When working with Windows Server environments where Linux-based solutions like HAProxy aren't an option, finding a suitable load balancing alternative becomes crucial. This article explores practical Windows-compatible solutions that offer similar functionality to HAProxy, particularly for scenarios involving:

• 2-4 server configurations
• Non-SSL web services
• Support for long-running processes (up to 120 seconds)
• Budget constraints excluding hardware load balancers

1. Nginx for Windows

While primarily known for Linux, Nginx offers a Windows version with solid load balancing capabilities:

http {
    upstream backend {
        server 192.168.1.101:8080;
        server 192.168.1.102:8080;
        server 192.168.1.103:8080;
    }
    
    server {
        listen 80;
        
        location / {
            proxy_pass http://backend;
            proxy_read_timeout 130s;
        }
    }
}

Key features:

• Lightweight Windows service option
• Simple configuration similar to HAProxy
• Adjustable timeout settings for long processes

2. IIS Application Request Routing (ARR)

Built into Windows Server, ARR provides a native solution:

# PowerShell to enable ARR
Install-WindowsFeature Web-Application-Proxy, Web-App-Dev, Web-Asp-Net, Web-Asp-Net45,
Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Client-Auth, Web-Digest-Auth, Web-Dir-Browsing, Web-Dyn-Compression,
Web-Filtering, Web-Health, Web-Http-Errors, Web-Http-Logging, Web-IP-Security,
Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console, Web-Metabase, Web-Mgmt-Console,
Web-Mgmt-Tools, Web-Net-Ext, Web-Net-Ext45, Web-ODBC-Logging, Web-Performance,
Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Security, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Static-Content,
Web-WebServer

Configuration notes:

• Server farm setup through IIS Manager GUI
• Health check and load balancing algorithms available
• Integrated with Windows authentication and logging

3. Traefik

A modern alternative with Windows support:

# traefik.yml configuration example
http:
  routers:
    my-router:
      rule: "PathPrefix(/)"
      service: my-service
      
  services:
    my-service:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "http://192.168.1.101:8080"
          - url: "http://192.168.1.102:8080"
        healthCheck:
          path: /health
          interval: "10s"
          timeout: "2s"

Advantages:

• Automatic service discovery
• Built-in dashboard
• Supports long timeouts via configuration

When comparing these options to HAProxy on Windows:

Solution	Max Connections	Memory Footprint	Ease of Config
Nginx	10k+	~20MB	Medium
IIS ARR	5k+	~50MB	Easy (GUI)
Traefik	15k+	~30MB	Medium

For services requiring up to 120-second timeouts, ensure proper configuration:

# Nginx timeout settings
proxy_connect_timeout 130s;
proxy_send_timeout 130s;
proxy_read_timeout 130s;

# IIS ARR timeout (web.config)
<system.webServer>
  <asp scriptTimeout="00:02:10"/>
  <webSocket pingInterval="00:00:60"/>
</system.webServer>

For most Windows Server environments:

1. For native integration: IIS ARR
2. For highest performance: Nginx
3. For modern microservices: Traefik

All solutions can run as Windows services and handle the specified workload requirements.

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HAProxy is a staple in Linux environments for its efficiency in load balancing, but Windows compatibility remains limited. For projects constrained to Windows Server 2003/2008, finding a lightweight, configurable alternative is critical—especially when handling long-running processes (up to 120 seconds) without SSL overhead.

Here are the top candidates that mirror HAProxy’s simplicity and performance:

• Perlbal: Lightweight, supports reverse proxy and load balancing, though Perl dependency may be a hurdle.
• Nginx for Windows: While not officially optimized for Windows, it handles long-lived connections well. Example config snippet:

http {
  upstream backend {
    server 192.168.1.10:8080;
    server 192.168.1.11:8080;
    keepalive 32;
  }
  server {
    listen 80;
    location / {
      proxy_pass http://backend;
      proxy_read_timeout 150s;  # Adjust for 120s+ processes
    }
  }
}

• IIS Application Request Routing (ARR): Native to Windows Server, integrates with IIS. Setup via GUI or PowerShell:

Import-Module WebAdministration
New-WebAppPool -Name "BalancerPool"
Add-WebServerManager -Name "Farm1" -Servers @("Server1","Server2") -Algorithm RoundRobin

For long-running processes, ensure:

• Timeouts are extended (e.g., proxy_read_timeout in Nginx).
• Connection pooling is enabled (e.g., keepalive directives).
• Health checks are aggressive to avoid stale nodes.

Test with ab (ApacheBench) or wrk to simulate traffic:

wrk -t4 -c100 -d60s --timeout 120s http://windows-balancer/service

Monitor memory usage—Perlbal may edge out Nginx on older Windows versions.

If strict Windows compliance is negotiable, consider:

• Dockerized HAProxy on Windows 10/Server 2016+ (Linux containers).
• A minimal Linux VM (e.g., Alpine) for HAProxy, bridged to Windows networks.