What is the primary function of a load balancer?

The primary function of a load balancer is to distribute incoming network traffic across multiple servers. This process is key to ensuring that no single server is overwhelmed with too much traffic, which can lead to slower response times or even server crashes. By balancing the load, the infrastructure remains efficient, scalable, and reliable.

In addition, by directing traffic to various servers, a load balancer can enhance the availability and fault tolerance of applications. If one server experiences issues or goes offline, the load balancer can reroute traffic to the remaining operational servers, ensuring that users experience minimal disruptions.

This distribution of traffic also helps in optimizing the use of resources across the server pool, allowing for better performance under high traffic conditions and providing a smoother experience for users accessing applications hosted on the servers.