Introduction to Load Balancing
In distributed systems, load balancing is essential for distributing incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server becomes a bottleneck. This technique optimizes resource use, improves response times, and increases availability.
Why Load Balancing Matters: As systems scale, uneven traffic distribution can lead to overload on some servers while others remain underutilized. Load balancers act as intermediaries, directing requests based on predefined algorithms.
For example, in a web application serving thousands of users, a load balancer prevents any one server from handling all requests, reducing latency and preventing failures.
Prerequisites like message queues and pub-sub systems often integrate with load balancing to handle asynchronous workloads efficiently.