You create a load balancer in your application by configuring and connecting distinct Cloud Load Balancing frontend and backend components. The separate components help you apply distinct controls for external and internal traffic, and prevent direct access to data.
The global Cloud Load Balancing frontend component helps you configure the public-facing elements of a load balancer. The frontend handles incoming traffic, defines routing rules, and directs requests to the appropriate backend. You can configure the following:
- Target Proxy: Terminates client connections and forwards requests.
- URL Map: Defines routing rules based on hostnames and URL paths.
- Forwarding Rule: Assigns an IP address and port to the load balancer, making it accessible.
- SSL Certificate: Manages security for HTTPS connections.
For more information, see Cloud Load Balancing overview.
This document describes the connection and parameters you can configure when using App Design Center to create a global Cloud Load Balancing frontend. The configuration parameters are based on the terraform-google-lb-http Terraform module.
Component connections
To create a complete Cloud Load Balancing component, you must connect your global Cloud Load Balancing frontend to at least one global Cloud Load Balancing backend. Connected Cloud Load Balancing components are displayed as a group in the design canvas.
The following table includes the component that you can connect to a global Cloud Load Balancing frontend, and the resulting updates to your application and its generated Terraform code.
Connected component | Application updates | Background information |
|---|---|---|
Global Cloud Load Balancing backend (required) |
| URL maps overview |
Required configuration parameters
If your template includes a global Cloud Load Balancing frontend component, you must configure the following parameters before you deploy.
Parameter name | Description and constraints | Background information |
|---|---|---|
Name | name | Forwarding rules overview |
Project ID | The project where you want to deploy the Cloud Load Balancing frontend. | Configure components |
Optional configuration parameters
The following parameters are optional. To display advanced parameters, in the Configuration area, select Show advanced fields.
Feature | Parameter name | Description and constraint information | Background information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create Address | Create a new global IPv4 address. | IP Address specifications | |
| Address | IPAddress | IP Address specifications | |
| Enable IPv6 | ipVersion | IPv6 for Application Load Balancers and proxy Network Load Balancers | |
| Create IPv6 Address | Create a new global IPv6 address. | IP Address specifications | |
| IPv6 Address | IPAddress | IP Address specifications | |
| Create URL Map | Automatically create a URL map. Clear the checkbox if you want to configure your own URL map in URL Map Input | Use URL maps | |
| URL Map Input | Host | Configure URL maps | Use URL maps |
| Path | Configure URL maps | Use URL maps | |
| Backend Service | Configure URL maps | Use URL maps | |
| URL Map Resource URI | The URI for a URL map that you previously created. | urlMap | |
| HTTP Forward | Clear to disable HTTP port 80 forwarding. | Forwarding rules overview | |
| SSL | Enable SSL support and then do one of the following:
| SSL certificates overview | |
| Create SSL Certificate | Create a certificate using the information you enter in Private Key and Certificate. | SSL certificates overview | |
| SSL Certificates | sslCertificates[] | SSL certificates overview | |
| Private Key | privateKey | Step 1: Create a private key and certificate | |
| Certificate | certificate | Step 1: Create a private key and certificate | |
| Managed SSL Certificate Domains | managed.domains[] | Use Google-managed SSL certificates | |
| Certificate Map | certificateMap | Certificate configuration methods | |
| SSL Policy | sslPolicy | SSL policies for SSL and TLS protocols | |
| QUIC | quicOverride | Configure HTTP/3 | |
| HTTPS Redirect | Select to enable HTTPS redirect. | Set up an HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect for regional external Application Load Balancers | |
| Random Certificate Suffix | Select to generate random certificate names. Enable this setting if you need to change the SSL certificate. | random_certificate_suffix | |
| Labels | Key | labels | Organize resources using labels |
| Value | labels | Organize resources using labels | |
| Load Balancing Scheme | loadBalancingScheme | Summary of types of Google Cloud load balancers | |
| Network | network | Forwarding rules overview | |
| Server TLS policy | serverTlsPolicy | Mutual TLS overview | |
| HTTP Port | The port for the HTTP load balancer. | Port specifications | |
| HTTPS Port | The port for the HTTPS load balancer. | Port specifications | |
| HTTP Keep Alive Timeout Sec | httpKeepAliveTimeoutSec | Timeouts and retries |
What's next
You must connect your frontend component to a backend component. To configure the backend component, see Configure a global Cloud Load Balancing backend service in Application Design Center.