What are the pros and cons of using IIS shared configuration for web server farm synchronization?

1 Load Balancing

Load balancing is the process of distributing web requests among multiple servers in a web farm, based on factors such as server availability, capacity, and performance. Load balancing helps to improve the responsiveness and reliability of web applications by avoiding overloading any single server and providing failover in case of server failure. There are different types of load balancers, such as hardware, software, or network-based, that use different algorithms and methods to route web requests. IIS supports various load balancing solutions, such as Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB), Application Request Routing (ARR), or external load balancers.

2 Content Replication

Content replication is the process of copying and updating the web content, such as files, databases, and configuration settings, across multiple servers in a web farm. Content replication helps to ensure that all servers have the same version of the web content and can serve web requests consistently and accurately. There are different methods of content replication, such as manual, scheduled, or event-driven, that use different tools and protocols to transfer and synchronize web content. IIS supports various content replication solutions, such as Robocopy, DFS Replication, Web Deploy, or SQL Server Replication.

3 Shared Configuration

Shared configuration is a feature of IIS that allows you to store and manage the IIS configuration settings in a centralized location, such as a network share or a database, and apply them to multiple servers in a web farm. Shared configuration helps to simplify and automate the configuration management of web farms by eliminating the need to manually update each server individually and ensuring that all servers have the same configuration settings. IIS provides a user interface and a command-line tool to enable and disable shared configuration, as well as to export and import configuration settings.

4 Pros and Cons of Shared Configuration

When considering the use of shared configuration for web server farm synchronization, there are some advantages and disadvantages to consider. The pros include reducing complexity and errors of configuration management by centralizing settings, allowing for quick and easy changes, and supporting encryption and decryption of sensitive settings. However, there are cons such as introducing a single point of failure, requiring additional network bandwidth and storage space, and potential compatibility issues with some applications or modules.