CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

What type of scaling involves adding servers to a pool?

1. Vertical

2. Elasticity

3. Horizontal

4. Autoscale

The correct answer is: Horizontal

Adding servers to a pool is referred to as horizontal scaling. This type of scaling is characterized by increasing the number of machines or resources to distribute the load and handle more traffic or data, rather than increasing the capacity of a single server. Horizontal scaling allows for a system to improve performance and availability by distributing workload across multiple servers. This can be particularly advantageous in cloud environments, where resources can be provisioned on demand. When workloads increase, additional servers can be brought online to share the load, providing redundancy and enhancing reliability. In contrast, vertical scaling involves upgrading the existing server's resources, such as adding more CPU power or RAM. Elasticity refers to the ability of a system to dynamically adjust resources in response to varying loads, but does not specifically denote the method of adding servers. Autoscaling is a feature that can automate the process of horizontal scaling based on predefined policies or metrics, but it is not synonymous with the act of simply adding servers. Thus, the focus on adding new servers clearly aligns with the principles of horizontal scaling.