The Cisco LocalDirector series offers a high-availability, integrated hardware and software solution that intelligently balances the load of user traffic across multiple Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) application servers. Cisco LocalDirector tracks network sessions and server load conditions in real time, directing each session to the most appropriate server. All physical servers appear as one virtual server, requiring only a single IP address and a single Universal Resource Locator (URL) for an entire server farm.Cisco LocalDirector, a key component of a content delivery network, accelerates content delivery by routing client requests to the best Web server at the Web site of origin. LocalDirector supports critical content-routing protocols such as Dynamic Feedback Protocol (DFP) and the Boomerang Control Protocol (BCP), which ensure seamless content delivery network integration and reduced deployment costs. Layer 5-7 content load balancing guarantees the correct client is routed to an optimized content location. The accelerated server load balancing (ASLB) feature works in conjunction with the Catalyst 6000 and Catalyst 6500 to accelerate scaling of TCP sessions and help to protect against the Flash crowds. Cisco LocalDirector is a network-based clustering solution and is equipped with a stateful hot-standby fail-over mechanism that enables you to build an entire server system with a proven network clustering architecture. LocalDirector and Distributed Director are tightly integrated. LocalDirector can communicate data-center load and availability directly to Distributed Director via DFP to provide the ultimate in availability. LocalDirector can also perform an HTTP redirect to a different location upon failure of a real or virtual IP address.