ALB vs NLB - which should I use?

Use ALB for HTTP/HTTPS traffic with path-based routing. Use NLB for TCP/UDP traffic requiring ultra-low latency or static IPs.

How does load balancer pricing work?

Pricing is based on running hours plus data processed. ALB costs ~$0.0225/hour plus $0.008 per LCU (Load Capacity Unit).

Load Balancer

Definition

A device or service that distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers. Like a traffic director ensuring no single road gets overwhelmed.

Use Cases

Amazon: Prime Day Traffic — Uses ALB to distribute billions of requests during Prime Day (Handles 50x normal traffic spikes without downtime)

Provider Equivalents

AWS: Elastic Load Balancer (ALB/NLB/CLB)
Azure: Azure Load Balancer / Application Gateway
GCP: Cloud Load Balancing
OCI: Load Balancer

Frequently Asked Questions

ALB vs NLB - which should I use?: Use ALB for HTTP/HTTPS traffic with path-based routing. Use NLB for TCP/UDP traffic requiring ultra-low latency or static IPs.
How does load balancer pricing work?: Pricing is based on running hours plus data processed. ALB costs ~$0.0225/hour plus $0.008 per LCU (Load Capacity Unit).

Load Balancer in Cloud Architecture

Understanding Load Balancer is important for cloud engineers and developers with foundational cloud experience. Cloud architects encounter this concept when designing systems for reliability, scalability, security, and cost-efficiency across Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

In cloud Networking, Load Balancer is one of several foundational concepts that practitioners must master to design production-ready systems. Related concepts in the same domain include the terms listed in the See Also section below.

Canvas Cloud AI provides an AI-powered designer for cloud architecture diagrams where practitioners can visualise how Load Balancer fits into a broader system. Users describe their architecture in plain English and receive a diagram, Terraform export, and Learning Guide — all without leaving the browser.

Category: networking

Difficulty: intermediate