Has simplified load distribution across services and centralized configuration management
What is our primary use case?
I have been using HAProxy for about a year.
My main use case for HAProxy is mostly forwarding public traffic into internal services over a Proxmox HA cluster. I get traffic from Keepalived VIP and forward it to HAProxy, and from there to internal services. I monitor and track port 80 and 443.
I am also using HAProxy for Redis and RabbitMQ traffic. I have three dedicated servers right now, with each server having one Redis node and one RabbitMQ node. Based on the traffic, for example, if an API is running on host one, HAProxy forwards traffic from this API host one to host one Redis node or RabbitMQ node one, internally making them use the same host to prevent latency.
What is most valuable?
The best features HAProxy offers for my setup are easy configuration, as I don't need to set up many things; I just installed it and write configurations based on my needs. Traffic flows easily, and it's easy to manage all the internal services in one place, in one file.
The configuration is easy for me because the syntax is straightforward; it's easy to catch paths and domains. It seems simpler than NGINX, and the load balancing is very good on HAProxy. The load balancing is easy on HAProxy, and I appreciate that.
HAProxy has positively impacted my organization by making it easier for me to manage configurations. I put configuration files on the Ceph storage shared across the whole cluster, allowing me to write my configuration, change it easily in one place, and reload it. I wrote a reload script that reloads all the configurations on all the cluster nodes, allowing them to run smoothly.
I don't know how much time I save, but it made my setup stable, which is the most positive aspect. There are months when I don't even touch it as long as I don't add a new service on my cluster.
What needs improvement?
HAProxy is very easy for me to use. I installed it easily and configured it after checking the documentation, which was clear. I wrote as described, and it worked well, but an easier desktop interface to connect to a remote server and make changes on my PC would be beneficial.
An alerting system would be better as I need to check log files if any backend is down. Integrated Telegram alerts or WhatsApp or different channels would make it better.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
HAProxy's scalability is easy for me as I'm using it on dedicated servers with a cluster, but I haven't used it for Kubernetes or any other cloud platforms, so I cannot comment on that.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was using NGINX before switching to HAProxy.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up HAProxy didn't cost anything for me.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Setting up HAProxy didn't cost anything for me.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing HAProxy, I discussed it with ChatGPT, found it convenient, tried it, tested it, and it was fine, so I didn't bother to try anything else.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others looking into using HAProxy is to dive straight into it; there's nothing to lose and many things to gain. I would rate this product an 8.
Outstanding Performance and Excellent Support in an Open-Source Load Balancer
What do you like best about the product?
This open-source load balancer offers outstanding performance and comes with excellent support.
What do you dislike about the product?
One small suggestion I have is that it would be helpful if the configuration were available in a standardized format. This would make it much easier to create templates or automate the generation process.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
This is a highly scalable and efficient load balancer that offers a wide range of powerful features. Additionally, the WAF performs exceptionally well.
Easy Implementation and Outstanding Support from HAProxy Team
What do you like best about the product?
It is easy to implement and support. HAProxy Support (especially its Slack Channel) is excellent. They like our extended team to closely work with us.
What do you dislike about the product?
It will be helpful if we can version feature in haproxy config.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We just replaced F5 with HAProxy, It benefits us with cost reduction (e.g., F5 Support cost and the internal supporting costs). It will help us to support us the containerization in the future.
Powerful, Consistent, and User-Centric Solutions with Outstanding Support
What do you like best about the product?
HAProxy solutions are incredibly powerful tools. All have been build in a consistent way in order to achieve their purpose as efficiently as possible: provide visibility (logs), redundancy (loadbalancing), security (reverse-proxy).
The company mindset itself is incredibly user-centric, with an amazing support : whether I am facing an issue, raise a security concern or have an improvement suggestion, I always feel confident my voice will be heard, and in a very efficient way. This probably comes from the open-source mindset of the team!
What do you dislike about the product?
"Disliking" is a harsh word to describe the feeling I have here. Although I think this traces back to the DNA of the team, being rooted in open-source often underlines you get to have a lot of autonomy in understanding and configuring your solution : so I agree with other people here, it can be harsh at times to "get into" the configuration of the solution.
However, this difficulty is appeased by all the support the HAProxy team is able and willing to provide : it can be difficult at times, but I never feel lonely behind my laptop when I need to work on my infrastructure.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
HAProxy helps us adding more granularity in the way we expose our applications.
It has also given us a very efficient way to log the flows.
And also, with HAProxy we've been able provide a very strict frame to handle our server outgoing flows.
Stable, Versatile, and Backed by Excellent Support
What do you like best about the product?
- The stability of the product
- The wide range of possibilities
- The extremely good manufacturer support
- Centralized management
- Good documentation
- The diverse and long-standing community
- Feature requests are implemented quickly
What do you dislike about the product?
I have no points that I dislike about the product.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
HAProxy serves as a replacement for the previously used load balancer product NSX Advanced Load Balancer.
Reliable software and intuitive UI
What do you like best about the product?
The software stands out for its reliability and comprehensive nature. Moreover, the graphical interface is intuitive enough for easy handling. Installation, configuration, and integration are done very simply. Furthermore, customer support is responsive, allowing us to progress quickly. We use this tool daily, and the features offered meet our needs.
What do you dislike about the product?
No fine management of rights to give control over only a part
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Haproxy, through our pair of aloha, allows us to balance the load on our datacenters and web servers in particular.
Reliable Performance and Support with Effortless DR Solutions
What do you like best about the product?
Good performance and reliability. Easy automated DR solutions. Good customer support. Very powerful.
What do you dislike about the product?
The Aloha appliance itself has very limited logging. Syslog server is required.
The configuration syntax is something to learn and can be complex at start.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We operate two Aloha load balancers from HAProxy, each situated in separate server rooms as part of our disaster recovery setup. HAProxy securely and efficiently manages all API requests from our vending machines and customers to the backend. Additionally, it balances the traffic directed to our E-commerce platform, and all electronic communications between customer platforms and our SAP PO environment are also routed through HAProxy.
A great tool for your Enterprise proxy needs
What do you like best about the product?
This is a stable and highly configurable setup that can be adapted for a wide range of enterprise proxy solutions. Its flexibility makes it suitable for various business needs.
What do you dislike about the product?
Setting up advanced configurations can require some time to get everything just the way you want it.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
By consolidating all our proxies, we are able to load balance our application servers and monitor everything from a single location. This approach streamlines our management process and makes it much easier to oversee server performance.
Intuitive UI with a Steep Setup Process
What do you like best about the product?
The UI is very intuitive. It has both complexity but ease of use.
What do you dislike about the product?
There is a lot to setup and refine. Possibly adding better steps throughs for creating rules could help?
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Load balancing and some WAF. Centralizing the management of this. Centralizing certificate management.
Great Performance and Security, but Complex Configurations Can Be Challenging
What do you like best about the product?
Performance, reliability and scalability
Enhanced WAF configuration for security and the detailed logging
Fusion control plane integration combined with HA Proxy Enterprise gives a single pane look and feel
What do you dislike about the product?
When tackling more complex configuration getting the syntax correct has been a struggle for me; however, HA Proxy support has always been there to help
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
This tool has been invaluable in supporting our small team and constrained operating budgets. By centralizing all our SSL certificates in one place, it has made certificate management much simpler. It also offers a level of security we otherwise wouldn't have achieved, and the logging features provide us with valuable insights.
