IP Hash
IP Hash is a load balancing algorithm used in distributed systems to route client requests to servers based on a hash of the client's IP address. It ensures that requests from the same IP address are consistently directed to the same backend server, which is useful for maintaining session persistence or caching efficiency. This method is commonly implemented in load balancers, proxy servers, and web application frameworks to distribute traffic while preserving stateful connections.
Developers should use IP Hash when they need sticky sessions or consistent user experience, such as in e-commerce applications where shopping cart data must remain on one server, or in real-time applications like gaming or chat that require persistent connections. It's also beneficial for caching scenarios where repeated requests from the same client can be served faster from a specific server's cache, reducing latency and improving performance in stateful systems.