Lab 3 – Scaling Concepts with Multiple Instances

Learning Outcomes

• Understand horizontal scaling (multiple instances).
• See how multiple backends could sit behind a load balancer.
• Relate this to cloud load balancers (AWS, GCP, Linode).

Tasks

1. Your instructor may have deployed multiple copies of this lab portal. Try opening the following URLs:
   • http://50.116.28.213:32441
   • http://50.116.28.213:32442
   If they both load, note any differences you see (or if they look identical).
2. In your notes, describe:
   • What would a load balancer do if it sat in front of 32441 and 32442?
   • Give one example of a load-balancing service in AWS, GCP, or Linode.
3. Launch a second small VM in Google Cloud Compute Engine (or use an existing one). In your notes, sketch how a GCP load balancer could distribute traffic across two or more VMs, similar to the two URLs above.
4. Take a photo or screenshot of your diagram and label:
   • Clients
   • Load balancer
   • Backend instances

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