Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing are two methods used in a Kubernetes cluster. Layer 4 refers to the connection level of the OSI network stack, while layer 7 refers to the application level. As modern network protocols evolve, more protocols are multiplexing requests onto a single connection, making it important for users with services that communicate using HTTP/2, gRPC, or similar protocols to use a layer 7 load balancer. This ensures efficient routing of traffic to Kubernetes services.