Objective
Implement load balancing through an API Gateway to distribute incoming traffic across multiple backend servers, ensuring optimal resource utilization, scalability, and high availability of services.
Scenario
An online marketplace experiences varying levels of traffic throughout the day. It relies on multiple backend servers to handle user requests, such as product searches, inventory updates, and order processing. To maintain a responsive and reliable service, the marketplace aims to distribute incoming traffic efficiently across these servers, preventing any single server from becoming a bottleneck.
Components
- miniOrange XecureAPI Gateway
- Load Balancing
Solution
To manage the high volume of traffic, XecureAPI Gateway offers load-balancing functionality. In load balancing, traffic is distributed across multiple servers. XecureAPI gateway performs health checks periodically. When the backend server goes down API gateway labels it as unhealthy and discontinues sending requests to that server until it becomes healthy again.
To implement load balancing, we have to register all the backend servers to the XecureAPI gateway. We can also configure which algorithm should be used for load balancing such as round-robin, or least connection. When XecureAPI Gateway receives the request it sends the request to the appropriate backend server based on the configured algorithm.
Overall, the XecureAPI gateway’s load balancing helps to handle high-volume traffic efficiently. It can also play a crucial role in minimizing the impact of DoS/DDoS attacks.
Benefits
- Optimized Resource Utilization: Evenly distribute incoming traffic among backend servers, preventing individual servers from becoming overloaded.
- High Availability: Automatic redirection of traffic to healthy servers enhances the overall availability of services, minimizing downtime.
- Scalability: The API Gateway's load balancing capabilities facilitate seamless scaling of the infrastructure to accommodate changing levels of user demand.
Conclusion
By implementing load balancing through the XecureAPI Gateway, the online marketplace achieves improved performance, scalability, and high availability of its services. The distribution of incoming traffic across multiple backend servers optimizes resource utilization and enhances the overall user experience, ensuring a reliable and responsive online platform.