Interactive Systems Explainers

Load Balancer Playground

Experiment with routing choices and watch how traffic spreads, queues grow, and overloaded servers recover.

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Load balancer experiment controls
Load balancing algorithm
3 servers
0.0s avg latency

Key Observations

What to Notice

Round Robin

Round Robin sends each request to the next server in order. It looks tidy when servers are similar, but weaker servers can fall behind under pressure.

Random

Random routing scatters requests without looking at server load. Watch for uneven clusters and sudden local congestion.

Least Connections

Least Connections favors servers with less active and queued work. During spikes, it tends to spread stress and recover more smoothly.

Weighted

Weighted balancing gives stronger servers more traffic. The weak server receives fewer particles, so its queue usually grows more slowly.

Queues

Stacked particles are waiting requests. When arrivals outpace processing, the stack grows and the server starts glowing hotter.

Overload

Red glow, jitter, and slower motion mean the system is stressed. Congestion can push backward toward the load balancer.

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