft Windows operating systems, My Network Places is the network browser feature in Windows Explorer from Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows Me onwards. It superseded the Network Neighborhood feature from Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98.Users are frequently confused by the differences between My Network Places, Workgroup Computers (the former Network Neighborhood) and Network Connections. Windows Vista fixes this ambiguity by introducing a redesigned network browser, which was named simply on the desktop as Network.It shows shortcuts to servers that the user has been to before, which by default is placed in a folder called NetHood, found in the user's user profile. This default location can be changed by modifying the pair of NetHood registry entries found under the registry keys HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders. [1][2]In a workgroup of fewer than 32 computers,[3] the list of network destinations in My Network Places is generated by one of the computers on the network, which has been designated "browse master" (sometimes called "master browser"). [4] The browse-master is elected by system strength. Sometimes when similar systems are connected to a network, there might be a conflict between browse-masters with unexpected consequences, such as the disappearance of the list altogether or some system becoming unreachable. A system can be forced to decline browse-master status by disabling the Computer Browser service and rebooting.In a workgroup of 32 computers or more, the shortcuts are created automatically when the user opens a shared network resource, such as a printer or shared folder.[3]