Table of Contents
Enable the necessary modules
Configure the load balancer
Load balancing policies and advanced settings
Home Operation and Maintenance Apache How to use Apache as a load balancer for multiple backend servers?

How to use Apache as a load balancer for multiple backend servers?

Jul 23, 2025 am 01:26 AM
apache load balancing

Apache can achieve load balancing by enabling mod_proxy and mod_proxy_balancer modules. 1. Enable modules: including mod_proxy, mod_proxy_http, mod_proxy_balancer and mod_lbmethod_byrequests; 2. Configure virtual host files, use BalancerMember to define backend servers, ProxySet to set load algorithms, ProxyPass and ProxyPassReverse forward requests; 3. Optional configurations include setting weights, health checks, session hold and timeout control; 4. Finally, test and overload the Apache service to make the configuration take effect. This method is suitable for projects with existing Apache environments and is a simple and practical load balancing solution.

Apache works well as a load balancer to distribute requests to multiple backend servers, especially suitable for environments with existing Apache servers. The implementation method is mainly through the mod_proxy and mod_proxy_balancer modules.

Enable the necessary modules

Apache may not have load balancing-related modules enabled by default. You need to confirm and enable the following modules:

  • mod_proxy
  • mod_proxy_http
  • mod_proxy_balancer
  • mod_lbmethod_byrequests (or other load algorithm module)

On most Linux systems, you can enable these modules using the following command:

 sudo a2enmod proxy
sudo a2enmod proxy_http
sudo a2enmod proxy_balancer
sudo a2enmod lbmethod_byrequests

Restart Apache after enabled:

 sudo systemctl restart apache2

Configure the load balancer

Next, you need to configure a virtual host or modify the default site configuration file directly (usually located in /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf or similar path).

The example configuration is as follows:

 <VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com

    ProxyRequests Off
    <Proxy balancer://mycluster>
        BalancerMember http://192.168.1.10:80
        BalancerMember http://192.168.1.11:80
        BalancerMember http://192.168.1.12:80
        ProxySet lbmethod=byrequests
    </Proxy>

    ProxyPass/balancer://mycluster/
    ProxyPassReverse / balancer://mycluster/

    <Location /balancer-manager>
        SetHandler balancer-manager
        Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>

Explain some key configurations:

  • BalancerMember : Adds each backend node address.
  • lbmethod=byrequests : means that traffic is allocated by polling by number of requests, as well as other strategies such as bytraffic and bybusyness .
  • ProxyPass and ProxyPassReverse : Set proxy forwarding rules.
  • /balancer-manager : This is an optional management interface that allows real-time viewing and adjustment of backend status.

Don't forget to test the configuration and overload Apache:

 sudo apachectl configtest
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Load balancing policies and advanced settings

In addition to basic configuration, you can also make some enhancements according to your needs:

  • Set weight : If some of your backend servers have stronger performance, you can give it higher weight:

     BalancerMember http://192.168.1.10:80 loadfactor=50
  • Health check : Backend availability can be checked regularly through ping parameters:

     BalancerMember http://192.168.1.10:80 ping=5
  • Session keeping (sticky Session) : If the backend has a stateful service, you need to bind the user session to a specific node:

     ProxySet stickysession=JSESSIONID
  • Timeout control : Set the connection and response timeout time to avoid affecting the overall situation due to a certain backend failure:

     ProxyTimeout 30

    Basically that's it. Although Apache's load balancing capabilities are not as powerful as Nginx or HAProxy, they are a simple and practical choice for projects with existing Apache infrastructure.

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