Load Balancing the Manager Web

Load balancing the Gimmal Records Manager Web with only two web/app servers can present a situation where users are unable to log in if one of the servers is down. This is due to a Microsoft-recommended best practice configuration that prevents authentication requests from being re-directed to the originating server, which means (in this scenario) the authentication requests from the remaining server have no target to authenticate against. 

Versions Affected

All

Symptoms

Only a single server that is hosting the Manager Web of a load balanced configuration is up and running, resulting in users being unable to log in. The local Administrator account of the Gimmal Manager Web can log in locally.

Other than logging in, the software continues to run correctly - I.e., new documents and document updates are picked up and can be viewed in the Manager Web with the Administrator account; these documents are also correctly classified, reclassified, and expire their lifecycle phases.  Connectors will still be able to communicate between the various repositories and the Gimmal Records Core.  This is because they use accounts that are local to the Gimmal Records application, and which do not require a new authentication request in the same way a user login does.

Troubleshooting/Solution(s)

Troubleshooting this scenario will probably require the client’s network team or other IT personnel. The other servers’ IP addresses and possibly their host names in the load balanced configuration must be known.

Solution One: Confirm that on each server the IIS site for the Gimmal Records Core (both the main site and the STS site) is up and running.

Solution Two: Use a HOSTS file entry on each server to force authentication requests to remain on the originating server.  The HOSTS file needs to contain an entry for the relevant DNS entity (e.g., records.companyname.com) that points back to the local server’s IP address, NOT the load balancer IP address.

Solution Three: Maintain a load balanced configuration that includes at least three web/app servers.