Round Robin, Least Connections, IP Hash
1 min read
- Authors
- Name
- Vijaykumar Rajendran
- @vijayrajendran_
Table of Contents
Load Balancing Methods Explained
Round Robin Detailed
Request distribution: S1 → S2 → S3 → S1 → ...
- Simple and fair
- Default behavior
- Good for stateless apps
Use when: All servers are equal
Least Connections Detailed
Always sends to server with fewest connections:
- Ideal for long connections
- Adapts to unequal server capacity
- Better than round-robin for WebSockets
Use when: Connection duration varies
IP Hash Detailed
Same IP → Same server always
- Sticky sessions
- No session storage needed
- Problem: Server down = session loss
Use when: Sessions must stick to server
Comparison Table
| Method | Session Sticky | Fair Distribution | Long Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round Robin | No | Yes | No |
| Least Conn | No | Yes | Yes |
| IP Hash | Yes | No | So-so |
Choose wisely!