Imagine you have a popular restaurant with many customers coming in. As the owner, you want to make sure that all the customers are served quickly and efficiently without overwhelming your servers or kitchen staff.
To achieve this, you hire a host or hostess who acts as a load balancer. Their job is to evenly distribute the incoming customers to the available servers or chefs. They keep track of the workload on each server and make sure that no single server gets overloaded while others remain idle.
The load balancer receives customer requests and decides which server should handle each request based on factors like server capacity, response time, and current workload. It ensures that all servers are used optimally, avoiding bottlenecks and ensuring smooth operations.
The load balancer also performs additional tasks like checking if the servers are healthy and responsive, handling any encryption or security requirements, and keeping track of the customer’s session to ensure they are consistently directed to the same server.
In simpler terms, a load balancer acts as a traffic cop for your restaurant, making sure that every customer is served promptly and fairly, while keeping your servers and staff balanced and efficient.