IOS SLB slow connections

[MICHAEL WAISBROT]

We are running the IOS SLB native IOS to front end some application servers. It has been working very well for a long time. However, I have noticed some problems lately with load balanced servers behind a virtual IP accessing another server farm behind another virtual ip. For example, we have a set of smtp servers the access a VIP for the sendmail servers, then sendmail may need to access a VIP for either Lotus notes server farm and the exchange server farm. If I got straight to the real address of the servers it work instantly. If I use the VIPs for communication there is a few second lag, that become a very big issue when he is a lot of mail comming in.

Has anyone noticed or found issues with load balanced server hitting a VIP for another load balanced server farm...

Please help

[thomas.chen]

The slow start capability of IOS SLB allows a new server to increase its load gradually, preventing failures caused by assigning the server too many new connections too quickly. In an environment that uses weighted least connections load balancing, a real server that is placed in service initially has no connections, and could therefore be assigned so many new connections that it becomes overloaded. To prevent such an overload, the slow start feature controls the number of new connections that are directed to a real server that has just been placed in service.