Network Load Balancer (NLB)
Understand the role of AWS Network Load Balancers in designing high-throughput, low-latency applications. Learn deployment, configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting techniques essential for scalable cloud-native solutions, preparing you for the AWS Developer Associate exam.
The Network Load Balancer (NLB) operates at layer 4 (transport layer) of the OSI model, which enables it to handle millions of requests per second with incredibly low latencies. Unlike the application load balancer optimized for HTTP/HTTPS, NLB shines in scenarios that demand raw network performance.
Understanding the network load balancer (NLB) is essential for multiple exam domains of the AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) exam, particularly deployment and troubleshooting. This lesson focuses on NLB’s role in designing scalable, high-performance, cloud-native applications. You’ll encounter questions that assess your ability to configure and monitor NLBs, evaluate when to use them over application load balancers (ALBs), and ensure optimal performance using metrics and health checks.
Understanding high-throughput use cases
NLB is specifically designed for workloads demanding persistent, low-latency connections and the ability to manage an immense number of concurrent sessions. It operates at layer 4 (the transport layer) of the OSI model, which allows it to handle traffic at a very high throughput with minimal latency.
Consider applications where real-time performance is critical: