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Application Load Balancing vs DNS Load Balancing

Developers should learn and use Application Load Balancing when building scalable, highly available web applications, especially in cloud-based or microservices architectures, as it handles traffic spikes, prevents server overload, and provides seamless failover during outages meets developers should learn and use dns load balancing when building high-traffic web applications, apis, or services that require redundancy and fault tolerance, as it provides a simple, cost-effective way to distribute load without specialized hardware. Here's our take.

🧊Nice Pick

Application Load Balancing

Developers should learn and use Application Load Balancing when building scalable, highly available web applications, especially in cloud-based or microservices architectures, as it handles traffic spikes, prevents server overload, and provides seamless failover during outages

Application Load Balancing

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use Application Load Balancing when building scalable, highly available web applications, especially in cloud-based or microservices architectures, as it handles traffic spikes, prevents server overload, and provides seamless failover during outages

Pros

  • +It is essential for applications requiring features like HTTP/HTTPS routing, session persistence, or integration with auto-scaling groups, such as e-commerce sites, APIs, and content delivery networks, to maintain performance and reliability under varying loads
  • +Related to: aws-elastic-load-balancing, nginx

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

DNS Load Balancing

Developers should learn and use DNS load balancing when building high-traffic web applications, APIs, or services that require redundancy and fault tolerance, as it provides a simple, cost-effective way to distribute load without specialized hardware

Pros

  • +It is particularly useful for global applications where geographic distribution of servers can reduce latency, and for scenarios where quick failover is needed, such as during server outages or maintenance
  • +Related to: load-balancing, dns

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Application Load Balancing is a platform while DNS Load Balancing is a concept. We picked Application Load Balancing based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

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The Bottom Line
Application Load Balancing wins

Based on overall popularity. Application Load Balancing is more widely used, but DNS Load Balancing excels in its own space.

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