How to setup Unified Workspace and load balancer

How to setup Unified Workspace and load balancer

There are no specifically supported or unsupported load balancers at this time.  How to put a Unified Workspace server+relay or relay behind a load balancer is not much different than how you would put any other web server.

Here are things to make sure you check:
  1. You will want to have your load balancer handle the redirect from port 80 to port 443, so that all communication is performed using ssl.
  2.  Verify load balancer persistence (sticky sessions) is configured. For example, when a user is sent to server1, they will stay with server1 until such time when server1 is unavailable. If you let them bounce between any Unified Workspace server after initial connection then many web applications (PROXY) will fail because you end up sending them to a server that is not ready to handle their connection. If you do not use Unified Workspace clustering service, you would have a similar situation where servers are not aware of other sessions and would be prompted for login again.  Various types of persistence may exist on a load balancer the recommended is cookie persistence; however, this may vary based on options available. 
  3. If you are going to offload SSL, then this options need to be turned on the Unified Workspace relays (webAdmin -> Relay Admin) and the service needs to be restarted.  Some load balancers have an option for an SSL Bridge which will then pass the data thru the load balancer untouched to the relay.  You would still need to have SSL enabled on Unified Workspace relays.  This option however prevents the real ip number from the user (x-forwarded-for) to be sent from the load balancer so you may have issues with all users looking like they came from the load balancer.
  4.  If you have any PROXY web applications that use alternate ports, you may have to also configure those to go through the load balancer. We've found that with some load balancers, they must be configured with a single service to handle all ports, versus have separate services for each port. Otherwise, the load balancer balances the ports separate and causes connection issues.
  5. The Unified Workspace session is stored in a session cookie called CStoneSessionID, this cookie needs to be passed with each request to the relay.
  6. For testing / debug purposes with Unified Workspace, it is important to have a way to test outside of the LB.  It's possible some issues are simply a misconfiguration on the load balancer and not a Unified Workspace code or configuration issue. 
  7. If you have a new load balancer or have never configured your load balancer before, then it is best practice to test with a test Unified Workspace server or other less used web servers.  If you need assistance setting a test Unified Workspace server, please contact support. 
  8. Make sure you are able to contact your vendor for support on your specific load balancer as Lenovo Software can only provide general configuration suggestions and not specific configurations for your model of load balancer.
  9. Make sure your timeout for the load balancer is slightly greater than your timeout for Unified Workspace.  The default timeout for a new installation of Unified Workspace is 60 mins, but is configurable in the Server Management Console.
  10. If you are using HTML5 webRDP client you will need your load balancer to pass WebSockets. Depending on the load balancer, there may be an option to enable WebSocket support. If not, setting the Load Balancer to balance TCP versus HTTP may allow WebSockets to properly pass through.
  11. For correct logging and PersonalRDP, you will want to add "X-Forwarded-For" header to request to pass the users IP address to Unified Workspace server(s).

Reference(s):

Keywords:
LB
load-balancer
F5
Netscaler
Kemp

    Can't find the KB

    Unable to find the KB to address your issue ?  

      • Recent Articles

      • Lenovo Unified Workspace End-of-Life Questions and Answers

        Will the shutdown of LUW servers and access to downloads affect my server licensing? No, the shutdown of the customer servers and access to the product and licensing downloads will not affect your server licensing. This license is downloaded and ...
      • How do I determine my Unified Workspace license expiration date?

        The best method for determining the licensing information including the expiration date of your Unified Workspace license: Login to your 8090 management console on each server This may take remoting into each LUW server and relay, opening a browser, ...
      • Lenovo Unified Workspace 7.0.2.13 Released

        Highlights of Unified Workspace 7.0.2.13 Before you install: Please view the installation notes here. 7.0.2.13 requires a 7.0 license file. Below is a list of enhancements and fixes released in Unified Workspace 7.0.2.13 Fixed external storage ...
      • LanSchool Documentation Guides

        LanSchool Classic Teacher Console The LanSchool Teacher Console is the interface teachers will use to manage their classroom and students. It contains all the tools necessary for a teacher to effectively interact with students and create a ...
      • Lenovo Unified Workspace 7.0.1.41 Released

        Highlights of Unified Workspace 7.0.1.41 Before you install: Please view the installation notes here. 7.0.1.41 requires a 7.0 license file. Below is a list of enhancements and fixes for Unified Workspace 7.0.1.41 Updated Log4j Updated Java Updated ...
      • Related Articles

      • Lenovo Unified Workspace 7.0.0.63 Released

        Highlights of Unified Workspace 7.0.0.63 Before you install: Please view the installation notes here. 7.0.0.63 Requires new 7.0 license file. Below is a list of enhancements and fixes for Unified Workspace 7.0.0.63 New Profile Style New Login ...
      • Unified Workspace product changes.

        The changes in Unified Workspace can be found here.
      • Unified Workspace Documentation

        Documentation for Unified Workspace. Lenovo Unified Workspace Product Guide PDF HTML Lenovo Unified Workspace 7 Upgrade Notes Lenovo Unified Workspace Pre-Installation Guide Lenovo Unified Workspace Pre-Installation Guide for LUW + AD LDS Lenovo ...
      • Retiring Unified Workspace

        Lenovo and Stoneware are committed to providing the highest quality products and services to our customers. As part of our continued focus on innovation, we will be retiring Unified Workspace (formerly Stoneware webNetwork), effective January 31, ...
      • Unified Workspace Specifications

        Latest Version 7.0.0.63 Browser Requirements Lenovo Unified Workspace requires a browser with JavasScript support.  Clients will need to meet the minimal requirements of a browser and Internet/network connections for full functionality. The list ...