Seamless migration: From Citrix NetScaler to Loadbalancer Enterprise in 3 easy steps

Has your Citrix NetScaler ADC license gone end-of-sale? Looking for an alternative, but worried about how painful it will be to migrate to an alternative? Don't be. Here's an illustration of how it can be as easy as 1, 2, 3...    

Citrix NetScaler has gone end-of-sale!

In 2022, NetScaler announced that their perpetually licensed hardware (MPX/SDX) and software (VPX/BLX) NetScaler ADC licenses would go end-of-sale on March 8th 2023.

Since then, the March 8th 2023 deadline has passed. So, in order to license new NetScaler MPX and SDX deployments, organizations now have to move to a subscription model. But is this the right path for them?

As a result, we've been inundated with inquiries from people wanting to know whether:

• We offer perpetual licenses (yes, we do), and
• How easy it would be to migrate from a Citrix NetScaler to one of our Loadbalancer Enterprise appliances (the simple answer: very easy. And here's an example configuration to prove it...).

Deploying a Citrix NetScaler config on a Loadbalancer Enterprise appliance

The method I used to perform the migration was to build a parallel Loadbalancer.org configuration alongside the existing Citrix load balancer. This allowed me to keep the service up and running while also being able to test the new configuration in isolation. I was then able to use a simple DNS change to migrate over to the new load balancer once the configuration was completely tested and operational.

1.The Citrix NetScaler configuration

I used the following sample Citrix NetScaler configuration:

• Layer 7 HTTP VIP with SSL offload and redirect: l7-https.loadbalancer.work
• 3x Backend web servers - port 80 with health checks
• Alternate backend server with a specific URL: othersite.loadbalancer.work
• Source IP persistence.

Here's how it looked...

Here we have the virtual servers for the 2 websites:

A service group has been created to group with the 3 backend webservers:

As there is only a single web server for the alternate backend server, a single web service has been defined for the backend:

Finally, you have the front-end configuration.

VIPs:

The CS-VIP-80 is bound to a policy that redirects the inbound http://FQDN to https://FQDN . Meanwhile, CS-VIP-443 is bound to a wildcard certificate and has FQDN-based rules to redirect to the backend virtual servers.

2.The Loadbalancer Enterprise configuration

It is important to note that the Loadbalancer Enterprise appliance connects to the backend real servers via the IP address configured in the interface.

This is different from the Citrix NetScaler which uses the subnet IP. Therefore, should the real servers be in a different subnet behind a firewall, the ACLs would first need to be changed to allow the appliance Source IP address.

The VIP_CS_80 is configured as a frontend and accepts all frontend connections. VIP-Other is set up as a backend only, like so:

On VIP_CS_80 the content switching is achieved by first dropping any requests that do not match all valid FQDNs, and then redirecting to the VIP-Other id the FQDN matches othersite.loadbalancer.work.

The default behavior is then to default to load balancing across the three backend servers for l7-https.loadbalancer.work:

SSL termination has been added to the front-end VIP_CS_80 and the force HTTPS has been enabled with a 301 (move permanent) set.

3.Putting it all together

This is just one validated migration from Citrix NetScaler to a Loadbalancer Enterprise appliance, and we would be happy to have a conversation regarding the specifics of your current deployments.

So hopefully I've demonstrated how easy it is to migrate from a Citrix NetScaler to a Loadbalancer Enterprise appliance. And, should you need them, our Support team is always here to help with any issues or questions.

Why replace Citrix NetScaler with Loadbalancer Enterprise?

Whether or not you choose to use Loadbalancer Enterprise as your NetScaler alternative is, of course, up to you. But for what it's worth, here are some things you might not know about how we're different from some of the other load balancing vendors on the market...

Reason 1: Price

We're significantly cheaper than a NetScaler!!!

Don’t believe me? Full disclosure. We’re not the only load balancing vendor you can save money with. Our competitor, Kemp, has also made the same argument. Here’s how Kemp weighed up against Citrix.

BUT…

Unlike Kemp, we believe in keeping things simple. And cost transparency. After all, who wants to keep track of physical licenses, virtual licenses, and pooled and instance capacities? And pay a massive premium for the privilege? Personally, I don't believe that any business, no matter how large, should pay millions of dollars per year for load balancing.

That's why, Loadbalancer.org has a simple option at an unbelievable price (available as a perpetual license) with zero end-of-life guaranteed! Here are your options (and the numbers):

Enterprise Site and Global Site Licenses

• All the instances you need, unlimited capacity, and a single fixed cost (best value on the entire market, guaranteed).

Single Site License (unlimited ADCs at a single site or data center)

• Perpetual License Cost - $23,970
• Annual Support Fee - $6,000; OR
• Available as a monthly subscription from just $1,080 per month

Global Site License (unlimited ADCs at the main sites or data centers you want — forever)

• Perpetual License Cost - $143,820
• Annual Support Fee - $36,000; OR
• Available as a monthly subscription from just $6,480/month

Reason 2: Tailoring

Not only do we offer Layer 4, Layer 7, and GSLB plug-and-play functionality to serve the needs of the majority, but we're also able to tailor features to suit the needs of individual application vendors.

Loadbalancer.org is the only load balancing vendor in the market to offer technology and software providers ADC appliances that can be tailored and adapted to meet their exact needs. Using our fully-featured enterprise-grade ADC appliance as the core we selectively prune the superfluous features and services, while conversely, enhancing and adding functionality if required.

The resultant load balancer is fully optimized for their application and environment, powerful enough to meet their current and future needs, while streamlined enough to not become a burden for engineers or clients.

Tailoring is not only limited to the appliance. Commercial agreements can be flexed as well. From basic bulk discount and rebate deals, to more complex subscription and rental agreements, whatever the need, we can tailor financial agreements to suit our partners.

And it doesn’t end there. Support can also be tailored to meet specific needs. Some of our partners require us to provide first and subsequent level support for all ADC related end-user queries. Other clients prefer to engage as first line support and escalate to us as required. And some prefer to handle all support themselves – in which case we have developed tailored training programs to allow their teams to excel in supporting “their ADC”.

Reason 3: Clever, not complex

Our easy to use load balancers have a user-friendly interface designed to give you all the functionality you need, but in a way that empowers you to easily deploy, maintain, and update the appliances yourself.

This philosophy is the opposite of a Citrix NetScaler! Unlike Citrix who offers some of the most complicated solutions on the market, with features you’re unlikely to ever need, our load balancers are designed to be used by real people. With real time pressures. And real problems to solve. As such, our customers can manage and maintain their load balancer appliances themselves — without having to pay through the nose for a certified expert to do it for them!

And our consultative support team are always here, ready to help with any questions about your specific environment or deployment.