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Q.02 of 26

What are the main types of load balancers based on the OSI layer they operate on?

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There are two main types:
Layer 4 (Transport Layer) Load Balancers:

  • Operate at the TCP/UDP level
  • Make routing decisions based on IP address and port numbers
  • Faster and more efficient
  • Cannot inspect application data
  • Example: AWS Network Load Balancer
    Layer 7 (Application Layer) Load Balancers:
  • Operate at the HTTP/HTTPS level
  • Can make routing decisions based on content (headers, URLs, cookies)
  • More intelligent routing capabilities
  • Can perform SSL termination
  • Example: AWS Application Load Balancer
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