[seliopou]

Somewhat unrelated to the ELB problem identified, but an alternative solution to the original deployment problem: assuming that the collectors are stateless (seem to be) start off the deployment by spinning up a new collector with the new code installed. Then, proceed with the deployment in the original fashion. Once that's over, kill the extra collector. This will ensure that load is distributed roughly in the same manner, over the same number of nodes during the deployment as before the deployment. Depending on load caused by initiating a connection, more than one extra mode may be utilized. In any case, this is a much simpler approach than baking in application-level connection termination. All for a few extra bucks per deploy and a small amount of engineering time up front.

[gighi]

Definitely a feasible approach. Let's just say that the reality has a bit more color and we have some other practical advantages in controlling the exact moment when we disconnect a particular client :)