Vertical Scaling

Definition

Vertical scaling (scale-up) is increasing the resources (CPU, RAM, disk) of a single machine[[39]](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/horizontal-vs-vertical-scaling-in-database/ "Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling – How to Scale a Dat…").

A stronger server can handle more load by itself. It is often easier to implement (no distributed changes) but has practical limits (max hardware).

Single-server databases or apps where distributing is difficult. If ease of development and consistency is critical, a beefier server might be used.

There’s a ceiling: you can only add so much memory/CPU. One big node is a single point of failure (no HA). Also can be expensive.

Switching from a 4-core to 16-core CPU machine for the DB.

“Vertical scaling increases capacity of a single machine by adding resources”[[39]](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/horizontal-vs-vertical-scaling-in-database/ "Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling – How to Scale a Dat…").

A stronger server can handle more load by itself. It is often easier to implement (no distributed changes) but has practical limits (max hardware).

Single-server databases or apps where distributing is difficult. If ease of development and consistency is critical, a beefier server might be used.

There’s a ceiling: you can only add so much memory/CPU. One big node is a single point of failure (no HA). Also can be expensive.

Switching from a 4-core to 16-core CPU machine for the DB.