updates

Author: mbender-ms

articles/load-balancer/azure-load-balancer-architecture.md

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+# Azure Load Balancer Gaming Platform Architecture
+
+This diagram illustrates the Azure Load Balancer architecture for a gaming platform migration from AWS Network Load Balancer, featuring multi-protocol support, zone redundancy, and VMSS Flex orchestration.
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TB
+    subgraph Internet ["🌐 Internet"]
+        Clients["Gaming Clients<br/>TCP & UDP Traffic"]
+    end
+    
+    subgraph Azure ["☁️ Azure East US Region"]
+        subgraph LB_Frontend ["Azure Standard Load Balancer"]
+            LB["Load Balancer<br/>Zone-Redundant<br/>Static Public IP<br/>Floating IP (DSR)"]
+        end
+        
+        subgraph Zone1 ["🏢 Availability Zone 1"]
+            subgraph SessionSubnet1 ["Session Management Subnet"]
+                SessionVMSS1["Session Management<br/>VMSS Flex<br/>TCP Port 7777"]
+            end
+            subgraph GameSubnet1 ["Game Data Subnet"]
+                GameVMSS1["Real-time Game Data<br/>VMSS Flex<br/>UDP Port 7778"]
+            end
+        end
+        
+        subgraph Zone2 ["🏢 Availability Zone 2"]
+            subgraph SessionSubnet2 ["Session Management Subnet"]
+                SessionVMSS2["Session Management<br/>VMSS Flex<br/>TCP Port 7777"]
+            end
+            subgraph GameSubnet2 ["Game Data Subnet"]
+                GameVMSS2["Real-time Game Data<br/>VMSS Flex<br/>UDP Port 7778"]
+            end
+        end
+        
+        subgraph Zone3 ["🏢 Availability Zone 3"]
+            subgraph SessionSubnet3 ["Session Management Subnet"]
+                SessionVMSS3["Session Management<br/>VMSS Flex<br/>TCP Port 7777"]
+            end
+            subgraph GameSubnet3 ["Game Data Subnet"]
+                GameVMSS3["Real-time Game Data<br/>VMSS Flex<br/>UDP Port 7778"]
+            end
+        end
+        
+        subgraph DataServices ["Data Services"]
+            Redis[("Azure Cache for Redis<br/>Session State")]
+            Cosmos[("Azure Cosmos DB<br/>Player Data")]
+        end
+    end
+    
+    %% Traffic Flow
+    Clients --> LB
+    
+    %% Load Balancer to Backend Pools
+    LB -->|TCP 7777| SessionVMSS1
+    LB -->|TCP 7777| SessionVMSS2
+    LB -->|TCP 7777| SessionVMSS3
+    
+    LB -->|UDP 7778| GameVMSS1
+    LB -->|UDP 7778| GameVMSS2
+    LB -->|UDP 7778| GameVMSS3
+    
+    %% Backend Services to Data Services
+    SessionVMSS1 --> Redis
+    SessionVMSS2 --> Redis
+    SessionVMSS3 --> Redis
+    
+    GameVMSS1 --> Cosmos
+    GameVMSS2 --> Cosmos
+    GameVMSS3 --> Cosmos
+    
+    %% Styling
+    classDef lbClass fill:#0078d4,stroke:#005a9f,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
+    classDef sessionClass fill:#00bcf2,stroke:#0099d4,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
+    classDef gameClass fill:#00d4aa,stroke:#00b894,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
+    classDef dataClass fill:#ff6b35,stroke:#e55100,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
+    classDef zoneClass fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#999,stroke-width:1px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
+    
+    class LB lbClass
+    class SessionVMSS1,SessionVMSS2,SessionVMSS3 sessionClass
+    class GameVMSS1,GameVMSS2,GameVMSS3 gameClass
+    class Redis,Cosmos dataClass
+```
+
+## Architecture Components
+
+### Load Balancer Configuration
+- **Azure Standard Load Balancer** with zone-redundant deployment
+- **Static Public IP** for consistent client endpoints
+- **Floating IP (DSR)** enabled for client IP preservation
+- **Multi-protocol support** for TCP and UDP traffic
+
+### Backend Pools
+- **Session Management Pool**: VMSS Flex orchestration handling TCP traffic on port 7777
+- **Real-time Game Data Pool**: VMSS Flex orchestration handling UDP traffic on port 7778
+
+### Availability Zones
+- **Zone 1, 2, 3**: Each contains both service types in separate subnets
+- **Subnet isolation**: Session management and game data services isolated per zone
+- **Network Security Groups**: Protecting each subnet tier
+
+### Data Services
+- **Azure Cache for Redis**: Session state management for session services
+- **Azure Cosmos DB**: Player data storage for game data services
+
+### Traffic Flow
+1. Gaming clients send TCP and UDP traffic through the internet
+2. Azure Load Balancer receives traffic via static public IP
+3. Load balancer routes TCP traffic (port 7777) to session management backend pool
+4. Load balancer routes UDP traffic (port 7778) to game data backend pool
+5. Session management services connect to Azure Cache for Redis
+6. Game data services connect to Azure Cosmos DB for player data
+
+This architecture provides high availability, ultra-low latency, and scalable performance for multiplayer gaming workloads migrated from AWS Network Load Balancer.