What is load balancing?

Load balancing refers to the equal distribution of workloads or network traffic across multiple similar systems in order to improve the performance, scalability and availability of an application. A web application firewall (WAF) can perform this task by acting as a reverse proxy and distributing incoming requests across multiple servers running the application.

The load balancer continuously monitors server utilization and routes requests to the most appropriate servers. This is done through regular health checks, which check whether the servers are available and functional. With asymmetrical load balancing, certain servers can be placed under greater load to meet the demands of certain functions or services.

The benefits of load balancing are many. It improves the performance and resilience of the application because load peaks can be handled efficiently and failures of individual servers have no impact on overall functionality. In addition, load balancing enables optimal use of resources as workloads are distributed evenly across the available servers.

Overall, load balancing is an essential part of modern IT infrastructures that helps improve the reliability and scalability of applications. By implementing an effective load balancing system, companies can ensure that their applications run smoothly and meet the needs of their users, even under heavy traffic or unexpected peak loads.