AWS Elastic Load Balancer vs Application Load Balancer
If you're using Amazon Web Services, you probably already know that they offer two types of load balancers: the Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) and the Application Load Balancer (ALB). Both load balancers can distribute incoming traffic across multiple instances, but which one is right for you?
In this post, we'll compare AWS ELB and ALB in terms of features, cost, and performance. So, let's dive in!
Features
Both ELB and ALB offer many similar features. Both can distribute incoming traffic across multiple instances and provide health checks, SSL termination, and highly available (HA) architectures. However, ALB has some additional features that make it stand out:
- URL-based routing - ALB can route requests based on the content of the URL. This can be useful if you have multiple services running on different URLs.
- Target groups - With ALB, you can group instances based on their commonalities, such as their application version or environment.
- Containerization support - ALB can integrate with Kubernetes to route traffic to containers.
Cost
ELB and ALB have different pricing models. ELB charges by the hour and by the GB of data processed, while ALB charges by the hour and by the number of new connections. However, ALB is more cost-effective than ELB in most cases. For example, if you have a large number of connections, ALB will be cheaper.
Performance
When it comes to performance, ALB is generally faster than ELB. ALB has a lower latency than ELB because it routes traffic at the application layer, so it doesn't require as much processing.
According to some benchmarks, ALB can handle up to 10,000 connections per second with a latency of less than 50 ms, while ELB can only handle around 4,000 connections per second with a latency of around 150 ms.
Conclusion
In summary, if you require URL-based routing or containerization support, ALB is the clear winner. If you're looking for a cheaper option and don't require those additional features, ELB might be the better choice. When it comes to performance, ALB is faster and can handle more connections per second.
Ultimately, the choice between ELB and ALB depends on your specific needs. Consider the features, cost, and performance when making your decision.