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Server affinity ties a user to a specific server for critical applications like online banking. Load balancers handle this process, but it can limit performance and scalability. Other options like local and database storage should be considered.
When a user accesses a computer system on the Internet, it may be using the underlying server affinity technology. This is a technique where an individual user is tied to a specific computer server on the internet. This one-to-one correlation is typically required for computer applications that store critical information about an individual. Some examples include online bill payment systems, banking and retail services.
Server affinity is a computing technique in which customer information is temporarily stored on a computing device to enable online sales transactions to be completed. This is most often used in retail programs. It ensures that a transaction remains intact on the server until the purchase is completed.
Most large computing applications are spread across many server clusters. This distributed process requires some form of server affinity to ensure that user session activity is available for every request. A load balancer typically handles this process similar to an automatic traffic controller. As each subsequent request is interpreted, the load balancer determines which server should handle the process.
There are many ways to get server affinity to work. One of the most used techniques is known as sticky session management. This is a process in which user session information is stored in local storage of the server that initiated the initial transaction. This information is also saved on the local computer for each additional request as a cookie. If the user makes further requests, he is automatically directed to the server that initiated the transaction.
Server affinity places some limitations on a computer application. This technique typically affects performance, flexibility, and reliability. When a program uses this approach, it forces requests to go to specific servers in the cluster. If these servers become overloaded or unavailable, the user will typically receive an error message that the Internet site is down, even if other servers are available.
When a distributed computer system is truly load balanced, each request is routed to a different server. This load balancing approach is reduced when server affinity techniques are applied. The load balancer is forced to send a request to specific machines, which can cause a box to become overloaded with requests.
It’s important to consider other options before implementing server affinity solutions. This typically limits the performance and scalability of an Internet-based application, which directly impacts application usage. Some better options include both local storage storage and database storage techniques that allow for stateless requesting to your application.
