HAProxy (High Availability Proxy) is an open source, powerful, fast and reliable solution used as a load balancer and proxy server for TCP and HTTP-based applications. It provides high availability, performance and scalability by efficiently distributing incoming application traffic across multiple servers. HAProxy works in Layer 4 (TCP), Layer 7 (HTTP) modes and can be used to eliminate single points of failure while ensuring efficient load balancing.
HAProxy is highly configurable and can be used in many different scenarios, including web, mail, FTP, and database clustering, as well as forwarding traffic from various networks. Its configuration employs straightforward syntax and can be understood easily. The HAProxy Community provides extensive support and advice for users who require assistance. Additionally, HAProxy is standard compliant and supports IPv4/IPv6, SSL, HTTP/2, as well as modern technologies such as keep-alive and SNI.
Features
- High Availability: HAProxy can distribute incoming requests across multiple servers, providing a single point of access for clients and high availability for applications.
- Load Balancing: HAProxy is capable of advanced load balancing techniques, such as least connections, round-robin, and weighted round-robin. It can also be configured to provide local or global server load-balancing capabilities.
- High Performance: HAProxy provides excellent performance even when operating with high volumes of traffic.
- Flexible Configuration: HAProxy can be configured using either a text-based configuration file or an interactive web interface.
- Secure Socket Layer (SSL) support: HAProxy can be used to provide encryption and secure communications between applications and clients.
- Reverse Proxy Support: HAProxy can act as a reverse proxy, routing requests from clients to applications.
- HTTP/2 Support: HAProxy provides support for the latest version of the HTTP protocol, allowing applications to take advantage of the performance and security improvements offered by HTTP/2.
Overall, HAProxy is a powerful and reliable option for achieving high availability and scalability for your web applications. With its rich set of features, simple configuration, and ease of use, it can be the perfect choice for any domain with high availability requirements.
