Azure Load Balancer

What Azure Load Balancer is

Azure Load Balancer is a managed web service that distributes network traffic across backend resources. It provides Layer 4 routing and global traffic management, with a stated limit of 5,000 backends. Layer 7 routing and TLS termination are not provided. The service offers Standard Load Balancer in Regional and Global tiers, along with Gateway Load Balancer. Regional pricing bills the first five rules hourly, additional rules per rule per hour, and processed data per GB; inbound NAT rules are free. Global pricing uses the same rule charges, adds no charge for processed data, and keeps inbound NAT rules free. Gateway Load Balancer bills gateway hours and chain hours hourly, plus processed data per GB. Azure lists a paid pricing model, no free plan, and a 30-day trial. The service is web-based, so it is intended for managing traffic distribution through Azure’s service environment rather than as a local application.