AVI LoadBalancing

Delivering highly available and secure applications.

With VMware Avi, evoila is replacing rigid hardware load balancers with a software-defined platform. Scalable, self-service-enabled, and natively integrated into VCF.

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Application delivery without hardware constraints

Hardware load balancers are expensive, inflexible, and operationally complex, and they do not scale with modern application environments. VMware Avi solves this problem with a fully software-defined approach:

L4/L7 load balancing, SSL termination, web application firewall, GSLB, and Kubernetes Ingress Controller on a unified platfor, without dedicated appliances. evoila implements Avi as a native component of VCF, empowering application teams with true self-service capabilities.

Business benefits at a glance:

  • Cost reduction: Replacing expensive hardware load balancers with a software-defined platform without appliance overhead
  • Agility: Self-service capability for application teams without dependence on the network team
  • High availability: GSLB and intelligent load balancing ensure application availability even during site outages

Hardware load balancers as a barrier to growth

Traditional hardware load balancers were built for a world where applications were rarely deployed and rarely changed. In modern environments, they pose a structural problem: every new application, every SSL configuration, and every load-balancing rule requires manual intervention by specialized personnel, resulting in long turnaround times and a high risk of errors.

At the same time, the application landscape is undergoing fundamental change: Kubernetes workloads require dynamic ingress controllers, multi-site architectures demand intelligent GSLB, and security teams require WAF integration directly within the load-balancing path. Hardware appliances can hardly meet these requirements cost-effectively. They do not scale in either configuration or performance without significant investment.

The VCF rollout highlights the need for action: Those who do not implement Avi as a native component of the platform lose integration density and continue to operate an infrastructure silo that structurally prevents automation and self-service.

Consequences of inaction

Every day an application team waits on a network ticket is a day your delivery pipeline slows down. Organizations that carry legacy hardware load balancers into a VCF environment are not just carrying technical debt. They are building a structural barrier against automation, self-service, and competitive speed.

The Challenge

Why hardware load balancers become a liability

Traditional load balancing infrastructure was designed for stability, not speed. The more dynamic your application landscape becomes, the more it works against you.

Manual Config, Maximum Delay

Every new application requires hand-crafted configuration by a specialist. That creates ticket queues, approval cycles, and slow releases that frustrate development teams.

CAPEX Without Ceiling

Scaling hardware load balancers means buying more hardware. Licenses, rack space, power, cooling. The investment never stops, and the flexibility never arrives.

Kubernetes Left Without Support

Traditional appliances have no native understanding of Kubernetes. Ingress control, dynamic virtual service creation, and certificate lifecycle management require workarounds that break under load.

Visibility Gaps at Application Level

Hardware appliances report on connections, not applications. Without L7-native analytics, operations teams cannot tell whether an application is slow or simply overwhelmed.

Multi-Site Costs That Don’t Scale

Traditional load balancers require dedicated hardware per site for GSLB functionality. The cost model makes multi-site high availability economically unviable for all but the largest environments.

The good news: VMware Avi solves all of this without requiring you to redesign your network from scratch

evoila migrates existing configurations in stages, with zero downtime and full self-service capability from day one.

Our Solution

Avi as a software-defined delivery platform

From Appliance to Platform

When implementing Avi, evoila follows a structured migration approach: Existing hardware load balancers are analyzed, configurations are migrated, and the transition is carried out in stages without compromising application availability. At the same time, self-service capabilities and automation integration are factored in from the very beginning.

L4/L7 Load Balancing Design & Implementation

Design and implementation of software-based load balancing at Layers 4 and 7, featuring virtual services, health monitoring, session persistence, and intelligent routing algorithms, natively integrated into the VCF network architecture.

SSL Termination & Certificate Management:

Configuration of centralized SSL/TLS termination with integrated certificate management, for secure application delivery without distributed certificate management at the application level.

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Integration of the Avi WAF for application-level protection against OWASP Top 10 attacks, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other threat patterns—directly in the load balancing path, without a separate appliance.

GSLB – Global Server Load Balancing

Setup of GSLB configurations for multi-site environments—with health-based DNS routing, geographic load balancing, and automatic failover in the event of site failure.

Kubernetes Ingress Controller Integration

Avi as a native Ingress Controller for VKS and Kubernetes environments, with dynamic virtual service creation, automatic certificate management, and full lifecycle integration.

Self-Service & Automation Integration

Connecting Avi to VCF Automation so that application teams can independently and compliantly procure load balancer resources via the service catalog.

Tech-Deep-Dive

The architecture behind IT

Avi Control Plane & Service Engines

The Avi architecture consistently separates the control plane and the data plane: The Avi Controller handles central configuration, analytics, and lifecycle management—as a highly available cluster deployment integrated into VCF. The Service Engines handle the actual data path: They are dynamically provisioned as VMs, scale automatically with traffic volume, and are orchestrated by the controller. evoila scales both layers based on specific performance and availability requirements.

L7 Intelligence: More Than Just Load Balancing

Avi operates natively at Layer 7—enabling content-based routing, HTTP header manipulation, cookie-based session persistence, and application-specific health checks that verify the actual application status, not just the TCP connection. Combined with the integrated WAF, this provides a complete Application Delivery Controller function without the need for separate products.

Analytics & Visibility Engine

Avi features a built-in analytics engine that provides complete visibility into application performance, latency distribution, error rates, and security events—by virtual service, by client, and by backend pool. evoila configures dashboards and alert thresholds that enable operations teams to proactively monitor applications without additional APM tools.

GSLB Architecture for Multi-Site

VMware Avi GSLB implements DNS-based global load balancing with active health monitoring of all site endpoints. In the event of a failover, DNS resolution is automatically redirected to available sites—with configurable TTL values and persistence mechanisms. evoila designs GSLB topologies for active-active and active-passive scenarios and integrates them into existing DNS infrastructures.

Kubernetes-Integration: Avi as AKO

In Kubernetes environments, Avi acts as a native ingress controller via the AVI Kubernetes Operator (AKO). AKO automatically translates Kubernetes ingress and service objects into Avi virtual services, dynamically and without manual intervention. This gives application teams full self-service control over load balancing and SSL termination directly via Kubernetes-native manifests.

Technical Advantages

What Avi delivers that appliances cannot

Dynamic Service Engine Scaling

Automatic provisioning and scaling of service engines based on actual traffic volume

L7-native routing

Content-based routing, header manipulation, and application-specific health checks without additional middleware

Integrated WAF

OWASP Top 10 protection directly in the load balancing path without a separate security appliance

GSLB with active health monitoring

Automatic DNS failover in case of site failure with configurable persistence and TTL mechanisms

AKO integration

Kubernetes-native ingress control via automatic virtual service creation by the Avi Kubernetes Operator

Unified analytics

Complete application visibility via integrated analytics engine without a separate APM tool

Your partner of choice

The platform perspective that makes Avi work

VMware Avi delivers its full value only when platform design, network architecture, and application requirements are considered together from the outset

As a Broadcom Pinnacle Partner, evoila implements Avi as an integrated VCF component, aligned with NSX network architecture, VCF Automation, and Kubernetes platform design. Not as an isolated product bolted onto an existing environment.
For organizations migrating from hardware load balancers, evoila brings structured migration expertise: configuration analysis, virtual service migration, and parallel operation during the transition phase are established components of every engagement.

Broadcom Pinnacle Partner

evoila holds Broadcom’s highest partner tier in Europe. Avi implementations benefit from direct engineering access and validated architecture patterns.

Migration Without Downtime

Existing hardware load balancer configurations are analyzed, migrated, and validated in stages. Parallel operation ensures continuous application availability throughout the transition.

VCF-Native Integration

Avi is implemented as part of the VCF stack, aligned with NSX, VCF Automation, and the Kubernetes platform. Not alongside it.

Kubernetes Expertise with AKO

AKO integration for VKS and self-managed Kubernetes is a core competency at evoila. Application teams gain full self-service control via native manifests from day one.

Partnerships

Technologies & Partner

VMware Avi is Broadcom’s software-defined Application Delivery Controller, purpose-built for modern virtualized and cloud-native environments. It replaces hardware appliances with a fully programmable platform covering L4/L7 load balancing, Web Application Firewall, Global Server Load Balancing, and Kubernetes Ingress, all managed from a single control plane.

evoila is a Broadcom Pinnacle Partner, the highest partner tier in the European market. That means direct access to Broadcom engineering, validated architecture patterns for VCF-integrated deployments, and a track record of Avi implementations across enterprise and service provider environments.

AVI Loadbalancer
Broadcom

Introductory Offer

Avi Architecture Assessment

The structured onboarding process begins with an analysis of the existing load balancing landscape. In the evoila Avi Architecture Assessment, we analyze:

Existing load balancer configurations and migration potential

Application requirements and virtual service design

Kubernetes integration needs and AKO readiness

GSLB requirements for multi-site environments

The result is a concrete target architecture concept with a prioritized migration path.

Hardware load balancers are no longer a strategic investment

They are an operational risk. VMware Avi makes application delivery agile, secure, and automatable. evoila makes the transition possible.

Request an Avi Assessment Now

Ready to replace your load balancer?

Speak with an evoila Avi specialist and get a migration assessment for your environment.

Mathias Meyenburg

Mathias Meyenburg

Cloud Infrastructure Architect

FAQ

Commonly asked questions about AVI LoadBalancing

Hardware load balancers are appliance-bound, manually configured, and scale only through additional hardware. Avi separates the control plane and data plane using software: service engines scale dynamically, and configuration is performed centrally via API and self-service, without appliance overhead.

Yes. evoila analyzes existing configurations and transfers virtual services, SSL certificates, and health monitor definitions to Avi in a structured manner, with parallel operation during the transition phase to ensure continuous application availability.

Using the Avi Kubernetes Operator, Avi automatically translates Kubernetes Ingress and Service objects into Virtual Services without manual intervention. Application teams control load balancing and SSL termination directly via Kubernetes-native manifests.

The Avi WAF protects against OWASP Top 10 attacks directly in the load balancing path, without a separate hop and without an additional appliance. For environments with high security requirements, it complements vDefend as an application-proximate protection layer.

Avi GSLB continuously monitors the availability of all configured site endpoints. In the event of a failure, DNS resolution is automatically redirected to available sites, using configurable TTL values and persistence mechanisms to minimize downtime.