Back to glossary

Network Load Balancer

A high-performance load balancer that functions at the transport layer (Layer 4), capable of handling millions of requests per second with ultra-low latency.

AbbreviationNLB
Categorycloud

Overview

A Network Load Balancer (NLB) operates at the fourth layer of the OSI model. It is designed to handle tens of millions of requests per second while maintaining ultra-low latencies. It is optimized for handling volatile traffic patterns and sudden spikes.

Key Features

  • Static IP Support: Can be assigned a static IP address per Availability Zone.
  • Preservation of Source IP: Preserves the client's source IP address, allowing the backend to see the original IP.
  • Extreme Performance: Capable of handling massive throughput and millions of concurrent connections.
  • UDP Support: Ideal for gaming, streaming, and IoT applications.

Use Cases

  • High-performance gaming servers.
  • Real-time video streaming.
  • Large-scale IoT deployments.
  • Applications requiring static IP addresses.

Related Terms

Elastic Load BalancingApplication Load Balancer