How to Increase the Resources of Your Avi Networks Load Balancers
As a former user of Avi Networks, I have come to appreciate the ease and flexibility of their load balancing solution. However, if you are not careful about the default settings, your Service Engines may deploy with only 1 CPU and 2 GB of RAM. This can be a problem if you have a high-traffic website or application that requires more resources. In this blog post, we will explore how to change the default settings and increase the resources of your Avi Networks load balancers.
NSX ALB Essentials vs. Enterprise
Before we dive into the steps for increasing resources, it’s important to understand the differences between NSX ALB Essentials and Enterprise. If you are using NSX ALB Essentials, you are limited to using Legacy Active/Standby HA mode, which means you cannot easily disable a VS and have a new Service Engine redeploy. On the other hand, if you are using NSX ALB Enterprise, you can follow the documentation on how to seamlessly increase a group’s resources.
Creating a New Service Engine Group
To increase the resources of your load balancers, we need to create a new Service Engine Group with larger resources. To do this, navigate to Infrastructure > Service Engine Group and click Create. Create a new SE group with your desired settings and larger resources. Once you hit save, you will now have two groups: the default group and the new group.
Moving Virtual Services to the New Group
To move your Virtual Services to the new group, navigate to the Virtual Service and click Edit/Pencil Icon. Navigate to Advanced and change the SE Group to your new temporary one. You will now see your Virtual Service move over to the new group. Since it uses Legacy Active/Passive, the VS will be down as the additional Service Engines deploy. Therefore, it is recommended to use a temporary or non-critical VS for this step.
Once you have moved all your non-critical or temporary Virtual Services to the new group, you can increase the resources of the default group. To do this, navigate to Infrastructure > Service Engine Group and select the unused Service Engines. Click Delete, and then edit the default group to increase its resources.
Moving Remaining Virtual Services
Once the additional Service Engines have deployed, you can move your remaining Virtual Services from the default group to the new group one at a time using the steps above. As the Service Engines are already deployed, the failover will not be as disruptive.
Deleting Unused Service Engines and Groups
Once all your Virtual Services have been moved to the new group, you can delete the unused Service Engines and service engine group. To do this, navigate to Infrastructure > Service Engine Group and select the unused Service Engines. Click Delete, and then delete the unused service engine group.
Conclusion
In conclusion, increasing the resources of your Avi Networks load balancers is a straightforward process that requires careful planning and execution. By creating a new Service Engine Group with larger resources and moving your Virtual Services over to the new group, you can ensure that your high-traffic websites and applications run smoothly and efficiently. Remember to use temporary or non-critical VSs for the initial move to avoid any disruptions. With these steps, you can easily increase the resources of your Avi Networks load balancers and ensure the best possible performance for your users.