Launching load balancer using OpenStack Horizon¶

We also recommend setting the correct security groups on the instances that should be members in the load balancing. Traffic from the load balancer will not come from the default group as the load balancer is not an instance - this means that explicit rules needs to be setup on the members.

Configuration¶

To launch a load balancer from the OpenStack Horizon portal

• Under Project, click Network and then Load balancers in the sidebar menu.

• Click Create load balancer in the right upper corner.

• The first step is to configure the general options for the load balancer.

  • Name your load balancer. We recommend calling it [NAME]_lb (replace the name with something that’s relevant for you). Providing a description is optional.

  • Leave the IP field empty, an IP address is automatically allocated.

  • Select the availability zone or leave empty to use the default europe-se-1a.

  • Leave the Flavor field empty as selecting a flavor is not supported.

  • Select a subnet to use for hosting the load balancer. We recommend using the same as the subnet where you have your instances to load balancer but its not a must.

  • Press Next.

• The second step sets up the listener. More information here.

  • Name your listener. We recommend calling it [NAME]_listener_[PORTNUMBER] to differentiate it from the other parts. Replace the name with the name you chose for your load balancer and the port to that of the service you want to load balance. Optionally provide a description.

  • Select the load balancer protocol.

  • Verify the port number (it might set automatically but depending on protocol you might need to set it manually). Without it, creation will fail.

  • Press Next.

• The third step is to create the pool. More information here.

  • Name your pool. We recommend calling it [NAME]_pool_[PORTNUMBER] to differentiate it from the other parts. Replace the name with the name you chose for your load balancer and the port to that of the service you want to load balance. Optionally provide a description.

  • Select your preferred load balancing algorithm.

  • If you want session persistence, select what type (and if applicable, enter a session name).

  • Press Next.

• The fourth step assigns members (instances) to the pool. More information here.

  • Either press Add external member and then input the data manually or

  • press the Add button next to the instances you want to add in the list.

  • Select what (IP) port on each instance the service listens on. For instance for a web service, this would be either 80 or 443.

  • When you have added all instances to the pool, press Next.

• In the fifth step, health monitoring will be setup. More information here.

  • Name your health monitor. We recommend calling it [NAME]_monitor_[PORTNUMBER] to differentiate it from other the parts. Replace the name with the name you chose for your load balancer and the port to that of the service you want to load balance. Optionally provide a description.

  • Select the type. This value would depend on what kind of listener you created (which protocol). We recommend choosing a type that is as granular (go with HTTP than TCP port 80 if you want to check a web server) as possible.

  • Choose the options relating to your health monitor, the defaults will likely suffice but this is much dependant on the application.

  • If you’ve opted for TERMINATED SSL when setting up the listener details, you will need to proceed to next step to add your certificates and should then be able to click Next. If not, the Next option is unavailable and you should instead click Create Load Balancer.

• The sixth step is only relevant when creating an SSL/TLS terminating load balancer. In this step, you would choose the certificate that the load balancer should use for SSL/TLS connections. To do this, you first need to have a certificate added to the secret store.

Verification¶

To verify that the health checking has added the members to the pool, follow this procedure:

• Under Project, click Network and then Load balancers in the sidebar menu.

• Verify that the Operating status says Online and Provisioning status says Active on the load balancer and then press its name.

• Press the Pools tab and then press the name of your pool.

• Press the Members tab.

• In the list, you should now see the member(s) you’ve added. The column Operating status should show you if they are online or not.