Scaling Systems: Bigger Machine or More Machines?

Short summary

Vertical scaling upgrades a single machine for simpler setup and data consistency but hits hardware limits; horizontal scaling distributes load across multiple machines for resilience but requires managing complex distributed systems. Production systems typically blend both approaches to optimize for consistency, performance, and cost.

• •Vertical scaling upgrades single machine hardware; easier maintenance but limited by hardware ceilings
• •Horizontal scaling adds more machines; better resilience and scalability but harder to manage data consistency
• •Most systems use hybrid approach balancing consistency needs against long-term cost and fault tolerance

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.