So im helping to setup a dev/test environment at work that i finally got funding for. The environment will be mostly, if not all, on a few ESXi boxes.
We have a ServerIron XL that is a load balancing switch for our production environment (web servers, exhchange, MOSS wfe's etc.) Its in its own location (our datacenter), on its own VLAN, doing its thing.
Our dev/test environment is local, in a switch closet, near my office, it uses its own VLAN, ACL's and whatnot completely separate from anything production. So im working on upgrading Sharepoint to 2010 (shoot me now), and have gotten to the point where i need to load balance our web front ends.
The serverIron wont work because of ACL/routing that i (we) are not willing to concede for the purposing of testing the configuration. So i spent much of today trying to make pfsense's load balancing work in this environment. But we dont do any NAT (in production or in dev/test), and i dont need it running as a firewall, just as a SLB. Tried setting it up by disabling the FW/NAT, and even set allow all ACL's so its not blocking anything anyhow, giving both pfsense interfaces separate addresses in the same sbunet and VLAN, which is also where the servers are, and then creating the pools and VIPs. but i could not for the life of me get it to register the Virtual Server IP or route to hosts to the pools. Tried setting the interface GW of the web server addresses to the pfsense box, setting the virtual IP the same and different from the 'WAN' or even other interfaces and it just wasnt having it. I concluded that pfsense only wanted to do inbound load balancing if its acting like a firewall and can do some NATing. I could ping the host IPs that were in the pools from pfsense, but the VIP would not balance anything.
So i gave up and am looking at some VMware appliances to simulate the job for me.
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/cat/8193
does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on them? Im looking at Zeus and LoadMAster primarily but may consider profense or jetNexus. THe F5 isnt really free, so im not really willing to pay for it for dev/test.
I dont need anything fancy, just some least_connection or round robin load balancing across a couple web front ends to make sure MOSS and alternate access connections are working as they should with content databases. I would like something that i may be able to deploy in a small bind if that ServerIron craps out too, but thats secondary as i am planning to move off of it to a new F5 int he coming months anyhow. I inherited ServerIron XL and the previous regime didnt bother with backup power supplies or anything, so its a single POF for exchange, sharepoint, and about 15 websites, including our main one right now as well.
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