System Design · Junior · Question 20 of 75

How does vertical scaling differ from horizontal scaling?

Explanation

Vertical scaling (more CPU/RAM) is simple but has a ceiling and a single point of failure. Horizontal scaling needs a load balancer and stateless servers, but it's nearly unlimited and improves fault tolerance.

Further reading

Problem with a question

System Design · Junior · question 20

Test yourself

Take the System Design · Junior quiz: questions and options are shuffled, and you get a review of your mistakes at the end.

Take this quiz