Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies (AZ-300) Practice Exam

Which of the following statements about scaling out is true?

1. It has physical limitations

2. It involves enhancing a single instance

3. It allows for infinite growth if more instances can be added

4. It reduces resource availability for individual instances

The correct answer is: It allows for infinite growth if more instances can be added

Scaling out refers to the process of adding more instances of a resource, such as virtual machines or containers, to handle increased load or demand rather than upgrading the capabilities of a single instance. This approach allows a system to distribute its workload across multiple instances, improving performance and ensuring high availability. The statement that scaling out "allows for infinite growth if more instances can be added" is accurate because, in theory, as long as the underlying infrastructure can support more instances, an application can continue to grow indefinitely. This flexibility makes scaling out an effective solution for handling variable workloads, particularly in cloud environments where resources can be provisioned on-demand. In contrast, scaling up typically involves enhancing a single instance's capabilities, which has physical limitations in terms of the maximum resources that can be attached to that instance. Therefore, while there are practical limits on how far scaling out can be taken based on infrastructure constraints, the core essence of scaling out supports the concept of virtually limitless growth, as more instances can continuously be provisioned to meet demand.