The STACKIT Application Load Balancer (ALB) provides content-based routing at Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS). Unlike the STACKIT Load Balancer (network LB at Layer 4), the ALB enables rule-based routing by URL paths, HTTP headers, and host names. Ideal for microservices architectures and API gateways.
Features
- URL-based Routing: Forwarding by path, host name, and HTTP headers
- SSL/TLS Termination: Certificate management with automatic renewal
- Health Checks: Automatic detection and exclusion of unhealthy backends
- Sticky Sessions: Session affinity for stateful applications
- WAF Integration: Combination with Web Application Firewall possible
Typical Use Cases
Microservices Routing: A single ALB routes traffic to different backend services based on URL paths (/api, /app, /static), without separate load balancers per service.
Canary Deployments: Weighted routing sends a defined percentage of traffic to new service versions for low-risk deployment.
Benefits
- GDPR-compliant: All connections remain in German data centers
- Layer 7: Content-based routing for modern application architectures
- SKE Integration: Native support as a Kubernetes Ingress controller
- Centralized: One ALB replaces many individual reverse proxies
Integration with innFactory
As an official STACKIT partner, innFactory supports you with load balancer architecture: from routing rule design and SSL configuration to integration with STACKIT Kubernetes Engine and firewall services.
