gen-define-a-load-balancer-and-give-one-short-worked-example-68f6

Define a load balancer and give one short worked example.

# Load Balancer ## Definition A **load balancer** is a device or software that distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server becomes overwhelmed, improving application availability, reliability, and performance. ## Worked Example **Scenario:** A website receives 900 requests per minute **Without Load Balancer:** - 1 server handles all 900 requests/min - If capacity is 500 requests/min → server crashes ❌ **With Load Balancer:** - Load balancer distributes traffic across 3 servers - Each server handles ~300 requests/min - All within capacity → smooth operation ✓ - If Server 1 fails, load balancer redirects its traffic to Servers 2 & 3 ``` Incoming Traffic (900 req/min) ↓ [Load Balancer] / | \ ↓ ↓ ↓ Server1 Server2 Server3 (300) (300) (300) ``` This ensures high availability and prevents any single point of failure.