---
title: Forwarding Rules
url: https://docs.vultr.com/products/network/load-balancer/configuration/forwarding-rules
description: Learn how to create, modify, and delete forwarding rules to control traffic distribution on your Vultr Load Balancer.
publish_date: 2024-09-23T20:20:56.041905Z
last_updated: 2026-05-26T19:55:49.003770Z
---

# How to Manage Forwarding Rules on a Vultr Load Balancer

Forwarding rules on a Vultr Load Balancer define how incoming traffic is directed to your backend servers. These rules allow you to specify a protocol, port, and target protocol/port for routing requests. By configuring forwarding rules, you can manage and optimize how traffic is distributed, enhancing the performance and accuracy of your load balancing setup.

Follow this guide to manage forwarding rules on a Vultr Load Balancer using the Vultr Console, API, CLI, or Terraform.

=== "Vultr Console"

    1. Navigate to **Products** and click **Load Balancers**.
    1. Click your target Load Balancer to open its management page.
    1. Scroll down to **Rules** and click the pencil icon in the **Forwarding Rules** section.
    1. Verify, modify, or click **Add** to create a rule.
    1. Set the **LB Protocol / Port** and **Instance Protocol / Port**.

        * **HTTP**: Forwards traffic using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
        * **HTTPS**: Forwards traffic using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Enabling HTTPS rules requires an SSL certificate linked to the **Vultr Load Balancer** instance.
        * **TCP**: Forwards traffic using the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).
        * **UDP**: Forwards traffic using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Ideal for latency-sensitive applications such as DNS, VoIP, gaming, and streaming.

    1. Save the changes.

=== "Vultr API"

    1. Send a `GET` request to the [**List Load Balancers** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/load-balancer/operation/list-load-balancers) and note the target Load Balancer's ID.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/load-balancers" \
            -X GET \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"
        ```

    1. Send a `POST` request to the [**Create Forwarding Rule** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/load-balancer/operation/create-load-balancer-forwarding-rules) to add new forwarding rules to the target Load Balancer.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/load-balancers/{load-balancer-id}/forwarding-rules" \
            -X POST \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            --data '{
                "frontend_protocol": "{load-balancer-protocol}",
                "frontend_port": {load-balancer-port},
                "backend_protocol": "{instance-protocol}",
                "backend_port": {instance-port}
            }'
        ```

    1. Send a `GET` request to the [**List Forwarding Rules** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/load-balancer/operation/list-load-balancer-forwarding-rules) to view the forwarding rules of the target Load Balancer.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/load-balancers/{load-balancer-id}/forwarding-rules" \
            -X GET \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"
        ```

=== "Vultr CLI"

    1. List all available instances and note the target Vultr Load Balancer ID.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli load-balancer list
        ```

    1. Add new forwarding rules to the target Load Balancer.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli load-balancer forwarding create <load-balancer-id> --frontend-protocol "<load-balancer-protocol>" --frontend-port <load-balancer-port> --backend-protocol "<instance-protocol>" --backend-port <instance-port>
        ```

    1. List all forwarding rules for the target Load Balancer.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli load-balancer forwarding list <load-balancer-id>
        ```

=== "Terraform"

    1. Open your Terraform configuration for the existing Load Balancer.

    1. Add or update `forwarding_rules` to declare the listener and backend mapping, then apply.

        ```terraform
        resource "vultr_load_balancer" "lb" {
            # ...existing fields (region, label, health_check, etc.)

            forwarding_rules {
                frontend_protocol = "http"
                frontend_port     = 80
                backend_protocol  = "http"
                backend_port      = 8080
            }

            forwarding_rules {
                frontend_protocol = "https"
                frontend_port     = 443
                backend_protocol  = "https"
                backend_port      = 8443
            }

            forwarding_rules {
                frontend_protocol = "tcp"
                frontend_port     = 3306
                backend_protocol  = "tcp"
                backend_port      = 3306
            }

            forwarding_rules {
                frontend_protocol = "udp"
                frontend_port     = 53
                backend_protocol  = "udp"
                backend_port      = 53
            }
        }
        ```

    1. Apply the configuration and observe the following output:

        ```
        Apply complete! Resources: 0 added, 1 changed, 0 destroyed.
        ```