| copyright | lastupdated | keywords | subcollection | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2019-07-01 |
l7, layer 7 |
loadbalancer-service |
{{site.data.keyword.attribute-definition-list}}
{: #layer-7-load-balancing}
The {{site.data.keyword.loadbalancer_full}} service distributes traffic among multiple server instances, including bare-metal and virtual-server instances, by using Layer 7 (application layer) data. {: shortdesc}
- The data traffic to be distributed is classified by using policies and rules.
- Policies define what action to take when the data traffic matches all the rules that are associated with a policy.
- Layer 7 (L7) load balancing is supported for HTTP and HTTPS traffic only.
{: #layer-7-policies-and-rules}
A Layer 7 policy is associated with a front-end application port. Multiple policies can be associated with a front-end port.
- These policies are evaluated in order, based on the priority assigned to each policy.
- An associated action is taken when the policy is matched.
- Each L7 rule is associated with a policy.
- If all the rules that are associated with the policy evaluate to
true, the policy is matched, so the associated action is taken.
For more information, see L7 Policy and Rules.
{: #layer-7-pools}
Each Layer 7 load balancer pool contains one or more logical server instances.
- Each logical server instance is identified by an IP address and port number.
- Each pool has a health monitor associated with it, which monitors the health of all the servers in the pool.
- A pool can be configured for session persistence.
- Use the source IP address of the client or HTTP cookie to configure session persistence.
For more information, see L7 Pools.