Vertical scaling is when you increase the capacity of a system by increasing the compute size.


flowchart LR

subgraph Before
A[(Computer 1)]
end

subgraph After
B[(Computer 1 \n\n\n\n\n)]
end

Before --> After

Vertical Scaling Advantages

  • Very simple and straight forward
  • No code or design changes needed

Vertical Scaling Disadvantages

  • Becomes more expensive (compared to horizontal scaling) as more specialized hardware is needed to achieve higher levels of performance
  • Increased risk of a single point of failure