Linode Forum

[Xipher]

Can the NodeBalancer addition send requests to the Linode(s) nearest the source of the request?

[mnordhoff]

NodeBalancers only support balancing between nodes in the same data center, and picking the node which is geographically 2 meters closer to the client is not overly useful. :P

[pclissold]

Xipher wrote: Geological Load Balancing
Geological load balancing sends requests to servers on the lithospheric plate nearest the source of the request -- Linode does not offer this feature yet.

[jords]

It determines the closest nodes using seismic waves.

[zunzun]

jords wrote: It determines the closest nodes using seismic waves.

Ha! - that's what the CIA *wants* you to think.

James

[Xipher]

mnordhoff wrote: NodeBalancers only support balancing between nodes in the same data center, and picking the node which is geographically 2 meters closer to the client is not overly useful. :P

Ok, that explains it!

Was looking more to have one URL I could have everyone hit that would either go to a server in Texas for our Merican' users or one in London :P

Thanks for the prompt response.

[hoopycat]

There's actually no 100%-accurate way to do this, although you can get pretty close.

Something like this is probably what you're after: http://www.dnsmadeeasy.com/enterprise-dns/global-traffic-director/ ... it's relatively inexpensive ($60/year plus $55/domain-month) and should just work. It's based on IP anycasting, so the recordset returned will be based upon the client's nameserver's network's decision as to which DME facility is closest.

If you are very familiar with DNS and have the facilities to handle it yourself, you can also return a different recordset based upon geolocation of the client's nameserver's originating IP address. This is somewhat less reliable: you have to do the geolocation quickly, which means you are going to have to store the database locally, and will need to update it frequently. Also, this data tends to cost money.

This might be helpful if you go down that path: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_DNS_server_software#Feature_matrix ("split horizon" is a closely related feature)

In any case, since Linode's DNS service is not anycast-based (and doing so would involve some serious network rearchitecture work that is otherwise unnecessary), the best they could do is the latter geolocation-based approach. And that's just not as fun. :-)