> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.greennode.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.greennode.ai/load-balancer/network-load-balancer/how-it-works-nlb.md).

# How it works (NLB)

A Network Load Balancer (NLB) acts as a high-performance traffic distributor at the network layer (Layer 4 of the OSI model). It efficiently directs incoming TCP or UDP traffic to a pool of backend servers, ensuring optimal resource utilization and high availability for your services. Let's take a look at the high-level workflow of an NLB

<figure><img src="https://1985221522-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F7rE7M1L7GYcwQzNGd0aB%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ab5b912fde6c63a7e9fd92bb771ad3686307f657%2F64553877.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>