Cloud Elasticity: Elasticity refers to the ability of a cloud to automatically expand or compress infrastructural resources in response to sudden changes in demand. This ensures efficient workload management and minimizes costs by adjusting resources based on real-time needs. Cloud elasticity is particularly suitable for applications where resource requirements fluctuate unpredictably for specific periods.
How Cloud Elasticity Works: When user traffic increases, applications are automatically provisioned with additional computing resources such as CPU, memory, storage, or bandwidth. Conversely, when user traffic decreases, these resources are automatically scaled down to match the reduced demand. This dynamic adjustment ensures optimal resource utilization and cost efficiency.
Cloud Scalability: Cloud scalability refers to the ability of a system to handle a growing workload while maintaining good performance. It involves the persistent deployment of resources to handle workload increases statically. Scalability is typically used when the workload is consistently high or steadily increasing.
Difference Between Cloud Elasticity and Cloud Scalability: Scalability focuses on meeting static needs, while elasticity caters to dynamic requirements. Scalability involves proactively provisioning resources to handle anticipated growth, while elasticity reactively adjusts resources based on real-time fluctuations.
Types of Scalability:
Vertical Scalability (Scale-up): This involves increasing the power of existing resources in the working environment. For example, upgrading a server with a more powerful processor or adding more RAM.
Horizontal Scalability: This involves adding more resources in a horizontal row to distribute the workload. For example, adding more servers to a web server farm.
Diagonal Scalability: This is a combination of both horizontal and vertical scalability. It involves adding resources both vertically and horizontally to achieve the desired performance and capacity.