CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

Which scaling method involves adding servers with similar capabilities?

1. Vertical scaling

2. Elasticity

3. Horizontal scaling

4. Autoscaling

The correct answer is: Horizontal scaling

The correct answer is horizontal scaling, which refers to the method of adding more servers or instances that have similar capabilities to distribute the workload evenly across them. This approach is essential in cloud computing because it allows organizations to handle increased demand without necessarily enhancing the capacity of a single server. Horizontal scaling supports the concept of scalability more effectively as it improves redundancy, availability, and load balancing. When additional servers are deployed, tasks can be distributed among those servers, allowing for better performance and fault tolerance. This method is particularly useful in environments that handle fluctuating workloads or require high availability, as it enables seamless resource allocation without the downtime that might be associated with upgrading existing hardware. Vertical scaling, in contrast, involves upgrading a single server's capacity, such as adding more RAM or CPU power, which has limits and may lead to downtime. Elasticity refers to the ability to dynamically allocate and deallocate cloud resources based on current demand, which may involve both vertical and horizontal scaling but does not specifically focus on adding similar servers. Autoscaling refers to the automated process that adjusts the number of active server instances in response to load, again complementing horizontal scaling but not being a scaling method in and of itself.