Layer 4 vs Layer 7 load balancers
WHAT IT TESTS: OSI model and load balancer routing knowledge. OUTLINE: L4 routes on IP and TCP/UDP ports fast and protocol-blind; L7 inspects HTTP for host, path, and headers. RED FLAG: claiming L7 is always better.
WHAT IT TESTS: understanding of the OSI model and how load balancing decisions are made at different layers. ANSWER OUTLINE: a Layer 4 balancer routes on IP address and TCP/UDP port without reading payload, giving lower latency and protocol agnosticism; a Layer 7 balancer terminates HTTP and routes by host, path, headers, or cookies, enabling content-based routing and TLS termination. Use L7 for microservice path routing, L4 for raw throughput or non-HTTP protocols. RED FLAG: treating L7 as a strict upgrade rather than a tradeoff.
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- #load-balancing
- #networking
- #osi-model
- #cloud
- #architecture
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