Introduce CloudFlare Load Balancer for Backend Services

[SB2318]

Description

Introduce a load balancer in front of the backend services to distribute incoming traffic across multiple backend instances.

This will prepare the application for horizontal scaling as the number of users and API traffic increases.

Proposed Architecture

                 Load Balancer
                      |
          +-----------+-----------+
          |           |           |
       Backend #1  Backend #2  Backend #3

Tasks

• Evaluate and select a suitable load-balancing solution.
• Configure the load balancer for the backend.
• Configure backend instances behind the load balancer.
• Add health checks for backend instances.
• Configure traffic distribution.
• Ensure backend services remain stateless.
• Configure appropriate timeout and connection settings.
• Verify that traffic is distributed correctly.
• Test backend instance failure and recovery.
• Document the deployment and configuration.

Acceptance Criteria

• Requests are successfully routed through the load balancer.
• Multiple backend instances can serve traffic.
• Unhealthy instances are automatically removed from traffic.
• Healthy instances automatically receive traffic again after recovery.
• Existing API functionality continues to work.
• Load-balancing behavior is documented.

Expected Benefits

• Horizontal backend scaling
• Improved availability
• Better traffic distribution
• Easier addition/removal of backend instances
• Improved readiness for higher user traffic

Related

This should be implemented alongside backend horizontal scaling.

[github-actions]

Thank you for creating this issue! We'll look into it as soon as possible. Your contributions are highly appreciated! 😊

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[github-actions]

This issue has been marked as out of scope for the current contribution program.

Reasoning: The issue provides a clear problem statement, proposed architecture, tasks, and acceptance criteria, making it valid. It is classified as a backend task due to its focus on backend services and APIs. However, it falls under 'Infrastructure migration' which is explicitly out of scope for general contributions. The task involves significant architectural changes and is therefore rated as 'advanced'. Due to it being a backend issue, an architecture change, an advanced difficulty level, and being out of scope, it requires escalation to a maintainer.