Compute - Network Load Balancer

Question 1

What is the primary difference between the Application Load Balancer (ALB) and the Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

Answer 1

• ALB operates at the application layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model, while NLB operates at Layer 4.
• ALB analyzes the HTTP header to direct traffic, while NLB balances requests based on TCP and UDP protocols.
• ALB is suitable for application architectures such as microservices and containers, while NLB provides ultra-high performance and supports millions of requests per second.
• ALB supports TCP, TLS, and UDP listeners, while NLB supports TCP, TLS, and UDP listeners as well.

Question 2

What types of requests can be load balanced by the Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

Answer 2

• NLB can load balance requests based on TCP and UDP protocols.

Question 3

What are the advantages of using the Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

Answer 3

• NLB offers ultra-high performance, capable of processing millions of requests per second.
• NLB provides a static IP address, suitable for applications that require it.
• NLB operates at Layer 4 of the OSI model, allowing load balancing based on TCP and UDP protocols.

Question 4

How does the Network Load Balancer (NLB) select targets to process requests?

Answer 4

• NLB uses an algorithm based on sequence, protocol, source port, source IP, destination port, and destination IP to select a target in the availability zone to process the request.
• Once a connection is established with a target host, it remains open for the duration of the request.

Question 5

Can cross-zone load balancing be enabled or disabled for the Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

Answer 5

• Yes, cross-zone load balancing for the NLB can be either enabled or disabled.

Question 6

What are the supported listeners for the Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

Answer 6

NLB supports TCP, TLS, and UDP listeners.

Question 7

How can you create a Network Load Balancer (NLB) in the AWS Management Console?

Answer 7

• Go to the EC2 service under Compute.
• Under Load Balancing, click on Load Balancers.
• Click on Create Load Balancer.
• Select Network Load Balancer and follow the configuration steps, including naming, defining listeners, selecting availability zones, configuring security settings, associating target groups, registering targets, and reviewing the configuration before creating the NLB.