Problems with Arrowpoint cookies for clients behind a Proxy

[Alejandro Cadarso Cerdeirina]

I have in a WebSite clients being load balanced using Arrowpoint cookies to a virtual Server. The CSS load balance between three Apache real servers.

I have some clients that are behind some kind of Proxy Cache and I have seen with a sniffer that the proxies causing the problem Re-use proxy to our server connections for different requests for multiple clients.

Then, as I understand the CSS make the forwarding decission based on the cookie of the first request for the first client behind the proxy after establishing the HTTP connection, but when there is a request from other client using this same connection (that must be forwarded to other real server) the request is forwarded to the original web server and fails because we need sticky connections.

I thought that this wasn't correct but I have read some documents that say that this is called a Proxy role as a "connection cache". Then my question is if there is any workaround for this problem.

Thanks

[cody.rowland]

I have a question: Have you confirmed that the sticky works for a single user connecting through the proxy server? For example, if I'm the first connection through the proxy to the web farm does it stick me to the correct server for the duration of my session?

I have a couple of possible solutions depending on the answer.

Cody Rowland

Infrastructure Engineer

[Alejandro Cadarso Cerdeirina]

Yes I have confirmed that when a single user connects through the proxy server it is sticked to the same server for all the session.

Thanks, Alejandro

[Gilles Dufour · Accepted solution]

I believe your problem is that the proxy open a few persistent connections with the CSS and loadbalance your client's request over them.

Once the CSS has associated a connection with a service, it does not look into the request anymore.

The solution is to disable persistence on the CSS with the command 'no persistent' and 'persistence reset'.

Find more info at :

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/contnetw/ps789/products_tech_note09186a0080093e06.shtml#crp

Gilles.

[dcayer]

Alejandro, Can you tell us what is the Proxy in question?

Gilles, would it be preferable to disable this "persistence" on the Proxy? Do you know if this is even an option on a Proxy?

Daniel

[Gilles Dufour]

some proxy let you configure the persistence and number of connections it will have open for each destination.

Just depends which one you have.

If you control the proxy it is a better idea to reconfigure the proxy.

Gilles.

[Alejandro Cadarso Cerdeirina]

That's It,

Thanks a lot Gilles

Alejandro