I’m trying to understand Google Cloud Platform load balancing options and getting confused by all the different backend types available. When I look at the load balancer configuration, I see several backend options like backend services for HTTP load balancers, backend buckets also for HTTP load balancers, regional backend services for internal load balancers, and target pools for TCP load balancers. From what I can tell, target pools work with TCP forwarding rules while backend services work with URL maps for HTTP/HTTPS load balancing. However, when I compare their configuration options, they seem pretty similar. Are there other important differences I should know about, or is this mainly just different naming for similar functionality? I want to make sure I choose the right option for my setup.
target pools are like the older version for TCP load balancing, they work but are kinda basic. backend services have way more features like health checks and traffic splitting. regional backend services are just for stuff within one region. honestly, target pools feel a bit outdated now.
hmm interesting question! i’ve been wrestling with this too lately. one thing that caught my attention - are you planning to use this for multi-region traffic or keeping it regional? also what type of workload are you load balancing? the choice sometimes depends on whether you need advanced routing features or just basic distribution. curious about your specific use case!
The architecture patterns differ significantly between these three options. Target pools operate at the network layer and perform simple round-robin distribution without session affinity or sophisticated health monitoring. They connect directly to forwarding rules and work exclusively with TCP traffic. Backend services provide application-layer intelligence with URL-based routing, custom health checks, and session persistence options. They integrate with URL maps and support both HTTP and HTTPS protocols. Regional backend services function similarly to global backend services but restrict traffic distribution within a single region, making them suitable for internal load balancing scenarios where you need to keep data flows localized. The choice depends on whether you need basic network-level distribution or application-aware routing capabilities.