Load Balancing WebSockets

When your WebSocket application grows, a single server might not handle all connections efficiently. Load balancing helps by distributing these connections across multiple servers.

This improves performance, reliability, and allows your application to handle more users. It's a crucial step for high-traffic realtime systems to ensure availability and responsiveness.

Unlike regular HTTP connections, WebSockets begin with a special "handshake" process that uses HTTP. Your client sends an initial HTTP request to the server, asking to "upgrade" the connection.

This request includes specific HTTP headers that signal the intent to switch protocols. If the server agrees, it responds with an HTTP 101 Switching Protocols status, and the connection then becomes a full-duplex WebSocket.