Troubleshooting NetScaler

Book excerpt: Gain essential knowledge and keep your NetScaler environment in top form About This Book Learn how the main features - Load Balancing, Content Switching, GSLB, SSL offloading, AAA, AppFirewall, and Gateway work under the hood using vividly explained flows and traces Explore the NetScaler layout and the various logs, tools and methods available to help you when it's time to debug An easy-to-follow guide, which will walk you through troubleshooting common issues in your NetScaler environment Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at NetScaler administrators who have a basic understanding of the product but are looking for deeper exposure and guidance in identifying and fixing issues to keep their application environment performing optimally. What You Will Learn Troubleshoot traffic management features such as load balancing, SSL, GSLB and content switching Identify issues with caching and compression Deal with authentication issues when using LDAP, RADIUS, certificates, Kerberos and SAML Diagnose NetScaler high availability and networking issues Explore how application firewall protections work and how to avoid false positives Learn about NetScaler Gateway integration issues with XenApp, XenDesktop, and XenMobile Deal with NetScaler system-level issues Discover the NetScaler troubleshooting tools In Detail NetScaler is a high performance Application Delivery Controller (ADC). Making the most of it requires knowledge that straddles the application and networking worlds. As an ADC owner you will also likely be the first person to be solicited when your business applications fail. You will need to be quick in identifying if the problem is with the application, the server, the network, or NetScaler itself. This book provides you with the vital troubleshooting knowledge needed to act fast when issues happen. It gives you a thorough understanding of the NetScaler layout, how it integrates with the network, and what issues to expect when working with the traffic management, authentication, NetScaler Gateway and application firewall features. We will also look at what information to seek out in the logs, how to use tracing, and explore utilities that exist on NetScaler to help you find the root cause of your issues. Style and approach This helpful guide to troubleshooting NetScaler is delivered in a comprehensive and easy-to-follow manner. The topics in the book adopt a step-by-step approach.