configuring-load-balancers

name	configuring-load-balancers
description	Configure use when configuring load balancers including ALB, NLB, Nginx, and HAProxy. Trigger with phrases like "configure load balancer", "create ALB", "setup nginx load balancing", or "haproxy configuration". Generates production-ready configurations with health checks, SSL termination, sticky sessions, and traffic distribution rules.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash(aws:*), Bash(gcloud:*), Bash(nginx:*)
version	1.0.0
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
license	MIT

Configuring Load Balancers

Overview

This skill provides automated assistance for the described functionality.

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

• Backend servers are identified with IPs or DNS names
• Load balancer type is determined (ALB, NLB, Nginx, HAProxy)
• SSL certificates are available if using HTTPS
• Health check endpoints are defined
• Understanding of traffic distribution requirements (round-robin, least-connections)
• Cloud provider CLI installed (if using cloud load balancers)

Instructions

1. Select Load Balancer Type: Choose based on requirements (L4 vs L7, cloud vs on-prem)
2. Define Backend Pool: List backend servers with ports and weights
3. Configure Health Checks: Set check interval, timeout, and healthy threshold
4. Set Up SSL/TLS: Configure certificates and cipher suites
5. Define Routing Rules: Create path-based or host-based routing
6. Enable Session Persistence: Configure sticky sessions if needed
7. Add Monitoring: Set up logging and metrics collection
8. Test Configuration: Validate syntax and test traffic distribution

Output

Nginx Configuration:

# {baseDir}/nginx/load-balancer.conf

## Error Handling

See `{baseDir}/references/errors.md` for comprehensive error handling.

## Examples

See `{baseDir}/references/examples.md` for detailed examples.

## Resources

- Nginx documentation: https://nginx.org/en/docs/
- HAProxy configuration guide: https://www.haproxy.org/
- AWS ALB documentation: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/
- GCP Load Balancing: https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs
- Example configurations in {baseDir}/lb-examples/