Network Load Balancing Clusters

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Network Load Balancing clusters

This section of Windows Clustering covers Network Load Balancing (NLB), one of two clustering technologies offered as part of Windows. For a general overview of this subject, see Windows Clustering. You can use Network Load Balancing to enhance the scalability and availability of server applications. Applications that can take advantage of Network Load Balancing include Web services like HTTP and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (using Internet Information Services (IIS)), firewall and proxy (using ISA 2000), virtual private networking, Windows Media Services, Mobile Information Server, and Terminal Services. Network Load Balancing can also help you scale your server's performance to keep up with the increasing demands of your Internet-based clients.

A new Network Load Balancing feature is Network Load Balancing Manager. Network Load Balancing Manager allows you to create, configure, and manage all hosts of a Network Load Balancing cluster from a single computer. For more information, see Network Load Balancing key features.