Load Balancing Algorithms

### Common Routing Strategies

A load balancer uses algorithms to determine which server receives a request:

1. **Round Robin:** Requests are distributed sequentially. Simple, but doesn't account for server load. 2. **Least Connections:** Routes traffic to the server with the fewest active connections. Ideal for long-lived connections like WebSockets. 3. **Least Response Time:** Routes to the server responding fastest, optimizing for user latency. 4. **IP Hash:** Uses the client's IP address to consistently route them to the same server. Useful for maintaining sticky sessions without external caches.

Choosing the right algorithm depends on the specific workload characteristics of your application.