What are the three types of load balancers that ELB offers?

The three types of load balancers offered by AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) are the Classic Load Balancer, Network Load Balancer, and Application Load Balancer. Each of these has distinct use cases, making them suitable for different applications and needs.

The Classic Load Balancer is designed for applications built within the EC2-Classic network and is primarily used for balancing traffic to EC2 instances. It operates at both the request and connection levels but is more fundamental compared to the other types.

The Network Load Balancer is optimized for handling millions of requests per second while maintaining ultra-low latencies. It operates at the connection level (Layer 4) and is designed to handle sudden and volatile traffic patterns effectively, ideal for applications where performance is critical.

The Application Load Balancer, on the other hand, operates at the request level (Layer 7) and is more advanced than the Classic Load Balancer. It provides advanced routing capabilities, such as host-based and path-based routing, and can handle dynamic content more efficiently. This makes it an ideal choice for microservices and container-based architectures.

These three types encompass a variety of traffic management needs, from simple URL-based routing to robust handling of high-throughput applications, providing flexibility and