Imagine that all of a sudden your website became immensely popular and people came rushing to your website all at once, what happens next? If your servers are not capable of absorbing the new traffic, you can potentially crash your website! Thankfully, this is where cloud bursting comes into play and elastic scaling is based here too. We can talk about what this means in more detail.
Once the spike is gone you simply relax and no longer use the public cloud space.
• It saves money: You only pay for the public cloud space when you need it.
• It makes your app fast: No matter how busy it is, it never slows down.
• It allows you to scale easily: You can manage these high-traffic spikes without needing additional hardware.
Ever seen a website crash during an enormous sale? And the irony is, cloud bursting completely solves this issue!
For example, if a large number of users come to your app, the app can automatically add servers for you. If a lot of users stop using the app, it can automatically delete the extra servers to save costs.
Now, here is where elastic scaling shines:
• No manual work: The system automatically scales, so you do not have to do anything.
• Highly efficient: You only waste resources based on what you are doing.
• All the time availability: Your app is always fast and ready, no matter how many active users you have.
It's almost as if your cloud environment could look around and see when to ramp things up, and when to let off the accelerator—on its own.
The next time your site handles an increase in traffic like a professional, just remember—cloud bursting and elastic scaling are doing it in the background.
What Is Cloud Bursting?
Cloud bursting is like having a spare tire in your trunk of your car, most of the time it is not needed, but when something happens and you need to change it, you have something you can prepare to change from. Generally, your website or app is hosted on your servers or private cloud, however, when there is a dramatic increase in traffic, typically because of holiday sales or festivals, you can automatically cloud burst your app into the public cloud (AWS, Google Cloud, etc.) to get more "power."Once the spike is gone you simply relax and no longer use the public cloud space.
The Advantages of Cloud Bursting
Cloud bursting is beneficial for a few reasons:• It saves money: You only pay for the public cloud space when you need it.
• It makes your app fast: No matter how busy it is, it never slows down.
• It allows you to scale easily: You can manage these high-traffic spikes without needing additional hardware.
Ever seen a website crash during an enormous sale? And the irony is, cloud bursting completely solves this issue!
What Does Elastic Scaling Mean?
Elastic scaling is a little different, it means your cloud environment can automatically scale up or down according to demand.For example, if a large number of users come to your app, the app can automatically add servers for you. If a lot of users stop using the app, it can automatically delete the extra servers to save costs.
Now, here is where elastic scaling shines:
• No manual work: The system automatically scales, so you do not have to do anything.
• Highly efficient: You only waste resources based on what you are doing.
• All the time availability: Your app is always fast and ready, no matter how many active users you have.
It's almost as if your cloud environment could look around and see when to ramp things up, and when to let off the accelerator—on its own.
Cloud Bursting Vs Elastic Scaling
By defining both terms we should clarify the difference. With cloud bursting, you are tapping into your cloud resources externally once your local servers have reach capacity, while elastic scaling can simply be counting on the existing resources of your cloud. You might say that cloud bursting borrows the additional power and elastic scaling builds on the power dynamically. Either way, either approach would make your system faster and more robust.Conclusion
Cloud bursting and elastic scaling keep your applications continuously operational, even in the most insane moments of traffic. They result in lowered costs, less downtime, and a smarter, more agile cloud environment.The next time your site handles an increase in traffic like a professional, just remember—cloud bursting and elastic scaling are doing it in the background.