Question 1

What's the difference between a Load Balancer and a Reverse Proxy?

Accepted Answer

A load balancer’s main job is to distribute incoming traffic across multiple backend servers and avoid sending traffic to unhealthy ones. A reverse proxy sits in front of servers too, but it often focuses on features like caching, compression, authentication, and request/response handling. Many modern products can do both, but “load balancer” emphasizes traffic distribution and health-based routing.

Question 2

When should I use a Load Balancer?

Accepted Answer

Use a load balancer when you have (or expect) more than one backend server, need high availability, want zero-downtime deployments (blue/green or canary), or need to scale horizontally. It’s also useful when you want a single stable endpoint (one IP/DNS name) while adding/removing servers behind it.

Question 3

How much does a Load Balancer cost?

Accepted Answer

Cost depends on the cloud provider, the type of load balancer (L4 vs L7), how long it runs, traffic volume (GB processed), number of new connections/requests, and optional features like TLS termination, WAF, static IPs, or cross-zone/region routing. Managed load balancers typically have a base hourly (or monthly) charge plus usage-based charges tied to throughput and/or request rates.

Load Balancer

Definition

Real-World Example

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