Simple Load Balancer in C++

A simple, efficient load balancer implemented in C++ using an object-oriented approach. It uses the least-connections strategy to distribute incoming client connections across backend servers. The project supports multithreading and ensures a fair distribution of workload.

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📂 LoadBalancer Structure (/load_balancer)

.
├── LoadBalancer.h       # Header file for the LoadBalancer class
├── LoadBalancer.cpp     # Implementation of the LoadBalancer class
├── main.cpp             # Main entry point of the application
├── Makefile             # Makefile for building the project (optional)
└── README.md            # Project documentation

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✨ Features

• Least-connections strategy for fair load distribution.
• Multithreaded handling of client connections for better performance.
• Clean, object-oriented design for easy understanding and maintenance.

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• A C++ compiler (e.g., g++).
• Basic understanding of C++ socket programming.
• A POSIX-compliant operating system (Linux, macOS).

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd load_balancer

2️⃣ Build the Project

Using make

Ensure you have a Makefile in the project directory. Run:

make

Without make

Manually compile the project using g++:

g++ -std=c++11 -pthread -c LoadBalancer.cpp main.cpp
g++ -std=c++11 -pthread -o load_balancer main.o LoadBalancer.o

3️⃣ Run the Load Balancer

./load_balancer

4️⃣ Test the Load Balancer

1. Start the server:

   cd server
   npm install
   node server.js

2. Start the testing server:

   cd testing
   npm install
   node index.js

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⚙️ Configuration

• Listening Port: The load balancer listens on port 8080 by default.
• Backend Ports: Backend servers are defined as {8001, 8002, 8003} in the main.cpp file. You can modify these values if needed.

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📄 Project Files

File	Description
LoadBalancer.h	Declaration of the LoadBalancer class.
LoadBalancer.cpp	Implementation of the load balancing logic.
main.cpp	Entry point of the application.
Makefile	Optional: Automates the build process.
README.md	Project documentation.

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🛠️ Build & Test Example

Here’s an example of running the build and test:

# Build
make

# Run the load balancer
./load_balancer

For testing:

# Run the server
cd server
npm install
node server.js

# Run the testing server
cd testing
npm install
node index.js

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📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to fork the repository, submit issues, or create pull requests.

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🌟 Future Work

• Add support for more sophisticated load-balancing algorithms (e.g., round-robin, IP-hash).
• Implement health checks for backend servers.
• Add dynamic scaling of backend servers.

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