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Load Balancer Listener Management

Load Balancer Listener Management allows you to configure and manage listeners - components that receive inbound traffic and distribute it to backend servers. Proper listener configuration is essential for effective load balancing and accurate traffic distribution.

Listener Overview​

A listener is a Load Balancer component responsible for:

  • Listening for incoming connections on a specific port and protocol
  • Routing traffic to backend servers according to configured policies
  • Processing requests based on defined rules and conditions

Each Load Balancer can have multiple listeners, each serving different purposes (e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, TCP).

Listener Group Management​

Listener Group is a collection of listeners configured together to handle network traffic for a specific service or application.

Figure needed: [Listener Group management interface showing the list of listener groups with their configurations and status]

Creating a Listener Group​

  1. Access the Listeners tab in the Load Balancer management interface
  2. Click Create Listener Group
  3. Fill in basic information:
    • Name: Identifier for the Listener Group
    • Description: Purpose description (optional)

Figure needed: [Detailed Listener Group interface showing configuration options and listener overview]

In the Listener Group detail interface, you can:

  • Add new listeners
  • Configure basic group parameters
  • View overview of configured listeners

Listener Configuration​

Basic Listener Information​

Each listener requires the following configuration:

FieldDescription
NameListener identifier (e.g., listener-lb0)
ProtocolNetwork protocol (TCP, HTTP, HTTPS)
PortNetwork port the listener will monitor
BackendsNumber and list of backend servers

Common Listener Types​

TCP Listener (Layer 4)​

TCP listeners operate at the transport layer (Layer 4), processing data based only on IP and port information, without examining packet content.

Advantages:

  • High performance, low latency
  • Compatible with many application types

Sample Configuration:

  • Protocol: TCP
  • Port: 10254, 8080, etc.

HTTP/HTTPS Listener (Layer 7)​

HTTP/HTTPS listeners operate at the application layer (Layer 7), capable of analyzing HTTP packet content and routing based on URL, headers, cookies, etc.

Advantages:

  • Intelligent content-based routing
  • SSL termination support

HTTPS Configuration with SSL​

For HTTPS listeners, you need to provide SSL certificate information:

Figure needed: [HTTPS configuration interface showing SSL certificate upload and configuration options]

Adding SSL Certificate​

  1. Select Add a new Certificate
  2. In the dialog box, enter certificate information:

Figure needed: [SSL certificate input interface showing fields for certificate name, certificate content, and private key]

  • Certificate Name: Identifier for the certificate
  • Certificate: Public certificate content
  • Private Key: Certificate private key

Backend Server Management​

Backend servers are the actual servers that process requests forwarded from the Load Balancer. Each listener requires at least one backend server.

Figure needed: [Add Backend Server interface showing IP address, port, and weight configuration fields]

Adding Backend Servers​

  1. In the listener detail interface, click Add Backend
  2. Provide the following information:
    • IP Address: Internal IP address of the backend server
    • Port: Port where the application is running on the backend server
    • Weight (optional): Priority weight for weighted load balancing algorithms

Backend Configuration Best Practices​

  • Use at least 2 backend servers to ensure high availability
  • Ensure all backend servers have identical configurations
  • Implement health checks to ensure backend servers are operating normally

Load Balancer Network Configuration​

For effective Load Balancer operation, proper network configuration is required for both public and backend sides:

Public Network (NIC0)​

This is where the Load Balancer receives traffic from users:

  • Public IPv4 Address: Public IP address that users will connect to
  • Public IPv4 DNS: DNS server used by the Load Balancer

Backend Network (NIC1)​

This is where the Load Balancer connects to backend servers:

  • Subnet: Internal subnet that both Load Balancer and backend servers belong to
  • Private IPv4 Address: Internal IP address of the Load Balancer
Important Notes
  • Backend servers must be in the same subnet as the Load Balancer to ensure seamless connectivity
  • The port configured in backend servers must be open and the application must be listening on it