Fixed Capacity Provisioning vs Auto Scaling

Developers should learn and use Fixed Capacity Provisioning in scenarios where predictable performance, compliance with strict SLAs (Service Level Agreements), or legacy system constraints are critical, such as in financial trading platforms, healthcare systems, or government applications requiring guaranteed uptime meets developers should use auto scaling for applications with variable or unpredictable workloads, such as e-commerce sites during sales events, streaming services during peak hours, or batch processing jobs, to handle traffic surges without manual intervention and avoid over-provisioning. Here's our take.

Fixed Capacity Provisioning

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use Fixed Capacity Provisioning in scenarios where predictable performance, compliance with strict SLAs (Service Level Agreements), or legacy system constraints are critical, such as in financial trading platforms, healthcare systems, or government applications requiring guaranteed uptime

Pros

• It is also relevant when dealing with applications that have stable, well-understood traffic patterns, as it can simplify cost management and avoid the complexity of auto-scaling configurations, though it may lead to higher costs due to idle resources during off-peak periods
• Related to: capacity-planning, resource-management

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Auto Scaling

Developers should use Auto Scaling for applications with variable or unpredictable workloads, such as e-commerce sites during sales events, streaming services during peak hours, or batch processing jobs, to handle traffic surges without manual intervention and avoid over-provisioning

Pros

• It is essential for building scalable, cost-effective, and resilient cloud-native systems that can automatically adapt to changing demands, reducing downtime and operational overhead
• Related to: aws-auto-scaling, load-balancing

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Fixed Capacity Provisioning is a methodology while Auto Scaling is a platform. We picked Fixed Capacity Provisioning based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Fixed Capacity Provisioning wins

Based on overall popularity. Fixed Capacity Provisioning is more widely used, but Auto Scaling excels in its own space.