Learn about Azure Load Balancer usage

Azure Load Balancer is versatile and can be used in various scenarios, particularly for applications that require high availability, scalability, and reliability.

Below are its common uses and scenarios.

Ensuring High Availability

Purpose

Distributes incoming traffic across multiple backend instances, ensuring that no single instance becomes a bottleneck or point of failure.

Example

• Deploying a web application across multiple virtual machines (VMs) in an availability set.

• Ensuring continuous operation of applications during maintenance or unexpected failures.

Distributing Traffic for Scalability

Purpose

Balances workloads among backend resources to handle increased demand seamlessly.

Example

• Online shopping websites during sales.

• Video streaming platforms serving thousands of concurrent users.

Load Balancing for Internal Applications

Purpose

Routes traffic between services within a private network (VNet).

Example

• Load balancing traffic between microservices or APIs hosted in an Azure Virtual Network.

• Distributing requests between application servers and backend database servers in a private network.

Supporting Hybrid Scenarios

Purpose

Balances traffic between on-premises data centers and Azure resources in a hybrid cloud setup.

Example

• A hybrid deployment where workloads are split between an on-premises data center and Azure VMs.

• Routing traffic between an on-premises system and Azure-based microservices.

Outbound Traffic Management

Purpose

Provides a stable and scalable mechanism for outbound connections.

Example

• Managing outbound connections for backend services that access external resources or APIs.

• Ensuring predictable outbound IP for compliance or logging requirements.

Supporting Multi-Tier Architectures

Purpose

Balances traffic across multiple tiers of an application.

Example

A three-tier architecture where:

• Public Load Balancer directs traffic to the application tier.

• Internal Load Balancer routes requests from the application tier to the database tier.

Enabling Redundancy and Disaster Recovery

Purpose

Automatically redirects traffic to healthy backend instances or regions during failures.

Example

• Routing traffic only to healthy VMs during software updates or unexpected crashes.

• Distributing traffic across availability zones for zone-level redundancy.

Gaming and Real-Time Applications

Purpose

Manages low-latency, high-throughput workloads such as gaming servers or real-time analytics.

Example

• Multiplayer online games requiring consistent and fast response times.

• IoT scenarios where sensors send continuous streams of data to Azure VMs.

Load Balancing for Kubernetes Services

Purpose

Acts as a backend for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to distribute traffic to containerized workloads.

Example

• Balancing traffic across Pods in a Kubernetes cluster.

• Providing access to services exposed through AKS using Layer 4 load balancing.

Supporting Multi-Region Applications

Purpose

Used in combination with Azure Traffic Manager or Azure Front Door for cross-region deployments.

Example

• Balancing traffic across regional deployments to enhance performance.

• Providing failover between primary and secondary regions in disaster recovery setups.

Enabling Secure Network Connectivity

Purpose

Works with Network Security Groups (NSGs) to control and secure traffic flow.

Example

• Restricting access to specific backend VMs while allowing load-balanced traffic.

• Creating a secure architecture for financial or healthcare applications.

Key Use Scenarios by Type

Summary

By leveraging Azure Load Balancer's features, businesses can build resilient, scalable, and high-performing applications tailored to various workloads.