View source for Load Balancing Strategies: From Theory to Practice with HAProxy

= HAProxy Workshop: Load Balancing and Advanced Configuration =

== Date & Time ==
* **Event**: [https://internetsummit.africa/ Africa Internet Summit - AIS 2024]
* **Date**: September 5, 2024
* **Time**: 13:00 - 15:30

== Intended Audience ==
This workshop is specifically designed for **Senior Systems Engineers** who are looking to deepen their understanding of load balancing and HAProxy configuration.

== Description ==
This workshop is a comprehensive 2-hour session that includes both theoretical concepts and practical hands-on labs, with a short break. The session covers the following topics:

=== Introduction (5 minutes) ===
* Brief overview of load balancing concepts
* Importance of load balancing in modern infrastructure

=== Load Balancing Fundamentals (15 minutes) ===
* Types of load balancers:
  * Layer 4 (L4) vs. Layer 7 (L7)
* Common load balancing algorithms:
  * Round Robin
  * Least Connections
  * IP Hash
* Health checks and failure handling

=== Introduction to HAProxy (10 minutes) ===
* Overview of HAProxy and its key features
* Architecture and components of HAProxy

=== HAProxy Configuration Basics (20 minutes) ===
* Structure of the HAProxy configuration file
* Key sections: 
  * Frontend
  * Backend
* Access Control Lists (ACLs) and `use_backend` rules

=== Advanced HAProxy Features (20 minutes) ===
* SSL termination
* Sticky sessions
* HTTP rewriting and redirection
* Logging and monitoring

=== Live Demo: Setting up HAProxy (30 minutes) ===
* Installing HAProxy
* Configuring a basic load balancer
* Testing and verifying the setup
* Demonstration of advanced features
=== Best Practices and Performance Tuning (10 minutes) ===
* Optimization of HAProxy configuration
* Security considerations
* Scaling HAProxy

== Session Hands-On ==
* Slides [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FkagbjrE2u-B5TVzihiZ7idzuJ78iMP-/view?usp=sharing "click here"] 
* [[HAProxy Lab Setup Guide - Multi-OS Installation ]]


== Lead Instructor ==
* '''[https://www.linkedin.com/in/manhalmohammed/ Manhal M. Mokhtar]'''