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Apache Tomcat VS MetalLB

Compare Apache Tomcat VS MetalLB and see what are their differences

Apache Tomcat logo Apache Tomcat

An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

MetalLB logo MetalLB

MetalLB is a load-balancer implementation for bare metal Kubernetes clusters, using standard routing protocols.
  • Apache Tomcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-24
  • MetalLB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-30

Apache Tomcat features and specs

  • Open Source
    Apache Tomcat is an open-source software, which means it is freely available for use and modifications. This can significantly reduce the cost of ownership and allows for customization.
  • Community Support
    Being a widely-used open-source server, Tomcat has a large and active community of developers and users who contribute to its documentation, plugins, and forums, providing extensive support.
  • Lightweight
    Tomcat is designed to be a lightweight servlet container, making it faster and less resource-intensive compared to full-blown Java EE application servers.
  • Integration with Popular Frameworks
    Tomcat integrates well with popular Java frameworks such as Spring and Hibernate, making it easier for developers to deploy and manage web applications.
  • Easy to Set Up and Configure
    Tomcat is relatively easy to set up and configure, making it suitable for both development and production environments.
  • Frequent Updates
    Regular updates and patches are released to improve performance, security, and compatibility, ensuring the server is up-to-date with the latest web technologies.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Tomcat

  • Limited Functionality
    While Tomcat is a powerful servlet container, it lacks some of the advanced features found in full-fledged Java EE application servers, which might be necessary for complex enterprise applications.
  • Resource Management
    Tomcat's default configuration might not be suitable for high traffic web applications, requiring significant tweaking and tuning to handle heavy loads effectively.
  • Documentation Quality
    The documentation, while extensive, can sometimes be hard to navigate and understand, especially for beginners. This can slow down the learning curve.
  • Limited Built-in Tools
    Compared to other full-stack application servers, Tomcat comes with limited built-in tooling for monitoring, load balancing, and clustering, often requiring third-party solutions.
  • Security Concerns
    As with any open-source project, security vulnerabilities may emerge. It requires constant monitoring and timely updates to ensure security.
  • Lack of EJB Support
    Tomcat does not support Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), limiting its use in scenarios where EJB is a crucial component of the architecture.

MetalLB features and specs

  • Load Balancing
    MetalLB provides a load balancing solution for bare metal Kubernetes clusters, allowing them to handle network traffic efficiently.
  • Ease of Deployment
    Installation and configuration of MetalLB is straightforward, making it easy for users to deploy in their clusters without complex setup processes.
  • Cost-Effective
    Since MetalLB doesn’t require expensive, dedicated load balancers, it offers a cost-effective solution for managing network traffic.
  • Compatibility
    MetalLB is compatible with standard Kubernetes networking components and works with existing network setups without requiring extensive modifications.
  • Protocol Support
    MetalLB supports both Layer 2 and BGP modes, providing flexibility in how the network and IP address management are configured.
  • Community Support
    As an open-source project, MetalLB has an active community, which can be beneficial for troubleshooting issues and contributing to future enhancements.

Possible disadvantages of MetalLB

  • Limited Feature Set
    Compared to traditional hardware or cloud load balancers, MetalLB might have a limited feature set, lacking advanced features such as SSL termination or DDoS protection.
  • Complex Networking Knowledge Required
    To configure BGP mode, users need to have a deep understanding of networking concepts, which can be a barrier for some users.
  • Scalability Issues
    In large-scale deployments, managing IPs can become complex with MetalLB, potentially leading to scalability issues.
  • Monitoring and Alerting
    MetalLB lacks integrated monitoring and alerting features, requiring users to set up additional tools for these capabilities.
  • Security Considerations
    Running load balancing at the software level on-premises might introduce security challenges, as compared to using managed cloud services with built-in security features.

Apache Tomcat videos

Introducing Apache Tomcat 8.5

More videos:

  • Review - Webinar: Introduction to Apache Tomcat 8
  • Review - Tcat - The Leading Enterprise Apache Tomcat Application Server

MetalLB videos

No MetalLB videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Tomcat and MetalLB)
Web And Application Servers
Web Servers
91 91%
9% 9
Application Server
100 100%
0% 0
Network & Admin
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Tomcat and MetalLB

Apache Tomcat Reviews

FOSS | Top 15 Web Servers 2021
Java programs are run using Apache Tomcat. To be more precise, it is a Java servlet – a Java software component that expands the functionality of a web server. Apache Tomcat, released under the Apache License version 2, is used by 0.1% of websites worldwide.
Source: www.zentao.pm
4 Open Source Application Servers (Comparison and Review)
Apache Tomcat is an open-source implementation of several Java technologies. It is the result of a collaboration of the finest developers worldwide. You can get involved with the development in a number of ways.
Source: shadow-soft.com
Top 5 open source web servers
Apache Tomcat is an open source Java servlet container that functions as a web server. A Java servlet is a Java program that extends the capabilities of a server. Although servlets can respond to any types of requests, they most commonly implement applications hosted on Web servers. Such web servlets are the Java counterpart to other dynamic web content technologies such as...
Source: opensource.com
Top 10 Open Source Java and JavaEE Application Servers
It is built upon a modular kernel powered by OSGi, and runs straight on top of the Apache Felix implementation. It is also capable of running with Equinox OSGi or Knopflerfish OSGi runtimes. HK2 abstracts the OSGi module system to provide components, which can also be viewed as services and injected into the run time and uses a derivative of Apache Tomcat as the servlet...

MetalLB Reviews

10 Awesome Open Source Load Balancers
MetalLB is another CNCF incubated project. It is a bare-metal implementation of the LoadBalancer network balancer resource type in Kubernetes. It is designed to bring the seamless experience of cloud network balancers to bare-metal Kubernetes deployments integrating with standard network equipment. For routing services, it uses standard routing protocols such as ARP, NDP,...

Social recommendations and mentions

Apache Tomcat might be a bit more popular than MetalLB. We know about 17 links to it since March 2021 and only 16 links to MetalLB. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Tomcat mentions (17)

  • Java News: WildFly 36, Spring Milestones, and Open Liberty Updates
    Versions 11.0.6 and 9.0.104 of Apache Tomcat deliver new features and improvements. The release notes can be found for both versions. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Artifactory: Centralizing Artifact Management for DevOps Success
    Download and Install Tomcat Before downloading, confirm the latest Tomcat build package from the official website. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • How to Deploy Applications Using Tomcat on a Web Server
    First, download the latest version of Tomcat from the official Apache Tomcat website. Choose the version that suits your needs, typically the latest stable release. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Spring Boot Monitoring with Open-Source Tools
    Manual instrumentation allows you to define your Spans within the code itself rather than relying on automatic instrumentation finding the entry point for a trace. Manual instrumentation is especially helpful for applications that don’t use an application server such as Tomcat, JBoss, or Jetty. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Issue with chatgpy
    99% is a huge exaggeration. Two essential deployment tools off the top of my head: Https://tomcat.apache.org/ Https://docs.jboss.org/author/display/AS71/Developer%20Guide.html. Source: about 2 years ago
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MetalLB mentions (16)

  • Building a Kubernetes Cluster from Scratch With K3s And MetalLB
    Kubernetes does not provide network load balancers for bare-metal clusters out of the box. To configure load balancers in cloud environments like AWS, Azure and GCP, Kubernetes makes an API call to the cloud provider’s API to provision a load balancer and external IP. Once the load balancer is provisioned, it populates the “External IP” information in load balancer. When running Kubernetes in a bare-metal cluster,... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Let's Make a k3s Cluster with Raspberry Pi and Cloudflare Tunnel
    The very first step for this project is to have your Raspberry Pi up and running. This also includes SSH set up. If you already have a running one (or more) you can skip this step. One thing I want to note here is that I personally recommend you to not use WiFi connection, instead utilize wired connection which is more reliable and fast. I occasionally experienced unexpected disconnection and had to reboot my k3s... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Tailscale Kubernetes Operator
    As I mentioned earlier, I'm running an Ergo instance for local IRC development. I have an Service of type LoadBalancer to expose it to my LAN via MetalLB. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Self hosted kubernetes
    Hey guys, I want to share a guide I’m pretty proud of which is talking about setting up kubernetes which leverages https://kubespray.io/#/ and https://metallb.universe.tf/ so you can host this yourself most people when spinning up kubernetes opt for k3s or get stuck with all the options or unable to setup the external ips for their services so these tools will eliminate the problem. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Trouble with RKE2 HA Setup: Part 2
    To avoid that, you can use a combination of haproxy and keepalived, an enterprise grade load balancer like the one from F5 or Citrix. Besides that you can also work with https://kube-vip.io or https://metallb.universe.tf. Source: about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Tomcat and MetalLB, you can also consider the following products

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

Haproxy - Reliable, High Performance TCP/HTTP Load Balancer

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.

Traefik - Load Balancer / Reverse Proxy

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

k3s - K3s is a lightweight Kubernetes distribution by Rancher Labs intended for IoT, Edge, and cloud deployments.