Introduction
The purpose of this blog is to share some use cases where different Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Load Balancers can be used. Then I’ll focus on OCI Network Load Balancers and, in addition, some best practices that improve the overall architecture.
Note: I split the agendas into three different blogs to prevent publishing a long blog and cover the most efficient Network Load Balancer concepts. The blog hyperlinks are included in the agendas listed below.
Agenda
• Flexible Load Balancer (OCI Load Balancer)
• Flexible Network Load Balancer (OCI Network Load Balancer)
• Differences Between Layer 4 and Layer 7 Load Balancing
• When should you use Oracle Load Balancer?
2. OCI Public Network Load Balancer
• Public Network Load Balancer Introduction
• Public Network Load Balancer Creation
• Network Load Balancer Overall Health
• Public Load Balancer Use Cases and Best Practices
• Testing
Install Apache HTTP Server
Display TCP/IP Connections
3. OCI Private Network Load Balancer
• Private Network Load Balancer Introduction
• Private Network Load Balancer Creation
• Private Load Balancer Use Cases and Best Practice
• Testing
Install Apache HTTP Server
Display TCP/IP Connections
OCI Load Balancer Types
Flexible Load Balancer (OCI Load Balancer)
An application load balancer can improve application performance, decreases server load, and facilitates scaling, with the benefit of flow high availability. It provides automated traffic distribution from one entry point to multiple servers in a VCN. It also operates at transport layer 4/layer 7 and includes advanced proxy features such as layer- 7 routing, SSL termination, and End-to-End SSL Tunneling.
Flexible Network Load Balancer (OCI Network Load Balancer)
It is ideal for latency-sensitive workloads by optimizing for long-running connections in days or months. A given flow is always forwarded to the same backend for the lifetime of the connection, making it best suited for your database-type applications. The Network Load Balancer is a non-proxy load balancing solution that Includes layer 3 and layer 4 pass-through workloads. It also offers scalable VIP, high availability, low latency, source and destination IP address, and port preservation. It ensures that your service remains available by directing traffic only to healthy servers based on layer 3/layer 4 (IP Protocol) data. The Network Load Balancer supports multiple protocols on the same listener as TCP/UDP on Public Network LB and TCP/UDP/ICMP on Private Network LB.
Differences Between Layer 4 and Layer 7 Load Balancing
Based on the OSI model, Load Balancer functions on layer 4 and layer 7. The Layer 4 Load Balancer operates at the intermediate transport layer, which simply forward network packets to and from upstream servers without inspection. It just forwards the packets and doesn’t need to decrypt the content before forwarding. The Layer 4 Load Balancer uses only TCP connection from the client to the server.
Note: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is the layer 4 protocol for HTTP traffic on the Internet.
The Layer 7 Load Balancer operates at the application layer of the OSI model. It deals with the message’s actual content, which means, unlike layer 4, a layer 7 Load Balancer terminates the network traffic and reads the message within. Layer 7 Load Balancer makes the routing decision based on various characteristics of the HTTP/HTTPS header, the content of the message, the URL type, and information in cookies.
When should you use OCI Load Balancer?
You should use OCI Load Balancer when you require either a public or a private LB as an entry point to automatically distribute incoming traffic to multiple servers with your virtual cloud network (VCN). If performance has your highest priority, the Network Load Balancer is the best option for your design. Depending on your infrastructure design and requirements you can choose a public or private one.
In this blog, I will focus on the Network Load Balancer service. Please check the link below if you need more information about the Application Load Balancer Service .
Blog Agenda links
OCI Public Network Load Balancer
OCI Private Network Load Balancer
I hope you enjoyed it!