Round-robin load balancing is a straightforward and widely used technique for distributing client requests across a group of servers. The primary goal is to ensure that no single server becomes overwhelmed by traffic, thereby optimizing resource utilization and enhancing system performance and reliability.
How It Works
In round-robin load balancing, incoming requests are forwarded to each server in a sequential, cyclic order. For example, if there are three servers (A, B, and C), the first request goes to Server A, the second to Server B, the third to Server C, and the fourth request cycles back to Server A, continuing in this pattern. This method ensures that each server receives an equal share of the workload over time[1][2][3][4][6].
Benefits
Simplicity: Round-robin load balancing is easy to understand and implement. It does not require complex configurations or real-time monitoring of server performance.
Fair Distribution: It ensures that all servers get an equal number of requests, which can be particularly useful when the servers have similar capabilities[2][3][6].
Drawbacks
Assumption of Homogeneity: The algorithm assumes that all servers have identical processing power and storage capacity. This can lead to inefficiencies if the servers have different capabilities, as it does not account for the current load or health of each server[2][3][4][6].
Lack of Adaptability: Round-robin does not adapt to real-time changes in server performance or load, which can result in some servers becoming overloaded while others are underutilized[1][3][4].
Variants
To address some of the limitations of basic round-robin load balancing, several variants have been developed:
Weighted Round Robin: This variant assigns different weights to servers based on their capacity. Servers with higher weights receive a larger proportion of requests, allowing for a more balanced distribution according to server capabilities[1][2][3][4].
Dynamic Round Robin: This approach dynamically adjusts the weights based on...
