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Load Balancer FAQs

Frequently asked questions about KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer. Get answers to common questions about configuration, performance, troubleshooting, and best practices.

Overview​

KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer uses intelligent algorithms to route traffic based on server health, load, and other criteria. This FAQ addresses common questions and concerns about using Flexible Load Balancers.

General Questions​

What is a Flexible Load Balancer?​

KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer (FLB) is an advanced traffic distribution system designed to optimize traffic management and application performance across various cloud environments. It supports multiple cloud providers, enabling seamless traffic distribution across regions and providers, ensuring enhanced reliability and availability. Additionally, FLB allows for the configuration of multiple virtual load balancers on a single physical server, providing a cost-effective solution for managing multiple applications or services. With its intuitive setup and simplified endpoint pool management, KloudBean's FLB makes load balancing accessible without requiring complex configurations.

How does KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer work?​

KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer efficiently routes web traffic across multiple servers using advanced algorithms to intelligently distribute traffic, typically in a round-robin fashion, to available servers where applications are running. The system automatically monitors server health and removes unhealthy endpoints from the traffic rotation, ensuring zero downtime and maintaining high availability. If any endpoint becomes faulty or unresponsive, the load balancer automatically stops sending requests to that server and reroutes traffic to healthy endpoints. This dynamic traffic management enhances reliability and ensures users always receive fast, uninterrupted service.

What cloud providers are supported?​

KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer supports multiple cloud providers, enabling seamless traffic distribution across regions and providers. The load balancer is designed to work within KloudBean's infrastructure environment, where your servers and applications are hosted on KloudBean. This ensures optimal integration and performance for traffic distribution across your applications.

Is the Flexible Load Balancer easy to configure?​

Yes, KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer is designed for easy configuration. The setup process is straightforward and doesn't require complex configurations or extensive testing. The user-friendly interface allows you to set up and manage your load balancing needs with minimal effort, making it accessible even to users with limited cloud infrastructure experience. Configuration can be completed in just a few steps through the KloudBean dashboard.

Configuration Questions​

How do I add servers/apps to my load balancer?​

  1. Go to your load balancer administration
  2. Navigate to Application Pool
  3. Click Manage Application Pool
  4. Expand server and select application
  5. Save the server

For detailed steps, see Updating Application Pool.

Performance Questions​

How much traffic can a load balancer handle?​

Traffic capacity depends on:

  • Load balancer instance size
  • Backend server capacity
  • Network bandwidth
  • Application characteristics

KloudBean offers various sizes to handle different traffic levels.

Will adding a load balancer slow down my application?​

No, load balancers typically improve performance by:

  • Distributing load across multiple servers
  • Reducing server overload
  • Providing efficient routing
  • Offloading SSL processing

How do I scale my load balancer?​

Currently, KloudBean does not provide automatic scaling for the Flexible Load Balancer. However, you have the option to monitor traffic on your applications and manually scale resources as needed. This can be done with just a few clicks on a demand-basis, allowing you to adjust capacity when traffic spikes or drops. You can:

  • Vertical Scaling: Upgrade load balancer instance size (Lightweight → Thunder Medium → Heavy Duty)
  • Backend Scaling: Add more backend servers to the application pool
  • Manual Scaling: Monitor traffic patterns and scale resources proactively

This approach ensures your application runs smoothly while giving you control over resource allocation based on actual traffic patterns.

Can I use KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer with my existing infrastructure?​

The Flexible Load Balancer (FLB) is designed to work within KloudBean's infrastructure environment. If your infrastructure, including servers and applications, is hosted on KloudBean, you can use the Flexible Load Balancer. However, the FLB cannot be used with infrastructure that is not hosted or managed by KloudBean. The load balancer is specifically designed to work within KloudBean's environment for optimal integration and performance, ensuring seamless traffic distribution across your KloudBean-hosted applications.

SSL and Security Questions​

How do I add SSL certificates?​

  1. Configure custom domain
  2. Go to SSL Certificates tab
  3. Install free SSL (Let's Encrypt)
  4. Or upload custom certificate

For details, see Adding SSL Certificates.

Can I use SSL certificates with KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer?​

Yes, KloudBean offers both free and custom SSL certificates for your custom domain with the Flexible Load Balancer. For default endpoints, you do not need to provide your own certificates, as KloudBean automatically provides a free SSL certificate for these endpoints. This ensures secure communication for both custom and default domains, simplifying SSL management for your applications. The free SSL certificates are provided through Let's Encrypt with automatic provisioning and renewal, requiring no additional cost.

How does SSL termination work?​

SSL termination at the load balancer:

  • Decrypts HTTPS traffic at the load balancer
  • Forwards unencrypted traffic to backend (or re-encrypts)
  • Offloads SSL processing from backend servers
  • Improves backend server performance

What types of traffic can the Flexible Load Balancer handle?​

The Flexible Load Balancer on KloudBean can handle HTTP and HTTPS traffic only. This makes it ideal for managing web applications and services that require secure and standard web protocols for communication. The load balancer is optimized for web traffic distribution and does not support other protocols such as TCP/UDP for non-HTTP services.

Virtual Load Balancers Questions​

What is a Virtual Load Balancer (vLB)?​

A Virtual Load Balancer on KloudBean allows you to configure multiple independent load balancers on a single Flexible Load Balancer instance. This feature is particularly useful in microservices architectures, where different services require separate traffic management. By enabling multiple virtual load balancers on a single physical server, it becomes both cost-effective and efficient, eliminating the need for purchasing separate load balancers for each service. This setup simplifies management and reduces operational costs while maintaining optimal traffic distribution across your services.

How many Virtual Load Balancers can I create with a single FLB?​

The number of Virtual Load Balancers you can create with a single Flexible Load Balancer (FLB) depends on the size of the FLB you choose:

  • Lightweight Load Balancer: Supports up to 4 virtual load balancers, designed for smaller applications or moderate traffic demands, handling up to 3,000 requests per second.
  • Thunder Medium Load Balancer: Supports up to 8 virtual load balancers, offering a good balance for medium-sized applications or services with higher traffic demands, capable of handling up to 10,000 requests per second.
  • Heavy Duty Load Balancer: Supports up to 12 virtual load balancers, ideal for high-performance applications or large-scale environments, capable of handling up to 25,000 requests per second.

These options provide flexibility based on your traffic needs, allowing you to scale and optimize your load balancing effectively.

Can different vLBs use different domains?​

Yes, each Virtual Load Balancer can have its own domain:

  • Configure custom domain per vLB
  • Route different domains to different vLBs
  • Manage multiple applications independently

Troubleshooting Questions​

What happens if one of my servers fails?​

If any of your servers or applications fail or stop responding, KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer (FLB) will automatically detect the failure through health checks and ensure that no traffic is sent to the faulty endpoint until it is fixed. This proactive approach guarantees zero downtime for your users, as the FLB will automatically reroute traffic to healthy endpoints. The load balancer continuously monitors server health and removes unhealthy servers from the traffic rotation. Additionally, you can monitor your application's health status through the Virtual Load Balancer Management section in the KloudBean dashboard.

Why is my server marked as unhealthy?​

Common reasons:

  • Server is down or not responding
  • Health check endpoint not accessible
  • Firewall blocking health checks
  • Server overloaded
  • Network connectivity issues
  • Application returning non-200 HTTP status codes

How do I troubleshoot load balancer issues?​

  1. Check Health Status: Review backend server health
  2. Review Logs: Check access logs and error logs
  3. Test Connectivity: Verify network connectivity
  4. Check Configuration: Review load balancer settings
  5. Monitor Metrics: Analyze performance metrics

Traffic is not being distributed evenly. Why?​

Possible causes:

  • Load balancing algorithm settings
  • Server weights configuration
  • Health check issues
  • Sticky session configuration
  • Backend server capacity differences

Billing and Costs Questions​

How is the load balancer billed?​

Billing for the Flexible Load Balancer (FLB) is straightforward and transparent. There are no hidden fees or unexpected charges. FLB has a fixed cost based on the instance size you choose (Lightweight, Thunder Medium, or Heavy Duty), making it easy to understand and manage your expenses without worrying about fluctuating prices. This simple and clear billing structure ensures that you can easily plan your budget and costs for using the service. The fixed cost includes the load balancer instance and supports multiple virtual load balancers without additional per-vLB charges.

Can I use a load balancer on the free trial?​

No, load balancers are not available during free trial with trial resource limits.

Are there any hidden costs?​

No hidden costs. All pricing is transparent:

  • Instance costs
  • Bandwidth costs (if applicable)
  • Additional features clearly priced

Best Practices Questions​

What's the minimum number of backend servers?​

For high availability, use at least:

  • 2 servers minimum: For redundancy
  • 3+ servers recommended: For better distribution
  • More servers: For higher traffic and better redundancy

How often should I monitor my load balancer?​

  • Daily: Quick health check
  • Weekly: Detailed performance review
  • As Needed: When issues occur
  • Set Up Alerts: For automatic monitoring

Technical Questions​

What ports does the load balancer use?​

Common ports:

  • 80: HTTP traffic
  • 443: HTTPS traffic
  • Custom ports: Configure as needed

How do I choose a region for the Flexible Load Balancer (FLB)?​

When choosing a region for your Flexible Load Balancer (FLB), it's best to select a region that is closest to your application servers and where you have the majority of your audience. This helps minimize latency and ensures faster response times for your users. By choosing a region that aligns with your infrastructure and target audience, you can optimize both performance and user experience. Consider factors such as:

  • Proximity to Applications: Select a region close to where your applications are hosted
  • User Location: Choose a region where most of your users are located
  • Latency Requirements: Minimize network latency for better performance
  • Compliance Requirements: Some regions may have specific compliance or data residency requirements

How can I implement Blue-Green deployment using KloudBean FLB?​

Yes, Blue-Green deployment is a supported deployment strategy with KloudBean's Flexible Load Balancer (FLB). The process involves the following steps:

  1. Create an application replica: Set up a replica of your application to deploy new features or updates.
  2. Update code or features: Apply the recent code changes or new features to a few application nodes or the new application replicas.
  3. Add Blue applications to the virtual load balancer pool: Add the newly updated application replicas (Blue version) to the virtual load balancer's application pool.
  4. Monitor performance: Once requests start flowing to these Blue application nodes, monitor them closely to check if there are any issues with the new features or updates.
  5. Rollback if necessary: If any breaking issues are observed, you can easily remove the problematic application replica from the virtual load balancer pool, effectively rolling back the deployment.
  6. Deploy if successful: If everything works fine, proceed with deploying the new features or updates to the other application nodes (Green version).

This process ensures zero downtime during deployment and allows you to safely test new features while minimizing the risk of introducing bugs into your production environment.

Next Steps​