Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies (AZ-300) Practice Exam

Which of the following is NOT typically considered a scalability practice?

1. Using caching strategies

2. Implementing load balancers

3. Increasing server size

4. Using a messaging layer between services

The correct answer is: Increasing server size

Increasing server size is generally related to vertical scaling, which involves adding more resources (CPU, RAM, etc.) to a single server to handle increased load. While this approach can temporarily alleviate performance issues, it does not embody the practices commonly referred to in the context of scalability. Instead, scalability is often more associated with strategies that allow a system to handle growth through horizontal scaling techniques. In contrast, using caching strategies helps improve performance by temporarily storing data for quicker access, reducing the load on the system by decreasing the number of requests that hit the database or underlying services. Implementing load balancers distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers, thereby improving availability and responsiveness and allowing for the addition of more servers to handle higher loads. Lastly, using a messaging layer between services enables decoupling and asynchronous processing, which enhances the overall scalability and flexibility of a system by allowing services to scale independently as needed.