Overview
VM Auto Scaling allows you to automatically scale the number of VM instances horizontally based on the configured policy. This functionality ensures that you have enough VM instances to handle the application loads. It improves efficiency by ensuring that adequate instances are available during peak workloads and saves money by limiting the number of instances available during low workload periods.
This section covers the components of VM Auto Scaling, its features, benefits, and limitations.
Components of VM Auto Scaling
The following components are an integral part of VM Auto Scaling:
Auto Scaling group: A collection of VM instances that the VM Auto Scaling manages. VM Auto Scaling automatically adds or removes instances from the group based on the metrics defined for the consumption of resources in the scaling policy.
Scaling policy: Defines how VM Auto Scaling Group scales an instance group based on various parameters such as CPU usage, incoming or outgoing requests, or load balancing utilization. Users can define custom scaling policies and set the desired scaling parameters for the instance group.
VM replica configuration: Defines the properties of the new VM replicas created during the scaling process. The configuration includes the parameters such as CPU type, number of cores, RAM size, network, and volumes.
VM Auto Scaling Manager: Create a VM Auto Scaling Group, define scaling policies, and replicate settings for creating VM instances.
VM Auto Scaling Features
VM Auto Scaling provides the following features:
Automatic Scaling automatically adds or removes VM instances based on the need. It analyzes the resource consumption continuously and scales up the allotted resources when necessary to ensure that the application is always responsive and performing optimally.
Customizable scaling policies allow users to define custom scaling policies based on various parameters, such as CPU usage or network utilization and set the desired scaling parameters for the Auto Scaling group.
Multiple granular scaling policies allow you to specify the number of instance creations when the scaling threshold is reached. Users may choose a policy that best suits their workload requirements.
Integration with other IONOS Cloud services, such as the ALB, enables users to optimize resource utilization and improve application scalability.
VM Auto Scaling Benefits
VM Auto Scaling provides the following benefits:
Improved resource utilization enables you to allocate resources as needed, thus, improving resource utilization and cost efficiency.
Improved application performance ensures the application is always responsive and performing optimally, thus providing a better user experience.
Improved scalability allows you to scale the application easily and quickly, supporting business growth and increasing revenue.
Reduced operational overhead automates the scaling process, reducing the operational overhead of managing and maintaining VM instances.
Limitations of VM Auto Scaling
This section lists the limitations of VM Auto Scaling:
It is best suited for a gradual increase in demand. The feature uses cooldown timers to scale resources gradually rather than abruptly. As a result, if you anticipate a sudden rise in traffic, we recommend manually adding VMs ahead of time. For example, you could add new VMs before traffic spikes after a TV commercial.
The capabilities are limited to your customer contract limits. For more information about the contract resource limits in DCD, see Resource Overview.
Updating the replica configuration does not affect the existing replicas; however, the changes are only visible when you create new replicas.
To improve the efficiency of the VM Auto Scaling service, we recommend limiting the maximum number of VMs in an Auto Scaling Group to 100 or less. Note that the minimum replica count is one.
Scale in or scale out jobs with a large number of VMs may encounter performance issues. Hence, we recommend limiting the creation or deletion of VMs to at most five, regardless of whether the Amount Type is absolute or percentage.
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