Setting Up a Software Load Balancer with HAProxy

By Admin · Feb 25, 2026 · Updated Apr 23, 2026 · 211 views · 1 min read

What Is HAProxy?

HAProxy is a high-performance TCP/HTTP load balancer and proxy server. It distributes incoming traffic across multiple backend servers for improved performance and reliability.

Installation

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y haproxy

Basic HTTP Load Balancing

Edit /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg:

frontend http_front
    bind *:80
    default_backend web_servers

backend web_servers
    balance roundrobin
    option httpchk GET /health
    server web1 192.168.1.10:80 check
    server web2 192.168.1.11:80 check
    server web3 192.168.1.12:80 check

Load Balancing Algorithms

Algorithm	Description
`roundrobin`	Cycle through servers sequentially
`leastconn`	Send to server with fewest connections
`source`	Hash client IP (sticky sessions)
`uri`	Hash URI for cache-friendly distribution

SSL Termination

frontend https_front
    bind *:443 ssl crt /etc/haproxy/certs/example.com.pem
    http-request redirect scheme https unless { ssl_fc }
    default_backend web_servers

Health Checks

backend web_servers
    option httpchk GET /health HTTP/1.1\r\nHost:\ example.com
    http-check expect status 200
    server web1 192.168.1.10:80 check inter 5s fall 3 rise 2

Stats Dashboard

listen stats
    bind *:8404
    stats enable
    stats uri /stats
    stats refresh 10s
    stats admin if LOCALHOST

Access at http://your-ip:8404/stats for real-time metrics on all backends.

Validate and Reload

haproxy -c -f /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg
sudo systemctl reload haproxy