Network Load Balancers (NLBs) in OCI offer both HTTP/HTTPS and TCP health checks to verify the availability and responsiveness of your backend servers. This flexibility allows you to choose the appropriate type based on your application requirements:
HTTP/HTTPS health checks: Ideal for web applications where you want to simulate actual user traffic and ensure the server can handle HTTP requests properly. You can configure the health check to target a specific URL path and expect specific response codes or content patterns.
TCP health checks: Suitable for applications that don,t use HTTP or when only basic connectivity verification is needed. You can specify the port number and expect a successful TCP handshake to determine server health.
Here are some additional things to consider when choosing a health check type:
Complexity: HTTP/HTTPS checks can be more complex to configure, especially if you need to match specific content or headers.
Performance: TCP checks are generally faster and lighter on resources, making them preferable for high-volume traffic scenarios.
Security: If your application uses HTTPS, using HTTPS health checks ensures secure communication with the servers.