Elastic Load Balancing offers different load balancers, and the exam constantly asks you to pick between the Application and Network types.
Layer 7 vs layer 4
ALB (Application Load Balancer) works at layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS), routing by URL path or host — the default for web apps and microservices. NLB (Network Load Balancer) works at layer 4 (TCP/UDP), handles millions of requests with ultra-low latency, and provides a static IP. Web routing → ALB. Extreme performance, static IP, or non-HTTP → NLB.
Test yourself
An application must handle millions of TCP requests per second with ultra-low latency and needs a static IP address. Which load balancer?
- Application Load Balancer
- Network Load Balancer
- Gateway Load Balancer
- Classic Load Balancer
👉 Click to reveal the answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. NLB operates at layer 4 for extreme throughput and low latency and provides static IPs. ALB (A) is layer-7 HTTP routing; Gateway LB (C) fronts appliances; Classic (D) is legacy.
Related topics
Elastic Load Balancing · Auto Scaling · Global Accelerator
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