Load balancing is the process by which inbound IP traffic can be distributed across multiple servers. Load balancing enhances the performance of the servers, leads to their optimal utilization and ensures that no single server is overwhelmed. Load balancing is particularly important for busy networks, where it is difficult to predict the number of requests that will be issued to a server.

Typically, two or more web servers are employed in a load balancing scheme. In case one of the servers begins to get overloaded, the requests are forwarded to another server. Load balancing brings down the service time by allowing multiple servers to handle the requests. This service time is reduced by using a load balancer to identify which server has the appropriate availability to receive the traffic.

Load Balancer features include:

• Asymmetric load
• Priority activation
• SSL Offload
• Distributed Denial of Service Protection
• HTTP Caching/Compression
• TCP buffering
• Health Monitoring
• Client authentication
• Firewall and Intrusion Prevention