Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) vs Application Load Balancer (ALB) vs Network Load Balancer (NLB) - Which one is right for you?
Welcome to another Flare Compare blog post where we make tech comparisons as easy as drinking water (or coffee, if that's more your taste).
In this blog post, we will explore the differences between Elastic Load Balancer (ELB), Application Load Balancer (ALB), and Network Load Balancer (NLB). This will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each load balancer type and choose the one that fits your cloud orchestration needs.
What are Load Balancers?
Before we dive deep into the comparison, let's recap what load balancers are. Load balancers are devices that help distribute incoming network traffic across multiple servers or resources to improve resource utilization, network reliability, and application availability.
Load balancers work by distributing the traffic based on a set of criteria such as server health, server response time, type of request, and more. The load balancer acts as the entry point for all incoming network traffic, and it routes the traffic to the appropriate destination.
Elastic Load Balancer (ELB)
Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) is the classic load balancer type from Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed to route traffic to instances in different availability zones (AZs) within the same region. ELB supports both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic and provides high availability and scalability.
ELB works with three different types of load balancers:
Classic Load Balancer
The Classic Load Balancer is the first-generation load balancer from AWS. It provides basic load balancing capabilities and supports TCP, HTTP, and HTTPS protocols. However, it does not support path-based routing or HTTP/2, and it has a fixed pricing model.
Application Load Balancer (ALB)
The Application Load Balancer (ALB) is the second-generation load balancer from AWS. It is designed to route traffic to targets based on the content of the request. ALB supports HTTP, HTTPS, and WebSocket protocols and provides advanced routing capabilities such as path-based routing, host-based routing, and routing based on HTTP headers. ALB also supports containerized applications through its integration with Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Kubernetes.
Network Load Balancer (NLB)
The Network Load Balancer (NLB) is the third-generation load balancer from AWS. It is designed to handle traffic at the transport layer (TCP, TLS, and UDP) rather than at the application layer. NLB provides ultra-high performance, low latency, and static IP addresses. NLB can handle millions of requests per second and can also route traffic to targets in different VPCs (Virtual Private Cloud).
Comparison Table
Let's compare the three load balancer types based on some important criteria.
| Criteria | Classic Load Balancer | Application Load Balancer | Network Load Balancer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol Support | TCP, HTTP, HTTPS | HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket | TCP, TLS, UDP |
| SSL offloading | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Path-Based Routing | No | Yes | No |
| Host-Based Routing | No | Yes | No |
| HTTP/2 Support | No | Yes | No |
| Container Support | No | Yes | No |
| IPv6 Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing Model | Fixed | Pay per use | Pay per use |
Which one to choose?
Choosing the right load balancer type depends on your use case and requirements. If you need basic load balancing capabilities, Classic Load Balancer could be a good choice. If you need advanced routing capabilities, such as path-based routing and support for containerized applications, you should consider Application Load Balancer. If you need ultra-high performance, low latency, and traffic handling at the transport layer, you should choose Network Load Balancer.
In summary, here's a quick comparison:
- Classic Load Balancer: good for basic load balancing needs.
- Application Load Balancer: good for advanced routing capabilities and containerized applications.
- Network Load Balancer: good for ultra-high performance and low latency requirements.
Conclusion
Load balancing is a critical component of cloud orchestration. Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) from AWS provides different types of load balancers to fit your specific needs. We hope this comparison helped you choose the right load balancer type for your cloud environment.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to drop a line in the comments section. We love hearing from you!