The Application Load
Manager is a separate process that can be used to control distribution
of client requests across multiple Application Servers. The Load Manager
can run on any node that is visible to both the Application Brokers
and Application Servers. The Load Manager keeps track of which Application
Servers are busy. When a new request arrives, it is routed to an idle
server. If no servers are idle, the request queues at the Load Manager
and waits for the first available server. In the case of pool services,
the Load Manager can start another Application Server when all servers
are busy. It can also shut down unused servers after an idle time-out.
The Load Manager is
not required for socket and launch services, but it is recommended
for socket services that have more than one server. The Load Manager
is required for pool services.
See Using Services for more information
about service types. The Load Manager requires
only a few command line options to start and that a single directive
be added to the Application Broker configuration file.