Design and evaluation of a simple load balancing prototype using the round robin algorithm in local networks

Abstract

Load balancing plays a crucial role in ensuring efficient workload distribution and maintaining stable performance in web service systems. This study presents the design and experimental evaluation of a round robin–based load balancing system implemented in a multi-client local area network (LAN) environment using NGINX as a centralized controller. The system consists of three physical machines, comprising one load balancer and two backend servers hosting identical web applications. Multiple clients generate simultaneous hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests, which are distributed alternately to the backend servers using the default round robin mechanism provided by NGINX. Experimental evaluation was conducted under three workload scenarios of 50, 100, and 200 concurrent requests. The results show that the round robin algorithm consistently distributes requests evenly between the backend servers. The average response time increased from approximately 110 ms at 50 requests to 165 ms at 100 requests and 290 ms at 200 requests, indicating stable performance under light to moderate load conditions. These findings demonstrate that the proposed system is lightweight, modular, and easy to deploy in resource limited environments. The implementation is particularly suitable for campus-scale networks and small institutional settings, serving as a practical platform for local server deployment, academic applications, and experimental learning in networking and distributed systems.