A hardware load balancer is a physical device that distributes network traffic across multiple servers. Its main purpose is to ensure that no single server becomes overwhelmed with too many requests, which can lead to slow performance or downtime. By balancing the load, it helps improve the reliability and efficiency of applications and services. These devices often come with advanced features such as health monitoring, which checks the status of servers to ensure they are functioning properly. If a server fails, the hardware load balancer can redirect traffic to other operational servers, maintaining seamless service for users.