Load Balancing
Load balancing is a technique used in computing to distribute workloads across multiple computing resources, such as servers, network links, or CPUs, to optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload on any single resource. It enhances the reliability and availability of applications by ensuring no single point of failure and enabling horizontal scaling. This is commonly implemented in web servers, databases, and cloud infrastructures to handle high traffic and improve performance.
Developers should learn and use load balancing when building scalable, high-availability systems, such as web applications, APIs, or microservices that experience variable or high traffic loads. It is essential for distributing incoming requests across multiple servers to prevent downtime, reduce latency, and ensure fault tolerance, particularly in cloud environments or during traffic spikes. Use cases include e-commerce sites, streaming services, and enterprise applications where uptime and performance are critical.