Q: Can multiple NetScaler Gateway vServers be deployed behind a single Content Switching vServer?

A: Content Switching is not supported for integration with NetScaler Gateway till NetScaler version 10.5. However, in NetScaler 11.0 the situation changes when using NetScaler with Unified Gateway, which allows using Content Switching. Also, only one NetScaler Gateway can be configured behind a Content Switching vServer. For more information refer to Citrix Documentation - Configuring Unified Gateway.

Q: How does Content Switching handle incoming requests if a Load Balancing vServer is down?

A: CS vServers have multiple policies, each policy directing to a LB vServer. When a request matches a specific policy, the traffic is forwarded to the LB, regardless of the state of the LB (even if the LB is "Out of Service").

To prevent this from happening, enable the "State Update" in the following path:  Content Switching -> vServer -> Traffic Settings. If you check State Update, the Content Switching (CS) server won't forward to a LB which is DOWN. The CS won't continue to evaluate policies once it has hit a policy that matches your criteria, regardless of the state of the vServer.

Q: How does "State Update" under Traffic Settings on a Content Switching vServer work?

A: When State Update is disabled: The status of the content switching virtual server is marked as UP. It remains UP even if there is no bound load balancing virtual server that is UP.

When State Update is enabled: When you add a new Content Switching virtual server, initially, its status is shown as DOWN. When you bind a Load Balancing virtual server whose status is UP, the status of the content switching virtual server becomes UP.If more than one Load Balancing virtual server is bound and if one of them is specified as the default, the status of the Content Switching virtual server reflects the status of the default load balancing virtual server.If more than one Load Balancing virtual server is bound without any of them being specified as the default, the status of the Content Switching virtual server is marked UP only if all the bound load balancing virtual servers are UP.