Enterprise HAProxy Load Balancer with Real-Time Monitoring

Project Overview

This project demonstrates an enterprise-level implementation of a High Availability Load Balancing architecture using HAProxy. The system distributes incoming user traffic across multiple backend web servers using the Round Robin algorithm while providing real-time monitoring through HAProxy Stats.

The project is deployed on VMware virtual machines and simulates a real-world enterprise environment.

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Objectives

• Implement Load Balancing using HAProxy.
• Distribute traffic using Round Robin algorithm.
• Host two independent web applications.
• Monitor server health in real time.
• Simulate enterprise architecture.
• Implement backend health checks and failover.

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Architecture

                 User Browser
                       |
                       |
             Public IP (HAProxy)
                       |
               VM1 Load Balancer
               HAProxy + Stats
                       |
          -------------------------
          |                       |
          |                       |
VM2 Cloud Service Node    VM3 Cyber Service Node
     Apache Web Server      Apache Web Server

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Virtual Machine Architecture

VM1 : HAProxy Load Balancer

Responsibilities:

• Receives all user requests
• Uses Round Robin algorithm
• Performs health checks
• Hosts HAProxy Stats dashboard
• Exposes one public IP

Software:

• Ubuntu 22.04
• HAProxy

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VM2 : Cloud Service Node

Responsibilities:

• Hosts custom website
• Acts as Backend Pool Server 1

Software:

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Apache2
• HTML
• CSS

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VM3 : Cyber Service Node

Responsibilities:

• Hosts custom website
• Acts as Backend Pool Server 2

Software:

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Apache2
• HTML
• CSS

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Technologies Used

• VMware
• Ubuntu 22.04
• HAProxy
• Apache2
• HTML
• CSS
• Git
• GitHub

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Load Balancing Algorithm

Round Robin

Incoming requests are distributed sequentially.

Example:

Request 1 → VM2

Request 2 → VM3

Request 3 → VM2

Request 4 → VM3

This ensures equal traffic distribution.

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HAProxy Monitoring Dashboard

Dashboard URL:

http://LOAD-BALANCER-IP:8404/stats

Monitored parameters:

• Backend Server Status
• Active Sessions
• Request Count
• Health Checks
• Response Time
• Server Availability

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Health Check Configuration

Health checks continuously verify backend server availability.

Configuration:

default-server inter 3s fall 3 rise 2

Meaning:

• inter 3s = Check every 3 seconds
• fall 3 = Mark DOWN after 3 failures
• rise 2 = Mark UP after 2 successful checks

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Failover Testing

If VM2 goes offline:

systemctl stop apache2

HAProxy automatically redirects all traffic to VM3.

When VM2 comes back online:

systemctl start apache2

Traffic distribution resumes automatically.

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Useful Commands

Install Apache

apt update
apt install apache2 -y

Install HAProxy

apt update
apt install haproxy -y

Check HAProxy Configuration

haproxy -c -f /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

Restart HAProxy

systemctl restart haproxy

Check HAProxy Status

systemctl status haproxy

Start Apache

systemctl start apache2

Stop Apache

systemctl stop apache2

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Project Features

• Enterprise Architecture
• HAProxy Load Balancing
• Round Robin Algorithm
• Real-Time Monitoring
• Backend Health Checks
• Automatic Failover
• Attractive Web Interfaces
• VMware Deployment
• GitHub Integration

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Future Enhancements

• SSL/HTTPS
• Reverse Proxy
• Logging Server
• Prometheus Monitoring
• Grafana Dashboards
• DNS Integration

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Contributors

• Chand Parveen
• Shivani Sharma