We've seen the benefits of introducing Layer 4 server load balancing into an Internet infrastructure, but there are instances when this alone is not sufficient. For some applications, the use of information contained within the payload ”actual user data ”when making the decision can offer many benefits. In this chapter, we will look at when and where the use of Layer 7 techniques can be useful, why the introduction has an impact on the frame flow in TCP sessions, and a series of examples of using Layer 7 information for server load balancing. |