The Disadvantages of DSR (Direct Server Return)

@Paul,

 

 

I assume by transparent proxy you mean that traffic flows through the load balancer (which acts as a forwarding switch) even though it is deployed in a DSR configuration.

 

 

This would be similar to an L4 or L7 delayed binding scenario. Once the connection to the server is made, it simply forwards all requests/responses appropriately, but does not inspect the packets as they flow through the device. Because it is essentially acting as a bridging switch after the initial connection, all of the disadvantages apply.

 

 

If it's acting as a true (full) proxy, then you can avoid the disadvantages, but you can't deploy the load balancer in a DSR configuration because the connections are coming from the load balancer (it becomes the client as far as the server is concerned) and must return to the load balancer.

 

 

So I guess the short answer is "no", I'm not seeing a way to deploy DSR without incurring the disadvantages. :-)