When a pool is not working as expected immediately after adding new members to a busy environment, the "Slow Ramp Time" setting is a critical factor

In a pool using the "Least Connections" load balancing method, a new member starts with zero active connections5858. Without a slow ramp time, the BIG-IP will immediately direct a high volume of new traffic to this server to "equalize" it with other members. This sudden surge can overwhelm the server's application stack before it has fully initialized or warmed its caches, leading to failures. By configuring a "Slow Ramp Time," the administrator ensures that the system gradually increases the amount of traffic sent to the new member over a specified duration. The traffic sent is proportional to the time the member has been available relative to the ramp time setting62. If the application fails only for users routed to new servers, reviewing this setting helps ensure that new capacity is integrated into the pool without disrupting service performance