Editing Load balancing (computing) (section)

===Data center networks===
Load balancing is widely used in [[data center]] networks to distribute traffic across many existing paths between any two servers.<ref name=architecture>{{cite journal | last1=Noormohammadpour | first1=Mohammad | last2=Raghavendra | first2=Cauligi S. | title=Datacenter Traffic Control: Understanding Techniques and Tradeoffs | journal=IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials | volume=20 | issue=2 | date=2018 | issn=1553-877X | doi=10.1109/COMST.2017.2782753 | doi-access=free | pages=1492–1525 | arxiv=1712.03530 | url=https://hal.science/hal-01811647/document}}</ref> It allows more efficient use of network bandwidth and reduces provisioning costs. In general, load balancing in datacenter networks can be classified as either static or dynamic.

Static load balancing distributes traffic by computing a hash of the source and destination addresses and port numbers of traffic flows and using it to determine how flows are assigned to one of the existing paths. Dynamic load balancing assigns traffic flows to paths by monitoring bandwidth use on different paths. Dynamic assignments can also be proactive or reactive. In the former case, the assignment is fixed once made, while in the latter the network logic keeps monitoring available paths and shifts flows across them as network utilization changes (with arrival of new flows or completion of existing ones). A comprehensive overview of load balancing in datacenter networks has been made available.<ref name=architecture/>