A load balancer sits at the front of your infrastructure, routing requests to servers. In a GDPR-compliant architecture, it does more than balance traffic. It enforces rules. It shields personal data. It logs events in a way that aligns with strict data retention laws. Every byte passing through is either compliant or a liability.
GDPR compliance for a load balancer means controlling where data lives and moves. Your load balancer should not store personal data unless strictly necessary. If logging is required, configure automatic redaction for IP addresses and user identifiers. Set log rotation to purge older entries within your retention limits. All storage must be within approved geographic regions.
Encryption is non-negotiable. Terminate TLS at the load balancer using strong cipher suites, and re-encrypt traffic to backend nodes. This prevents exposure during transit. Use certificates with short lifetimes and automate renewal to remove manual risk.
Access control is critical. Only authorized admins should modify load balancer rules or view request logs. Enable multi-factor authentication for any management interface. Audit every change, and keep those audit trails immutable.