Scalability In the Cloud Era Isn't What You Think

Esther Schindler writes "'Scalability' isn't a checkbox on a vendor's feature chart — though plenty of them speak of it that way. In this IT Expert Voice article, Scott Fulton examines how we define 'scalability,' why it's data that has to scale more than servers, and how old architectural models don't always apply. He writes, 'If you believe that a scalable architecture for an information system, by definition, gives you more output in proportion to the resources you throw at it, then you may be thinking a cloud-based deployment could give your existing system "infinite scalability." Companies that are trying out that theory for the first time are discovering not just that the theory is flawed, but that their systems are flawed and now they're calling out for help.'"

Comments

Re:I read the article

[timeOday]

I'll bite, what's the "cloud mess"? In the olden days, we mocked slashdot story submitters who linked to videos because their ISP account, or university account, could never handle it. There wasn't really a way for an individual to share a video with thousands of people. Now we just upload to youtube, and viola, it works. Scalability issue solved. How many computers does it take to accomplish that? Where are they? Are they all in one place? It's a cloud, most of us don't know and don't care. It's good.