Load balancing in cloud computing

Load balancing in cloud computing refers to the process of transferring workload to ensure that no computing machine is overloaded, underloaded, or unutilized.

Load balancing in cloud computing is a method for keeping a steady balance of the amount of work going on various pieces of device or hardware equipment. Typically, the load of the devices is balanced across multiple servers or between the CPU and hard drives in a single cloud server.

Load balancing enables businesses to achieve high-performance levels at lower costs than traditional on-premises technology. Cloud balancing utilizes the cloud’s scalability and flexibility to keep up with the demands of distributed workloads with many client connections. It also increases throughput, decreases latency, and improves overall availability.

Balancing services typically include additional features such as health checks, automatic scaling, etc. But, before moving further, let’s go through the topics that we will be covering in this article:

1. How does load balancing works in cloud computing?
2. Types of load balancing in cloud computing
   • Network
   • HTTP(s)
   • Internal
3. Types of load balancers
   • Software-based load balancer
   • Hardware-based load balancer
   • Virtual load balancer
4. Types of load balancing algorithms in cloud computing
   • Static
   • Dynamic 
   • Round Robin
   • Weighted Round Robin
   • Opportunistic
   • Minimum To Minimum
   • Maximum To Minimum
5. Benefits of load balancing in cloud computing

How does load balancing works in cloud computing?

Basically, load refers to more than just website traffic. It can also consist of CPU load, network load, and memory capacity of each server. A load balancing technique ensures that each system attached to the system has the same amount of workload at all times. This ensures that none of them are excessively overburdened or underutilized.

The load balancer distributes data based on the amount of activity on each server or node. The client must wait while his process is processed in the absence of a load balancer. This could be too exhausting and demoralizing for him/her.

Must Explore – What is a cloud architect?

One processor exchanges various information during the load balancing process, such as jobs waiting in the queue, CPU processing rate, job arrival rate, etc., with the other processors. Failure to use load balancers correctly can have serious consequences, one of which is data loss.

Types of load balancing in cloud computing

Let us now discuss the various types of load balancing. You should be aware of multiple types of load balancing for your network.

Check out the Introduction to cloud computing article.

Let’s start with the main types of load balancing. The main types of load balancing are:

Network

Network load balancing occupies the fourth layer of the Open Systems Interconnection model. It is able to manage huge amounts of requests per second. After receiving a connection request, the load balancer chooses a target from the target group for the default rule.

The fastest local balancing solution is network load balancing, but it cannot balance traffic distribution across servers.

HTTP(s)

HTTP(s) load balancing is the most traditional type of load balancing, and it occupies the seventh Layer. This means that load balancing occurs at the operational Layer. It is the most adaptable load-balancing method because it allows you to make delivery decisions based on information obtained from HTTP addresses.

Internal

Internal load balancing distributes HTTP and HTTPS traffic. This type of balancing is close to network load balancing, but you can use it internally to balance the infrastructure.

Types of load balancers

There are three types of load balancers categories. These three categories are:

Software-based load balancer:

Software-based load balancers run on less expensive hardware (standard intel x86, for example). As a result, modern businesses, particularly SaaS cloud service providers, rely on software load balancers. Simply install the software in cloud computing environments such as Amazon’s AWS to eliminate the need for a physical appliance.

Software-based load balancers run on standard OS (operating system) and hardware, such as desktops and PCs. Software-based load balancers can be open-source or commercial. These are less expensive than hardware solutions.

Hardware-based load balancer:

Hardware-based load balancers are dedicated boxes that contain ASICs that have been optimized for specific use. ASICs enable high-speed network traffic promotion. Since hardware-based load balancing is significantly quicker than software, these are frequently used for transport-level load balancing.

Hardware load balancers are typically hardware appliances that run closed-source software (Amazon Web Services, for example) explicitly designed for use with customized processors. The more traffic a server receives, the more load balancing appliances a vendor employs to meet demand.

Explore Free Online Courses with Certificates

Virtual load balancer

A virtual load balancer increases the flexibility of balancing a server’s workload by dividing traffic to different network servers. Through virtualization, virtual load balancing aims to replicate software-driven infrastructure. On a virtual machine, it runs the software of a physical load balancing appliance.

Types of load balancing algorithms in cloud computing

Let’s go through the different balancing algorithms in cloud computing.

Static algorithm

Static algorithms are designed for systems with shallow load variations. The total traffic is divided equally among the servers in the Static Algorithm. This algorithm necessitates a thorough understanding of server resources to improve processor performance.

Dynamic algorithm

The dynamic algorithm finds the lightest server in the network and prioritizes it for load balancing. It necessitates real-time communication with the network, which can increase the system’s traffic. You can use the system’s current state to control the load in this case.

Check Out the Best Online Courses

Round Robin algorithm

For job assignments, the Round Robin algorithm employs the round-robin method. To begin, it selects the first node at random and assigns tasks to the other nodes in a round-robin fashion.

Weighted Round Robin algorithm

The Weighted Round Robin load balancing algorithm addresses the most challenging Round Robin Algorithm issues. This algorithm has a specified prescribed weight, and jobs are distributed based on the weight values.

Opportunistic algorithm

The opportunistic load balancing algorithm keeps each node busy. It never takes into account the current workload of each system.

Minimum To Minimum algorithm

The Minimum To Minimum load balancing algorithms finds the tasks that take the least time to complete. A minimum value is chosen from among all the tasks. The task is scheduled on the machine based on that minimum time.

Maximum To Minimum load balancing algorithm

The Maximum to Minimum load balancing algorithm is nearly identical to the previous one. However, in this case, the maximum value is chosen after determining the shortest implementation time. The task is then scheduled for the maximum time on the machine.

Benefits of load balancing in cloud computing

There are many benefits of load balancing in cloud computing. Some of those benefits are:

Continuity of business with complete flexibility

The primary reason to use a load balancer is to keep the website from crashing unexpectedly. When a workload is distributed across multiple network servers or units, the load is transferred to another node if one node fails. It provides greater flexibility, scalability, and traffic handling capabilities.

Applications with exceptional performance

Cloud load balancing techniques are less expensive and easier to implement than traditional on-premise counterparts. Enterprises can make their client applications run faster and perform better, potentially at a lower cost.

Enhanced scalability

To keep website traffic flowing, cloud balancing uses the cloud’s scalability and agility. You can conveniently line up the increasing customer traffic and distribute it out among different servers by using efficient load balancers.

It is crucial for e-commerce websites, which receive thousands of visitors every second. They require such efficient load balancers to distribute workloads during sales or other promotional offers.

Capability to deal with sudden traffic surges

Load balancers can handle any sudden traffic bursts that come their way. For example, if there are too many requests for IPL ticket booking, the website may close. When using a load balancer, one does not need to be concerned about traffic flow.

Whatever the volume of traffic, load balancers will distribute the entire website load evenly across different servers, delivering maximum results in the shortest amount of time.

If you want to learn more about cloud computing, you can refer to these articles:

Recently completed any professional course/certification from the market? Tell us what liked or disliked in the course for more curated content.

Click here to submit its review with Shiksha Online.