architecture: active active frontends sharing common backend

[Chad A. Prey]

We're about to embark on a High Availability email project and I was
wondering as to the feasibility of having multiple cyrus frontend
machines access a single backend machine (Veritas, Netapp filer,
whatever it takes etc.) The n+ front-end machines would all share
a /var/lib/imap and a /var/spool/imap on the single backend machine. DB
locking and other contingency issues would be left to the backend device
whatever that may be. A load balancer would be placed in front of the
cyrus boxes to handle failover etc.

Does this work? Is anyone doing it now? Am I going about this all wrong?

Please don't tell me about Murder, it's not for HA as much as it
distributes load.

Chad Prey
Sr. Systems Administrator
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
 
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