Congested websites and applications supply to thousands or even millions of people every day. Load balancing is the process of allocating work uniformly across various servers. It methodically assigns the incoming network traffic over a group of backend servers known as a server farm or server pool. A load balancer sends requests to servers and officially handles them to increase speed and executions. A load balancing software performs these operations and evades significant downtime. Earlier, load balancers resided as hardware in a private data center. But the industry has undergone considerable evolution.
Load balancers are also known as application delivery controllers. They proffer additional protection, expedition, and authentication, all available in a single software package. Load balancing software provides time to market advantage. It yields nimbleness and cost structure. The jam-packed contemporary websites cater to millions of user requests or clients and return the accompanying text, images, video, or application data in an exceedingly reliable manner. It is cost-effective and matches up to large volumes of servers.
Load balancing acts as a traffic cop and routes client requests across multiple servers to maximize speed and capacity utilization. It ensures uniformity, so no particular server is overburdened.
What are the different types of Load Balancing Algorithms
There are several types of load balancing algorithms contingent on your needs:
1) Round Robin
It scatters the requests across the bunch of servers in a pattern. It is the easiest method of load balancing. It primarily moves requests through a list of available servers.
2) Least Connections
This is slightly more refined. It sends new requests to the server with the least current customers’ connections. The respective computing potential of the individual server is regarded in ascertaining which one has minimum links.
3) Least Time
Least time algorithm is a level-up and chooses servers based on both the fast processing speed and the fewest active requests. It sends requests to the selected server using a code that assimilates the most agile response time and the most irregular active connections. Exclusive to NGINX Plus.
4) Hash
Here, the load balancing appliance assigns a unique hash key to the client and server’s source and destination IP address. It dispenses requests contingent on a key defined by the consumer, such as the client IP address or the request URL. NGINX Plus can preferably apply a regular hash to diminish the allocation of loads if the set of upstream servers changes.
5) IP Hash
The client’s IP address determines which peculiar server will receive the request.
6) Random with Two Choices
It arbitrarily elects two servers and assigns them to the one that is selected by then demanding the Least Connections algorithm (or for NGINX Plus the Least Time algorithm, if so configured)
Why do people use Load Balancing Software?
1) Scalability
The most cardinal benefit of using load balancing software over hardware load-balancing devices is their scalability. The software can drop virtual servers in line with demand, further automatically responding and in real-time fluctuations in network traffic.
2) Flexibility
The software is more flexible than hardware load as it is more compatible with numerous environments. It can be arranged to work with standard desktop operating systems, cloud environments, bare metal, virtual servers, and containers. The hardware load balancers lack flexibility and aren’t programmable.
3) Cost
The distributed system networks are seldom congruent. Companies can salvage huge funds with software use, especially if they opt for LBaaS. Oversubscription is expected because of different zones and regions. It omits the need for costly acquisition, set up, and sustaining of hardware. On this point, load balancing software is more of an operating expenditure rather than a capital expense.
4) Increased Reliability
The software can significantly improve network reliability. If one of the servers crashes, the remaining servers pick up the workload instantly to avoid any downtime. Execution and availability are advanced, without the need to have an abundance of servers at hand.
5) Security and data protection
Load balancing software provides an additional layer of security and data protection. The software is configured with virtual firewalls with rules for incoming traffic, supporting the application servers to continue behind private subnets. The application servers also possess inbound/outbound rules that only enable traffic from/to the load balancer. Hence the client can be peaceful regarding their data and not fret. It is secure.
Conclusion
Customers can enjoy several benefits with load balancing software. It is more secure, scalable, pocket-friendly, and an ideal solution for today’s organizations. It is also known for its impeccable performance.
