Load Balancer Misrouting After Pod Scaling

The load balancer routed traffic unevenly after scaling up, causing some pods to become overloaded.

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What Happened

After pod scaling, the load balancer did not immediately update routing rules, leading to uneven traffic distribution. Some pods became overloaded, while others were underutilized.

Diagnosis Steps

1Checked load balancer configuration and found that it had not updated its routing rules after pod scaling.
2Observed uneven traffic distribution on the affected pods.

Root Cause

Delayed load balancer reconfiguration after scaling events.

Fix/Workaround

• Configured the load balancer to refresh routing rules dynamically during pod scaling events.
• Ensured that only ready and healthy pods were included in the load balancer’s routing pool.

Lessons Learned

Load balancers must be synchronized with pod scaling events to ensure even traffic distribution.

How to Avoid

1Automate load balancer rule updates during scaling events.
2Integrate health checks and readiness probes to ensure only available pods handle traffic.

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