Distributor

Distributor is a software TCP load balancer. Like other load balancers, it accepts connections and distributes them to an array of back end servers. Distributor is compatible with any standard TCP protocol (HTTP, LDAP, IMAP, etc.) and is also IPv6 compatible. Distributor has many unique and advanced features and a high-performance architecture.

Distributor's SourceForge project page

• Downloads
• Mailing lists

Distributor is written in Java and requires a Java 1.5 compatible JVM.

Features

Some of Distributor's many unique and advanced features:

• Integrated testing of back end servers
• Optional termination of client connections to misfunctioning servers
• Online control of load balancer configuration
• Grouping of servers with rollover from group to group
• Two connection distribution methods: round robin and hashed based on client IP address
• TCP Console access to control Distributor online

Architecture

Distributor uses the non-blocking I/O API introduced in Java 1.4 (in the java.nio package) to avoid the performance bottlenecks found in traditional forking or threaded designs. There is a seperate page with more details of Distributor's architecture.

"Competition"

Similar Open Source software:

• balance
• pen

If you have any questions or need any help with installing or maintaining Distributor, email me at pafortin -at- codingjunky.com