{"id":4403,"date":"2021-05-17T16:59:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T21:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/?p=4403"},"modified":"2021-05-17T16:59:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T21:59:53","slug":"horizontal-scaling-vs-vertical-scaling-in-it-systems-the-pros-and-cons-of-each-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/horizontal-scaling-vs-vertical-scaling-in-it-systems-the-pros-and-cons-of-each-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Horizontal Scaling vs. Vertical Scaling in IT Systems: The Pros and Cons of Each Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SuperYou\u2019ve probably heard scalability come up in discussions about IT systems and solutions, particularly concerning the cloud<\/a>. If you want to add resources and capacity to your infrastructure<\/a>, there are two main ways to accomplish that: Horizontal scaling and vertical scaling, according to the IBM blog entry \u201cHow to explain vertical and horizontal scaling in the cloud<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not already familiar with the details of how horizontal expansion compares to vertical scaling, here\u2019s an overview of how these methods work and the pros and cons of each process.<\/p>\n

What Is Horizontal Scaling?<\/h2>\n

Scaling horizontally \u2013 a.k.a., scaling out \u2013 involves adding machines or components to your setup, according to Techopedia<\/a>. For instance, in a situation where you have a single server and need to accommodate an increasing number of data transfers, horizontal scaling would mean introducing more servers and linking them to each other to handle the larger workload.<\/p>\n

What is Vertical Scaling?<\/h2>\n

When you scale vertically or scale up, you upgrade the current component or components of your setup with additional resources and capabilities to handle a larger workload, Techopedia explains. Returning to the aforementioned example involving a server that needs to execute more data transfers, vertical scaling would mean enhancing that server\u2019s memory or processing abilities.<\/p>\n

How to Determine Which Method Makes the Most Sense for Your Business<\/h2>\n

Like all IT strategies and solutions, the two types of scaling both have pros and cons that you should carefully consider when determining what\u2019s best for your organization. Horizontal scalability is a popular approach with some IT professionals because of the following benefits:<\/p>\n