diff --git a/pkg/client/cluster.go b/pkg/client/cluster.go
index 27225ed9..6ebb82b8 100644
--- a/pkg/client/cluster.go
+++ b/pkg/client/cluster.go
@@ -372,12 +372,12 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 	clusterCreateOpts.GlobalLabels[k3d.LabelClusterName] = cluster.Name
 
 	// agent defaults (per cluster)
-	// connection url is always the name of the first server node (index 0)
-	connectionURL := fmt.Sprintf("https://%s:%s", generateNodeName(cluster.Name, k3d.ServerRole, 0), k3d.DefaultAPIPort)
+	// connection url is always the name of the first server node (index 0) // TODO: change this to the server loadbalancer
+	connectionURL := fmt.Sprintf("https://%s:%s", GenerateNodeName(cluster.Name, k3d.ServerRole, 0), k3d.DefaultAPIPort)
 	clusterCreateOpts.GlobalLabels[k3d.LabelClusterURL] = connectionURL
 	clusterCreateOpts.GlobalEnv = append(clusterCreateOpts.GlobalEnv, fmt.Sprintf("K3S_TOKEN=%s", cluster.Token))
 
-	nodeSetup := func(node *k3d.Node, suffix int) error {
+	nodeSetup := func(node *k3d.Node) error {
 		// cluster specific settings
 		if node.RuntimeLabels == nil {
 			node.RuntimeLabels = make(map[string]string) // TODO: maybe create an init function?
@@ -417,7 +417,6 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 			node.Env = append(node.Env, fmt.Sprintf("K3S_URL=%s", connectionURL))
 		}
 
-		node.Name = generateNodeName(cluster.Name, node.Role, suffix)
 		node.Networks = []string{cluster.Network.Name}
 		node.Restart = true
 		node.GPURequest = clusterCreateOpts.GPURequest
@@ -437,8 +436,6 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 
 	// used for node suffices
 	serverCount := 0
-	agentCount := 0
-	suffix := 0
 
 	// create init node first
 	if cluster.InitNode != nil {
@@ -457,7 +454,7 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 			cluster.InitNode.Ports[k3d.DefaultAPIPort] = []nat.PortBinding{cluster.KubeAPI.Binding}
 		}
 
-		if err := nodeSetup(cluster.InitNode, serverCount); err != nil {
+		if err := nodeSetup(cluster.InitNode); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		serverCount++
@@ -481,17 +478,11 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 
 			time.Sleep(1 * time.Second) // FIXME: arbitrary wait for one second to avoid race conditions of servers registering
 
-			// name suffix
-			suffix = serverCount
 			serverCount++
 
-		} else if node.Role == k3d.AgentRole {
-			// name suffix
-			suffix = agentCount
-			agentCount++
 		}
 		if node.Role == k3d.ServerRole || node.Role == k3d.AgentRole {
-			if err := nodeSetup(node, suffix); err != nil {
+			if err := nodeSetup(node); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
@@ -499,7 +490,7 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 
 	// WARN, if there are exactly two server nodes: that means we're using etcd, but don't have fault tolerance
 	if serverCount == 2 {
-		log.Warnln("You're creating 2 server nodes: Please consider creating at least 3 to achieve quorum & fault tolerance")
+		log.Warnln("You're creating 2 server nodes: Please consider creating at least 3 to achieve etcd quorum & fault tolerance")
 	}
 
 	/*
@@ -507,19 +498,26 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 	 */
 	// *** ServerLoadBalancer ***
 	if !clusterCreateOpts.DisableLoadBalancer {
-		lbNode, err := LoadbalancerPrepare(ctx, runtime, cluster, &k3d.LoadbalancerCreateOpts{Labels: clusterCreateOpts.GlobalLabels})
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
+		if cluster.ServerLoadBalancer == nil {
+			lbNode, err := LoadbalancerPrepare(ctx, runtime, cluster, &k3d.LoadbalancerCreateOpts{Labels: clusterCreateOpts.GlobalLabels})
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			cluster.Nodes = append(cluster.Nodes, lbNode) // append lbNode to list of cluster nodes, so it will be considered during rollback
 		}
-		cluster.Nodes = append(cluster.Nodes, lbNode) // append lbNode to list of cluster nodes, so it will be considered during rollback
 
-		lbConfig, err := LoadbalancerGenerateConfig(cluster)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("error generating loadbalancer config: %v", err)
+		if len(cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Config.Ports) == 0 {
+			lbConfig, err := LoadbalancerGenerateConfig(cluster)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("error generating loadbalancer config: %v", err)
+			}
+			cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Config = lbConfig
 		}
 
+		cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.RuntimeLabels = clusterCreateOpts.GlobalLabels
+
 		// prepare to write config to lb container
-		configyaml, err := yaml.Marshal(lbConfig)
+		configyaml, err := yaml.Marshal(cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Config)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -534,13 +532,13 @@ ClusterCreatOpts:
 			},
 		}
 
-		lbNode.HookActions = append(lbNode.HookActions, writeLbConfigAction)
+		cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.HookActions = append(cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.HookActions, writeLbConfigAction)
 
-		log.Infof("Creating LoadBalancer '%s'", lbNode.Name)
-		if err := NodeCreate(ctx, runtime, lbNode, k3d.NodeCreateOpts{}); err != nil {
+		log.Infof("Creating LoadBalancer '%s'", cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Name)
+		if err := NodeCreate(ctx, runtime, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node, k3d.NodeCreateOpts{}); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error creating loadbalancer: %v", err)
 		}
-		log.Debugf("Created loadbalancer '%s'", lbNode.Name)
+		log.Debugf("Created loadbalancer '%s'", cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Name)
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -795,7 +793,7 @@ func GenerateClusterToken() string {
 	return util.GenerateRandomString(20)
 }
 
-func generateNodeName(cluster string, role k3d.Role, suffix int) string {
+func GenerateNodeName(cluster string, role k3d.Role, suffix int) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s-%s-%d", k3d.DefaultObjectNamePrefix, cluster, role, suffix)
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/client/loadbalancer.go b/pkg/client/loadbalancer.go
index 84843c0a..dc37d5a6 100644
--- a/pkg/client/loadbalancer.go
+++ b/pkg/client/loadbalancer.go
@@ -77,18 +77,18 @@ func UpdateLoadbalancerConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtime, clu
 	}
 	log.Debugf("Writing lb config:\n%s", string(newLbConfigYaml))
 	startTime := time.Now().Truncate(time.Second).UTC()
-	if err := runtime.WriteToNode(ctx, newLbConfigYaml, k3d.DefaultLoadbalancerConfigPath, 0744, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer); err != nil {
+	if err := runtime.WriteToNode(ctx, newLbConfigYaml, k3d.DefaultLoadbalancerConfigPath, 0744, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error writing new loadbalancer config to container: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	successCtx, successCtxCancel := context.WithDeadline(ctx, time.Now().Add(5*time.Second))
 	defer successCtxCancel()
-	err = NodeWaitForLogMessage(successCtx, runtime, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer, k3d.ReadyLogMessageByRole[k3d.LoadBalancerRole], startTime)
+	err = NodeWaitForLogMessage(successCtx, runtime, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node, k3d.ReadyLogMessageByRole[k3d.LoadBalancerRole], startTime)
 	if err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
 			failureCtx, failureCtxCancel := context.WithDeadline(ctx, time.Now().Add(5*time.Second))
 			defer failureCtxCancel()
-			err = NodeWaitForLogMessage(failureCtx, runtime, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer, "host not found in upstream", startTime)
+			err = NodeWaitForLogMessage(failureCtx, runtime, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node, "host not found in upstream", startTime)
 			if err != nil {
 				log.Warnf("Failed to check if the loadbalancer was configured correctly or if it broke. Please check it manually or try again: %v", err)
 				return LBConfigErrFailedTest
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func UpdateLoadbalancerConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtime, clu
 			return LBConfigErrFailedTest
 		}
 	}
-	log.Infof("Successfully configured loadbalancer %s!", cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Name)
+	log.Infof("Successfully configured loadbalancer %s!", cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Name)
 
 	time.Sleep(1 * time.Second) // waiting for a second, to avoid issues with too fast lb updates which would screw up the log waits
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func GetLoadbalancerConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtime, cluste
 		for _, node := range cluster.Nodes {
 			if node.Role == types.LoadBalancerRole {
 				var err error
-				cluster.ServerLoadBalancer, err = NodeGet(ctx, runtime, node)
+				cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node, err = NodeGet(ctx, runtime, node)
 				if err != nil {
 					return cfg, err
 				}
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func GetLoadbalancerConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtime, cluste
 		}
 	}
 
-	reader, err := runtime.ReadFromNode(ctx, types.DefaultLoadbalancerConfigPath, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer)
+	reader, err := runtime.ReadFromNode(ctx, types.DefaultLoadbalancerConfigPath, cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node)
 	if err != nil {
 		return cfg, err
 	}
@@ -162,31 +162,36 @@ func LoadbalancerGenerateConfig(cluster *k3d.Cluster) (k3d.LoadbalancerConfig, e
 	lbConfig.Ports[fmt.Sprintf("%s.tcp", k3d.DefaultAPIPort)] = servers
 
 	// generate comma-separated list of extra ports to forward // TODO: no default targets?
-	for exposedPort := range cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Ports {
+	for exposedPort := range cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Ports {
 		// TODO: catch duplicates here?
 		lbConfig.Ports[fmt.Sprintf("%s.%s", exposedPort.Port(), exposedPort.Proto())] = servers
 	}
 
 	// some additional nginx settings
-	lbConfig.Settings.WorkerProcesses = k3d.DefaultLoadbalancerWorkerProcesses + len(cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Ports)*len(servers)
+	lbConfig.Settings.WorkerProcesses = k3d.DefaultLoadbalancerWorkerProcesses + len(cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Ports)*len(servers)
 
 	return lbConfig, nil
 }
 
 func LoadbalancerPrepare(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtime, cluster *types.Cluster, opts *k3d.LoadbalancerCreateOpts) (*k3d.Node, error) {
+	labels := map[string]string{}
 
-	if cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Ports == nil {
-		cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Ports = nat.PortMap{}
+	if opts != nil && opts.Labels == nil && len(opts.Labels) == 0 {
+		labels = opts.Labels
 	}
-	cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Ports[k3d.DefaultAPIPort] = []nat.PortBinding{cluster.KubeAPI.Binding}
+
+	if cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Ports == nil {
+		cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Ports = nat.PortMap{}
+	}
+	cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Ports[k3d.DefaultAPIPort] = []nat.PortBinding{cluster.KubeAPI.Binding}
 
 	// Create LB as a modified node with loadbalancerRole
 	lbNode := &k3d.Node{
 		Name:          fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s-serverlb", k3d.DefaultObjectNamePrefix, cluster.Name),
 		Image:         k3d.GetLoadbalancerImage(),
-		Ports:         cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Ports,
+		Ports:         cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node.Ports,
 		Role:          k3d.LoadBalancerRole,
-		RuntimeLabels: opts.Labels, // TODO: createLoadBalancer: add more expressive labels
+		RuntimeLabels: labels, // TODO: createLoadBalancer: add more expressive labels
 		Networks:      []string{cluster.Network.Name},
 		Restart:       true,
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/client/node.go b/pkg/client/node.go
index 97a2212e..21946798 100644
--- a/pkg/client/node.go
+++ b/pkg/client/node.go
@@ -684,7 +684,7 @@ func NodeEdit(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtime, existingNode, chang
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error updating loadbalancer config: %w", err)
 		}
-		cluster.ServerLoadBalancer = result
+		cluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node = result
 		lbConfig, err := LoadbalancerGenerateConfig(cluster)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error generating loadbalancer config: %v", err)
diff --git a/pkg/config/config_test.go b/pkg/config/config_test.go
index 41d76422..7b0c08da 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config_test.go
@@ -81,13 +81,13 @@ func TestReadSimpleConfig(t *testing.T) {
 				ExtraArgs: []conf.K3sArgWithNodeFilters{
 					{
 						Arg:         "--tls-san=127.0.0.1",
-						NodeFilters: []string{"server[*]"},
+						NodeFilters: []string{"server:*"},
 					},
 				},
 				NodeLabels: []conf.LabelWithNodeFilters{
 					{
 						Label:       "foo=bar",
-						NodeFilters: []string{"server[0]", "loadbalancer"},
+						NodeFilters: []string{"server:0", "loadbalancer"},
 					},
 				},
 			},
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ func TestReadSimpleConfig(t *testing.T) {
 				Labels: []conf.LabelWithNodeFilters{
 					{
 						Label:       "foo=bar",
-						NodeFilters: []string{"server[0]", "loadbalancer"},
+						NodeFilters: []string{"server:0", "loadbalancer"},
 					},
 				},
 			},
diff --git a/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple.yaml b/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple.yaml
index f8f873cb..9ababa90 100644
--- a/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple.yaml
+++ b/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple.yaml
@@ -33,11 +33,11 @@ options:
     extraArgs:
       - arg: --tls-san=127.0.0.1
         nodeFilters:
-          - "server[*]"
+          - server:*
     nodeLabels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
   kubeconfig:
     updateDefaultKubeconfig: true
@@ -46,5 +46,5 @@ options:
     labels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
diff --git a/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple_invalid_servers.yaml b/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple_invalid_servers.yaml
index 7b9bc8a0..6c67602c 100644
--- a/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple_invalid_servers.yaml
+++ b/pkg/config/test_assets/config_test_simple_invalid_servers.yaml
@@ -33,11 +33,11 @@ options:
     extraArgs:
       - arg: --tls-san=127.0.0.1
         nodeFilters:
-          - "server[*]"
+          - "server:*"
     nodeLabels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
   kubeconfig:
     updateDefaultKubeconfig: true
@@ -46,5 +46,5 @@ options:
     labels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
diff --git a/pkg/config/transform.go b/pkg/config/transform.go
index 59e674d9..0d35677b 100644
--- a/pkg/config/transform.go
+++ b/pkg/config/transform.go
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/go-connections/nat"
 	cliutil "github.com/rancher/k3d/v4/cmd/util" // TODO: move parseapiport to pkg
+	"github.com/rancher/k3d/v4/pkg/client"
 	conf "github.com/rancher/k3d/v4/pkg/config/v1alpha3"
 	"github.com/rancher/k3d/v4/pkg/runtimes"
 	k3d "github.com/rancher/k3d/v4/pkg/types"
@@ -102,8 +103,11 @@ func TransformSimpleToClusterConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtim
 	newCluster.Nodes = []*k3d.Node{}
 
 	if !simpleConfig.Options.K3dOptions.DisableLoadbalancer {
-		newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer = &k3d.Node{
-			Role: k3d.LoadBalancerRole,
+		newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer = k3d.NewLoadbalancer()
+		var err error
+		newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node, err = client.LoadbalancerPrepare(ctx, runtime, &newCluster, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error preparing the loadbalancer: %w", err)
 		}
 	} else {
 		log.Debugln("Disabling the load balancer")
@@ -115,6 +119,7 @@ func TransformSimpleToClusterConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtim
 
 	for i := 0; i < simpleConfig.Servers; i++ {
 		serverNode := k3d.Node{
+			Name:       client.GenerateNodeName(newCluster.Name, k3d.ServerRole, i),
 			Role:       k3d.ServerRole,
 			Image:      simpleConfig.Image,
 			ServerOpts: k3d.ServerOpts{},
@@ -132,6 +137,7 @@ func TransformSimpleToClusterConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtim
 
 	for i := 0; i < simpleConfig.Agents; i++ {
 		agentNode := k3d.Node{
+			Name:   client.GenerateNodeName(newCluster.Name, k3d.AgentRole, i),
 			Role:   k3d.AgentRole,
 			Image:  simpleConfig.Image,
 			Memory: simpleConfig.Options.Runtime.AgentsMemory,
@@ -148,7 +154,7 @@ func TransformSimpleToClusterConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtim
 	nodeList := newCluster.Nodes
 	if !simpleConfig.Options.K3dOptions.DisableLoadbalancer {
 		nodeCount++
-		nodeList = append(nodeList, newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer)
+		nodeList = append(nodeList, newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node)
 	}
 	for _, volumeWithNodeFilters := range simpleConfig.Volumes {
 		nodes, err := util.FilterNodes(nodeList, volumeWithNodeFilters.NodeFilters)
@@ -167,27 +173,35 @@ func TransformSimpleToClusterConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtim
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("Portmapping '%s' lacks a node filter, but there's more than one node", portWithNodeFilters.Port)
 		}
 
-		nodes, err := util.FilterNodes(nodeList, portWithNodeFilters.NodeFilters)
+		x, err := util.FilterNodesWithSuffix(nodeList, portWithNodeFilters.NodeFilters)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
-		for _, node := range nodes {
+		for suffix, nodes := range x {
 			portmappings, err := nat.ParsePortSpec(portWithNodeFilters.Port)
 			if err != nil {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to parse port spec '%s': %+v", portWithNodeFilters.Port, err)
-			}
-			if node.Ports == nil {
-				node.Ports = nat.PortMap{}
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing port spec '%s': %+v", portWithNodeFilters.Port, err)
 			}
-			for _, pm := range portmappings {
-				if _, exists := node.Ports[pm.Port]; exists {
-					node.Ports[pm.Port] = append(node.Ports[pm.Port], pm.Binding)
-				} else {
-					node.Ports[pm.Port] = []nat.PortBinding{pm.Binding}
+			if suffix == "proxy" || suffix == util.NodeFilterSuffixNone { // proxy is the default suffix for port mappings
+				if newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer == nil {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("port-mapping of type 'proxy' specified, but loadbalancer is disabled")
+				}
+				if err := addPortMappings(newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer.Node, portmappings); err != nil {
+					return nil, err
+				}
+				for _, pm := range portmappings {
+					loadbalancerAddPortConfigs(newCluster.ServerLoadBalancer, pm, nodes)
+				}
+			} else if suffix == "direct" {
+				for _, node := range nodes {
+					if err := addPortMappings(node, portmappings); err != nil {
+						return nil, err
+					}
 				}
 			}
 		}
+
 	}
 
 	// -> K3S NODE LABELS
@@ -358,3 +372,44 @@ func TransformSimpleToClusterConfig(ctx context.Context, runtime runtimes.Runtim
 
 	return clusterConfig, nil
 }
+
+func addPortMappings(node *k3d.Node, portmappings []nat.PortMapping) error {
+
+	if node.Ports == nil {
+		node.Ports = nat.PortMap{}
+	}
+	for _, pm := range portmappings {
+		if _, exists := node.Ports[pm.Port]; exists {
+			node.Ports[pm.Port] = append(node.Ports[pm.Port], pm.Binding)
+		} else {
+			node.Ports[pm.Port] = []nat.PortBinding{pm.Binding}
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func loadbalancerAddPortConfigs(loadbalancer *k3d.Loadbalancer, pm nat.PortMapping, nodes []*k3d.Node) error {
+	portconfig := fmt.Sprintf("%s.%s", pm.Port.Port(), pm.Port.Proto())
+	nodenames := []string{}
+	for _, node := range nodes {
+		nodenames = append(nodenames, node.Name)
+	}
+
+	// entry for that port doesn't exist yet, so we simply create it with the list of node names
+	if _, ok := loadbalancer.Config.Ports[portconfig]; !ok {
+		loadbalancer.Config.Ports[portconfig] = nodenames
+		return nil
+	}
+
+nodenameLoop:
+	for _, nodename := range nodenames {
+		for _, existingNames := range loadbalancer.Config.Ports[portconfig] {
+			if nodename == existingNames {
+				continue nodenameLoop
+			}
+			loadbalancer.Config.Ports[portconfig] = append(loadbalancer.Config.Ports[portconfig], nodename)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/types/loadbalancer.go b/pkg/types/loadbalancer.go
index 4145440c..158fe61b 100644
--- a/pkg/types/loadbalancer.go
+++ b/pkg/types/loadbalancer.go
@@ -34,16 +34,17 @@ package types
  */
 
 type Loadbalancer struct {
-	Node   Node               `mapstructure:",squash" yaml:",inline"` // the underlying node
+	Node   *Node              `mapstructure:",squash" yaml:",inline"` // the underlying node
 	Config LoadbalancerConfig `mapstructure:"config" yaml:"config"`   // its configuration
 }
 
 func NewLoadbalancer() *Loadbalancer {
 	return &Loadbalancer{
-		Node: Node{
+		Node: &Node{
 			Role:  LoadBalancerRole,
 			Image: GetLoadbalancerImage(),
 		},
+		Config: LoadbalancerConfig{Ports: map[string][]string{}},
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/types/types.go b/pkg/types/types.go
index 8e2f946c..0a33300d 100644
--- a/pkg/types/types.go
+++ b/pkg/types/types.go
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ type Cluster struct {
 	InitNode           *Node              // init server node
 	ExternalDatastore  *ExternalDatastore `yaml:"externalDatastore,omitempty" json:"externalDatastore,omitempty"`
 	KubeAPI            *ExposureOpts      `yaml:"kubeAPI" json:"kubeAPI,omitempty"`
-	ServerLoadBalancer *Node              `yaml:"serverLoadbalancer,omitempty" json:"serverLoadBalancer,omitempty"`
+	ServerLoadBalancer *Loadbalancer      `yaml:"serverLoadbalancer,omitempty" json:"serverLoadBalancer,omitempty"`
 	ImageVolume        string             `yaml:"imageVolume" json:"imageVolume,omitempty"`
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/util/filter.go b/pkg/util/filter.go
index d9f80a7a..3ab76ea8 100644
--- a/pkg/util/filter.go
+++ b/pkg/util/filter.go
@@ -31,26 +31,65 @@ import (
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
-type NodeFilterSuffix string
-
 const (
-	NodeFilterSuffixNone NodeFilterSuffix = "none"
-	NodeFilterMapKeyAll                   = "all"
+	NodeFilterSuffixNone = "nosuffix"
+	NodeFilterMapKeyAll  = "all"
 )
 
 // Regexp pattern to match node filters
 var NodeFilterRegexp = regexp.MustCompile(`^(?P<group>server|servers|agent|agents|loadbalancer|all)(?P<subsetSpec>:(?P<subset>(?P<subsetList>(\d+,?)+)|(?P<subsetRange>\d*-\d*)|(?P<subsetWildcard>\*)))?(?P<suffix>:[[:alpha:]]+)?$`)
 
-// FilterNodes takes a string filter to return a filtered list of nodes
-func FilterNodes(nodes []*k3d.Node, filters []string) (map[string][]*k3d.Node, error) {
+// FilterNodesBySuffix properly interprets NodeFilters with suffix
+func FilterNodesWithSuffix(nodes []*k3d.Node, nodefilters []string) (map[string][]*k3d.Node, error) {
+	if len(nodefilters) == 0 || len(nodefilters[0]) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("No nodefilters specified")
+	}
 
 	result := map[string][]*k3d.Node{
 		NodeFilterMapKeyAll: nodes,
 	}
 
+	for _, nf := range nodefilters {
+		suffix := NodeFilterSuffixNone
+
+		// match regex with capturing groups
+		match := NodeFilterRegexp.FindStringSubmatch(nf)
+
+		if len(match) == 0 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to parse node filters: invalid format or empty subset in '%s'", nf)
+		}
+
+		// map capturing group names to submatches
+		submatches := MapSubexpNames(NodeFilterRegexp.SubexpNames(), match)
+
+		// get suffix
+		if sf, ok := submatches["suffix"]; ok && sf != "" {
+			suffix = sf
+		}
+
+		result[suffix] = make([]*k3d.Node, 0) // init map for this suffix
+
+		filteredNodes, err := FilterNodes(nodes, []string{nf})
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		log.Tracef("Adding %d nodes for suffix >%s< (filter: %s)", len(filteredNodes), suffix, nf)
+
+		result[suffix] = filteredNodes
+	}
+
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+// FilterNodes takes a string filter to return a filtered list of nodes
+func FilterNodes(nodes []*k3d.Node, filters []string) ([]*k3d.Node, error) {
+
+	log.Tracef("Filtering %d nodes by %s", len(nodes), filters)
+
 	if len(filters) == 0 || len(filters[0]) == 0 {
 		log.Warnln("No node filter specified")
-		return result, nil
+		return nodes, nil
 	}
 
 	// map roles to subsets
@@ -58,7 +97,6 @@ func FilterNodes(nodes []*k3d.Node, filters []string) (map[string][]*k3d.Node, e
 	agentNodes := []*k3d.Node{}
 	var serverlb *k3d.Node
 	for _, node := range nodes {
-		log.Tracef("FilterNodes (%+v): Checking node role %s", filters, node.Role)
 		if node.Role == k3d.ServerRole {
 			serverNodes = append(serverNodes, node)
 		} else if node.Role == k3d.AgentRole {
@@ -89,7 +127,7 @@ func FilterNodes(nodes []*k3d.Node, filters []string) (map[string][]*k3d.Node, e
 			if len(filters) > 1 {
 				log.Warnf("Node filter 'all' set, but more were specified in '%+v'", filters)
 			}
-			return result, nil
+			return nodes, nil
 		}
 
 		// Choose the group of nodes to operate on
diff --git a/tests/assets/config_test_simple.yaml b/tests/assets/config_test_simple.yaml
index 0d4440fa..67c3fd6d 100755
--- a/tests/assets/config_test_simple.yaml
+++ b/tests/assets/config_test_simple.yaml
@@ -41,11 +41,11 @@ options:
     extraArgs:
       - arg: --tls-san=127.0.0.1
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[*]
+          - server:*
     nodeLabels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
   kubeconfig:
     updateDefaultKubeconfig: true
@@ -54,5 +54,5 @@ options:
     labels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
diff --git a/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha2.yaml b/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha2.yaml
index 4d9f7255..26140674 100755
--- a/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha2.yaml
+++ b/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha2.yaml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ env:
 labels:
   - label: foo=bar
     nodeFilters:
-      - server[0]
+      - server:0
       - loadbalancer
 registries:
   create: true
diff --git a/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha3.yaml b/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha3.yaml
index 98eccbde..f2203186 100755
--- a/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha3.yaml
+++ b/tests/assets/config_test_simple_migration_v1alpha3.yaml
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ options:
     extraArgs:
       - arg: --tls-san=127.0.0.1
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[*]
+          - server:*
   kubeconfig:
     updateDefaultKubeconfig: true
     switchCurrentContext: true
@@ -49,5 +49,5 @@ options:
     labels:
       - label: foo=bar
         nodeFilters:
-          - server[0]
+          - server:0
           - loadbalancer
diff --git a/tests/test_basic.sh b/tests/test_basic.sh
index 5a09aba7..8969c410 100755
--- a/tests/test_basic.sh
+++ b/tests/test_basic.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ source "$CURR_DIR/common.sh"
 export CURRENT_STAGE="Test | basic"
 
 info "Creating two clusters..."
-$EXE cluster create c1 --wait --timeout 60s --api-port 6443 --env 'TEST_VAR=user\@pass\\@server[0]' || failed "could not create cluster c1"
+$EXE cluster create c1 --wait --timeout 60s --api-port 6443 --env 'TEST_VAR=user\@pass\\@server:0' || failed "could not create cluster c1"
 $EXE cluster create c2 --wait --timeout 60s || failed "could not create cluster c2"
 
 info "Checking that we can get both clusters..."
diff --git a/tests/test_config_with_overrides.sh b/tests/test_config_with_overrides.sh
index 6b705a06..8269a326 100755
--- a/tests/test_config_with_overrides.sh
+++ b/tests/test_config_with_overrides.sh
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ clustername="cfgoverridetest"
 highlight "[START] Config With Override $EXTRA_TITLE"
 
 info "Creating cluster $clustername..."
-$EXE cluster create "$clustername" --config "$CURR_DIR/assets/config_test_simple.yaml" --servers 4 -v /tmp/test:/tmp/test@loadbalancer --registry-create=false --env "x=y@agent[1]" $EXTRA_FLAG  || failed "could not create cluster $clustername $EXTRA_TITLE"
+$EXE cluster create "$clustername" --config "$CURR_DIR/assets/config_test_simple.yaml" --servers 4 -v /tmp/test:/tmp/test@loadbalancer --registry-create=false --env "x=y@agent:1" $EXTRA_FLAG  || failed "could not create cluster $clustername $EXTRA_TITLE"
 
 info "Sleeping for 5 seconds to give the cluster enough time to get ready..."
 sleep 5