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Nginx Supports Several Types of Load Balancing Methods To Distribute Traffic Across Multiple Backend Servers

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Mohamed Abdulwahid Elshafie
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15 views5 pages

Nginx Supports Several Types of Load Balancing Methods To Distribute Traffic Across Multiple Backend Servers

Uploaded by

Mohamed Abdulwahid Elshafie
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nginx supports several types of load balancing methods to distribute traffic across multiple backend

servers. Here are the primary types and how to configure each:

1. Round Robin

Round Robin is the default load balancing method in Nginx. It distributes client requests evenly across
the backend servers in the order they are listed.

Configuration:

http {

upstream backend {

server backend1.example.com;

server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

server {

listen 80;

location / {

proxy_pass http://backend;

2. Least Connections

This method passes each request to the server with the least number of active connections.

Configuration:

http {

upstream backend {

least_conn;
server backend1.example.com;

server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

server {

listen 80;

location / {

proxy_pass http://backend;

3. IP Hash

The IP Hash method uses the client’s IP address to determine which server will handle the request. This
ensures that a specific client always connects to the same server.

Configuration:

http {

upstream backend {

ip_hash;

server backend1.example.com;

server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

server {

listen 80;

location / {

proxy_pass http://backend;

}
}

4. Generic Hash

This method distributes requests based on a user-defined key using the hash directive. It ensures
requests with the same key go to the same server.

Configuration:

http {

upstream backend {

hash $request_uri;

server backend1.example.com;

server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

server {

listen 80;

location / {

proxy_pass http://backend;

5. Least Time

This method distributes requests to the server with the lowest average response time and least number
of active connections. It requires the stream module.

Configuration:

stream {

upstream backend {

least_time connect;

server backend1.example.com;
server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

server {

listen 80;

proxy_pass backend;

Advanced Features:

Health Checks:

To ensure that Nginx only forwards requests to healthy servers, you can configure active health checks.

Configuration:

http {

upstream backend {

server backend1.example.com;

server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

health_check interval=10s fails=3 passes=2;

server {

listen 80;

location / {

proxy_pass http://backend;

}
}

Sticky Sessions:

Sticky sessions ensure that requests from the same client are always directed to the same backend
server.

Configuration:

http {

upstream backend {

sticky;

server backend1.example.com;

server backend2.example.com;

server backend3.example.com;

server {

listen 80;

location / {

proxy_pass http://backend;

Summary:

• Round Robin: Distributes requests evenly across servers.

• Least Connections: Directs traffic to the server with the fewest active connections.

• IP Hash: Ensures requests from the same client IP always go to the same server.

• Generic Hash: Distributes requests based on a custom key.

• Least Time: Uses response time to distribute requests to the fastest server.

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