What is STACKIT Load Balancer?
STACKIT Load Balancer is a fully managed network service that distributes incoming traffic across multiple backend instances. The service supports Layer 4 (Network Load Balancer) for TCP/UDP traffic and Layer 7 (Application Load Balancer) for HTTP/HTTPS with advanced routing. As a German cloud provider, STACKIT processes all traffic in German data centers, ensuring GDPR compliance.
Core Features
- Layer 4 and Layer 7: Network LB for performance, Application LB for HTTP features
- SSL Termination: Certificate management and Let’s Encrypt integration
- Health Checks: Automatic detection and removal of unhealthy backends
- Session Persistence: Cookie-based or IP-based for stateful applications
- Multi-AZ: Cross-zone load balancing with automatic failover
Typical Use Cases
Web Applications: Distribute traffic across multiple web servers for load spikes and fault tolerance. Typical for e-commerce and SaaS platforms.
Microservices: Application Load Balancer with URL-based routing exposes different services through one endpoint. Integration with STACKIT Kubernetes Engine for automatic pod registration.
Blue-Green Deployments: Zero-downtime deployments through weighted traffic distribution between old and new environments.
Benefits
- GDPR-compliant: All traffic in German data centers
- 99.99% SLA: Guaranteed high availability
- Kubernetes Integration: Native support for SKE
- Transparent Pricing: No hidden bandwidth costs
Integration with innFactory
As an official STACKIT partner, innFactory supports you with Load Balancer: architecture for highly available applications, health check configuration, SSL setup, and Kubernetes integration.
Available Tiers & Options
Network Load Balancer
- Layer 4 (TCP/UDP)
- Extreme performance
- Low latency
- No SSL termination
Application Load Balancer
- Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS)
- URL-based routing
- SSL termination
- Slightly higher latency
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Layer 4 and Layer 7?
Layer 4 routes traffic based on IP and port. Layer 7 analyzes HTTP content, enabling URL-based routing and SSL termination.
How do health checks work?
Health checks continuously monitor backend availability. Unhealthy targets are automatically removed from rotation.
Can SSL be terminated centrally?
Yes, Application Load Balancers support SSL/TLS termination with certificate management and Let's Encrypt integration.
How is billing calculated?
Hourly per load balancer plus processed data volume in GB. No hidden bandwidth costs.
Does the load balancer work with Kubernetes?
Yes, Kubernetes Services of type LoadBalancer automatically create a STACKIT Load Balancer.
