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Load-Balancing
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Manage origin server pools

A pool is a group of origin servers, with each origin identified by its IP address or hostname.

For more background information on pools, refer to Origin pools .


Create a pool

Via the dashboard

You can create a pool within the load balancer workflow or in the Origin Pools section of the dashboard:

  1. Go to Traffic > Load Balancing.

  2. Click Manage Pools.

  3. Click Create.

  4. For your pool, enter the following information:

    • A name (must be unique)
    • A description to provide more detail on the name
    • A choice for Origin Steering , which affects how your pool routes traffic to each origin
  5. For each origin, enter the following information:

    • A name (must be unique)
    • The origin server address or associated hostname
    • A Weight
    • (Optional) A hostname by clicking Add host header
  6. Repeat this process for additional origins in the pool.

  7. (Optional) Set up coordinates for Proximity Steering on the pool.

  8. On the origin pool, update the following information:

    • Health Threshold: Number of healthy origins for the pool as a whole to be considered Healthy and receive traffic based on pool order in a load balancer
    • Monitor: Attach a monitor
    • Health Check Regions: Choose whether to check pool health from multiple locations , which increases accuracy but can lead to probe traffic to your origin
    • Notifications: If you do or do not want to receive notifications when the pool’s status changes
  9. When finished, click Save.

Via the API

For a full list of properties, refer to Create Pool. If you need help with API authentication, refer to Cloudflare API Quickstart .

---
header: Request
---
curl -X POST \
-H "X-Auth-Email: user@cloudflare.com" \
-H "X-Auth-Key: REDACTED" \
"https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/:account_id/load-balancers/pools" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
    "description":"Primary data center - Provider XYZ",
    "name":"primary-dc-1",
    "enabled":false,
    "load_shedding": {
        "default_percent":0,
        "default_policy":"random",
        "session_percent":0,
        "session_policy":"hash"
    },
    "minimum_origins":2,
    "monitor":"f1aba936b94213e5b8dca0c0dbf1f9cc",
    "check_regions": [
        "WEU",
        "ENAM"
    ],
    "origins": [
      {
        "name":"app-server-1",
        "address":"0.0.0.0",
        "enabled":true,
        "weight":0.56,
        "header": {
        "Host": [
            "example.com"
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "origin_steering": {
      "policy": "random"
    },
    "notification_email":"someone@example.com,sometwo@example.com",
    "notification_filter": {
        "origin": {
            "disable":false,
            "healthy":null
        },
        "pool": {
            "disable":false,
            "healthy":null
        }
    }
}'

The response contains the complete definition of the new pool.

---
header: Response
---
{
  "success": true,
  "errors": [],
  "messages": [],
  "result": {
    "id": "17b5962d775c646f3f9725cbc7a53df4",
    "created_on": "2021-01-01T05:20:00.12345Z",
    "modified_on": "2021-01-01T05:20:00.12345Z",
    "description": "Primary data center - Provider XYZ",
    "name": "primary-dc-1",
    "enabled": false,
    "load_shedding": {
      "default_percent": 0,
      "default_policy": "random",
      "session_percent": 0,
      "session_policy": "hash"
    },
    "minimum_origins": 2,
    "monitor": "f1aba936b94213e5b8dca0c0dbf1f9cc",
    "check_regions": [
      "WEU",
      "ENAM"
    ],
    "origins": [
      {
        "name": "app-server-1",
        "address": "0.0.0.0",
        "enabled": true,
        "weight": 0.56,
        "header": {
          "Host": [
            "example.com"
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "origin_steering": {
      "policy": "random"
    },
    "notification_email": "someone@example.com,sometwo@example.com",
    "notification_filter": {
      "origin": {
        "disable": false,
        "healthy": null
      },
      "pool": {
        "disable": false,
        "healthy": null
      }
    }
  }
}

Edit a pool

Via the dashboard

To edit a pool in the dashboard:

  1. Go to Traffic > Load Balancing.
  2. Click Manage Pools.
  3. On a specific pool, click Edit.
  4. Update settings as needed.
  5. Click Save.

Via the API

To update specific settings without having to resubmit the entire configuration, use a PATCH request. For broader changes, use a PUT request.


Delete a pool

Via the dashboard

To delete a pool in the dashboard:

  1. Go to Traffic > Load Balancing.
  2. Click Manage Pools.
  3. On a specific pool, click Delete.

Via the API

To delete a pool using the API, send a DELETE request.