Configure SSL offloading with Azure Load Balancer

Here are the steps to configure SSL offloading with Azure Load Balancer:

Step 1: Create a Certificate for the Load Balancer

To enable SSL offloading, you need to create a certificate for the load balancer. You can use a self-signed certificate or a certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA).

1. If you have a self-signed certificate, you can create it using the OpenSSL command-line tool or any other certificate management tool.
2. If you have a certificate from a trusted CA, you need to import it into the Azure Key Vault.

Step 2: Create a Backend Pool

To configure SSL offloading, you need to create a backend pool with one or more virtual machines that will receive the decrypted traffic from the load balancer.

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to the load balancer resource that you created.
2. Click on “Backend pools” under the “Settings” section.
3. Click on “Add” to create a new backend pool.
4. Fill out the required information, such as the name and the virtual machines that you want to include in the pool.
5. Click on “Add” to create the backend pool.

Step 3: Configure a Listener for SSL Traffic

To configure SSL offloading, you need to create a listener for SSL traffic. A listener specifies the frontend IP address and port that the load balancer should listen on for incoming SSL traffic.

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to the load balancer resource that you created.
2. Click on “Listeners” under the “Settings” section.
3. Click on “Add” to create a new listener.
4. Fill out the required information, such as the name, the frontend IP address and port, and the protocol (HTTPS).
5. Choose the certificate that you created or imported in step 1.
6. Choose the backend pool that you created in step 2.
7. Click on “Add” to create the listener.

Step 4: Test SSL Offloading

After configuring SSL offloading, you should test it to ensure that it is working as expected. To test SSL offloading, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the public IP address of the load balancer.
2. Access the application or service that is behind the load balancer using the HTTPS protocol.
3. Verify that the requests are being distributed evenly to the backend pool and that the traffic is decrypted before being forwarded to the virtual machines.

Conclusion

Configuring SSL offloading with Azure Load Balancer involves creating a certificate for the load balancer, creating a backend pool, configuring a listener for SSL traffic, and testing SSL offloading. By following these steps, you can offload SSL processing from your virtual machines to the load balancer, which can improve performance and reduce the load on your servers.