What does 'load balancing' mean in web applications?

Load balancing in web applications refers to the process of efficiently distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers. This technique is vital for optimizing resource use, maximizing throughput, minimizing response time, and ensuring no single server becomes overwhelmed with too much traffic. By balancing the load, web applications can handle varying amounts of traffic and provide a smoother and more consistent user experience.

This approach helps improve reliability and availability, as it allows for redundancy—if one server fails, traffic can be rerouted to other operational servers without affecting the overall application performance. Load balancers can operate at different levels, including Layer 4 (transport layer) and Layer 7 (application layer), depending on the requirements of the application.

Meanwhile, the other options relate to different aspects of web technology but do not accurately describe load balancing. Reducing the size of data packets, compressing data, and securing connections pertain to data transmission and security rather than the distribution of traffic among servers. Thus, the essence of load balancing is primarily focused on managing traffic effectively to ensure optimal performance and reliability of web applications.