Target-Based Load Balancing

The SME cluster consists of a set of switches (in a dual-fabric environment) running the SME application. Clustering offers target-based load balancing of SME application services. The cluster infrastructure allows the SME application to communicate and coordinate to maintain consistency and high availability.

Load balancing is achieved by distributing ownership of the various metadata objects throughout the cluster. SME assigns hosts to the available SME interfaces using the following algorithm:

• All hosts for a given target port are always assigned to the same SME interface.

• If a target port is connected to one of the SME switches, an interface is selected based on the load from the target-connected switch. That is, the target locality is considered when choosing a SME interface for a target.

• If a target is connected to a switch that has no SME interface, then the target is assigned to the least loaded available interface in the SME cluster.

In target-based load balancing, the load on an interface refers to the number of targets assigned to that interface.

Caution SME provides a load balancing CLI that allows you to rebalance the targets assigned to the available SME interfaces in the cluster. However, the load balancing command is disruptive to the traffic. Ensure that you execute this command at a scheduled downtime, otherwise, the existing traffic will be affected.