Kemp recently released a free version of their virtual LoadMaster (VLM) load balancer solution. It is just like a regular VLM with some restrictions of course. There’s no High Availability support in the free LoadMaster, there’s only web-based support and you cannot update the firmware to a newer version for example. Also the bandwidth is limited to 20Mbit (L7) throughput with 50 transactions (TPS) 2K SSL keys.

However, it does support the nice features such as Global Server load balancing, the Application Firewall Pack and the Edge Security Pack. This makes it a perfect solution for small organizations, for lab environment or for regular test environments. It is possible though to upgrade the free LoadMaster to a regular device, making it also a perfect solution for a Proof-of-Concept. When finished the POC you an easily bring the LoadMaster to production by upgrading the license.

Setup and configuration of the free Load Master is almost identical of a regular LoadMaster. After downloading and installing the Virtual Machine (both Hyper-V and VMware) you can access the GUI and license the device. A new option for “Free LoadMaster” is available here:

I have it running in my lab as well and it’s great since you don’t need to worry about the 30 day trial (plus grace period). The free LoadMaster is a perfect solution for replacing NLB or for open-source load balancing solutions.

More information including download can be found on http://freeloadbalancer.com.