Creating a Dedicated Load Balancer

Scenarios

ELB distributes heavy incoming traffic across backend servers, maintaining high service availability at both network and application layers. It provides multiple load balancing algorithms and health checks to keep your services running smoothly.

This section describes how to create a dedicated load balancer. Before that, ensure you have gotten everything ready. For details, see Dedicated Load Balancer Overview.

Procedure

1. Go to the Buy Elastic Load Balancer page.
2. Complete the basic configurations based on Table 1.

   Table 1 Parameters for configuring the basic information

   Parameter	Description
   Billing Mode	Pay-per-use: postpaid billing mode. You pay as you go and pay for what you use. The load balancer usage is calculated by the second but billed every hour.
   Region	Specifies the desired region. Resources in different regions cannot communicate with each other over internal networks. For lower network latency and faster access to resources, select the nearest region.
   Name	Specifies the load balancer name. The name can contain: 1 to 255 characters. Letters, digits, underscores (_), hyphens (-), and periods (.).
   Enterprise Project	Specifies an enterprise project by which cloud resources and members are centrally managed.

3. Select specifications for the dedicated load balancer based on Table 2.

   Table 2 Load balancer specifications

   Parameter	Description
   Load Balancing Type	Application: supports HTTP and HTTPS. This option is a great fit for workloads that require high performance at Layer 7, such as real-time audio and video, interactive livestreaming, and game applications. Network: supports TCP and UDP. This option works well for heavy-traffic and high-concurrency workloads at Layer 4, such as file transfer, instant messaging, and online video applications. Network + Application: Both network (TCP/UDP) and application (HTTP/HTTPS) load balancers can be created, meeting multi-dimensional traffic distribution requirements.
   Specification Type	Select Elastic or Fixed if pay-per-use is chosen as the billing mode. Elastic specifications work well for fluctuating traffic, and you will be charged for how many LCUs you use. Fixed specifications are suitable for stable traffic, and you will be charged for the specifications you select.

4. Complete the network configurations based on Table 3.

   Table 3 Configuring network parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Network Type	Specifies the network where the load balancer works. You can select one or more network types. If you do not select any option, no IP address will be assigned to the load balancer and the load balancer cannot communicate with the clients after it is created. When you are using ELB or testing network connectivity, ensure that the load balancer has a public or private IP address bound. Private IPv4 network: The load balancer routes IPv4 requests from the clients to backend servers in a VPC. If you want the load balancer to route requests from the Internet, bind an EIP to the load balancer. IPv6 network: An IPv6 address will be assigned to the load balancer to route requests from IPv6 clients.
   VPC	Specifies the VPC where the dedicated load balancer works. You cannot change the VPC after the load balancer is created. Plan the VPC as required. Select an existing VPC or click View VPCs to create a desired one. For more information about VPC, see the Virtual Private Cloud User Guide.
   Frontend Subnet	Specifies the frontend subnet from which an IP address will be assigned to the dedicated load balancer to communicate with resources over the private network. After the load balancer is created, you can unbind the existing IP address and bind IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in a different subnet to the load balancer. Unbinding an IP address may affect service performance. IP addresses will be assigned to the load balancer based on the network type you configure. Private IPv4 network: An IPv4 private address in the IPv4 subnet will be assigned to the load balancer. IPv6 network: An IPv6 private address in the IPv6 subnet will be assigned to the load balancer. If you select IPv6 network for Network Type and the selected VPC does not have any subnet that supports IPv6, enable IPv6 for at least one subnet or create a subnet that supports IPv6. For details, see the Virtual Private Cloud User Guide.
   IPv4 Address	Specifies how you want the IPv4 address to be assigned if Network Type is set to Private IPv4 network. Automatically assign IP address: The system assigns an IPv4 address to the load balancer. Manually specify IP address: You need to manually specify an IPv4 address for the load balancer. NOTE: Network ACL rules configured for the frontend subnet of a load balancer do not restrict traffic from clients to the load balancer. Configure access control for listeners to limit which IP addresses can access the load balancer. For details, see What Is Access Control?
   Backend Subnet	Specifies the backend subnet from which IP addresses will be assigned to the dedicated load balancer to forward requests to and perform health checks on backend servers. Subnet of the load balancer is selected by default. You can select other subnets in the VPC of the load balancer or click Create Subnet to create a subnet. NOTE: If IPv6 is not enabled for the backend subnet you select when creating a dedicated load balancer, the load balancer cannot use IPv6 addresses to route requests. The number of IP addresses required by a load balancer to communicate with the backend servers depends on how many AZs you have selected, how you configure the specifications, and whether you enable the IP as a backend option. See how many IP addresses are actually required on the console. An application load balancer requires 8 to 30 additional IP addresses in the backend subnet for forwarding traffic. The actual number of required IP addresses depends on the ELB cluster size. If load balancers are deployed in the same cluster and work in the same backend subnet, they share the same IP addresses to save resources.
   IPv6 Address	Specifies how you want the IPv6 address to be assigned if Network Type is set to IPv6 network. Assign automatically: The system automatically assigns an IPv6 address to the load balancer. Manually specify: You need to manually specify an IPv6 address for the load balancer. NOTE: Network ACL rules configured for the frontend subnet of a load balancer do not restrict traffic from clients to the load balancer. Configure access control for listeners to limit which IP addresses can access the load balancer. For details, see What Is Access Control?
   Shared Bandwidth	Specifies the shared bandwidth that the IPv6 address will be added to. A shared bandwidth allows multiple EIPs in the same region to share the same bandwidth. You can choose Skip, select an existing shared bandwidth, or buy a new shared bandwidth.
   IP as a Backend	Specifies whether to associate backend servers with the load balancer by using their IP addresses. After this option is enabled, you can associate backend servers that are not in the VPC of the load balancer by referring to Adding Backend Servers in a Different VPC from a Load Balancer. If you enable this option, more IP addresses in the backend subnet need to be reserved for the load balancer to communicate with backend servers. Ensure that the selected subnet has sufficient IP addresses.

5. Configure an EIP for the load balancer to enable it to route IPv4 requests over the Internet based on Table 4.

   Table 4 Selecting an EIP for the load balancer

   Parameter	Description
   EIP	Specifies the EIP that will be bound to the load balancer for receiving and forwarding requests over the Internet. Auto assign: A new EIP will be assigned to the load balancer. Use existing: Select an existing EIP. Not required: You can bind an EIP to the load balancer later.
   EIP Type	Specifies the link type (BGP) when a new EIP is used. Dynamic BGP: If there are changes on a network using dynamic BGP, routing protocols provide automatic, real-time optimization of network configurations, ensuring network stability and optimal user experience. This option works well for workloads that require higher network stability and connectivity, such as financial transactions, online games, large-scale enterprise applications, and livestreaming services.
   Billed By	Specifies how the bandwidth will be billed. You can select one from the following options: Bandwidth: You specify the maximum bandwidth and pay for the amount of time you use the bandwidth. Traffic: You specify the maximum bandwidth and pay for the outbound traffic you use. Shared Bandwidth: Load balancers that have EIPs bound in the same region can share the selected bandwidth, helping you reduce public network bandwidth costs.
   Bandwidth (Mbit/s)	Specifies the maximum bandwidth.

6. Configure other parameters for the load balancer as described in Table 5.

   Table 5 Configuring other parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Advanced Settings (Optional) > Description	Click to expand the configuration area and set this parameter. Enter a description about the load balancer in the text box as required. Enter up to 255 characters. Angle brackets (<>) are not allowed.
   Advanced Settings (Optional) > Tag	Click to expand the configuration area and set this parameter. Add tags to the load balancer so that they can be easily found. A tag consists of a tag key and a tag value. The tag key marks a tag, and the tag value specifies specific tag content. For details about the naming rules, see Table 6. You can add a maximum of 20 tags.

   Table 6 Tag key and value requirements

   Parameter	Requirement
   Tag key	Cannot be empty. Must be unique for the same load balancer. Can contain a maximum of 128 characters. Can contain letters, digits, spaces, and special characters _.:+-@. It cannot start or end with a space, or start with _sys_.
   Tag value	Can contain a maximum of 255 characters. Can contain letters, digits, spaces, and special characters _.:+-@, but cannot start or end with a space.

7. Click Buy Now.
8. Return to the load balancer list page to check the new load balancer.

   To ping the IP address of this load balancer, you need to add a listener to it.

Related Operations

A listener checks requests from clients and routes requests to backend servers using the protocol, port, and load balancing algorithm you select. You need to add at least one listener to a load balancer.

• Add network listeners by referring to Network Listeners.
• Add application listeners by referring to Application Listeners.
• Create a backend server group and add backend servers to it by referring to:
  • Creating a Backend Server Group
  • Adding Backend Servers in the Same VPC as a Load Balancer
  • Adding Backend Servers in a Different VPC from a Load Balancer