How does Elasticity affect Cloud Computing?
Tags: cloudskills, devops, cloud, aws
Published: 2021-03-23 07:13:49

Cloud computing is a great solution for many companies today. These advantages may include centralized infrastructure, cost efficiency, ease of access, no need for physical repairs, etc. All of these benefits are very useful for the companies. However, most of these benefits can be found in other technologies. One advantage that is exclusively only available on cloud computing is cloud elasticity. On this page, we are going to talk about cloud elasticity and its relationship to cloud computing. 

Elasticity may refer to the dynamic allocation of the cloud resources to the workflows, projects, and processes. In the cloud system, it is the system that is provided by the cloud vendors to have the exact amount of resources required by the company. It will allow all users to optimize their resource usage efficiently. 

**What is Cloud Elasticity?** 

Cloud elasticity is a process that is done by the cloud provider for fulfilling the customers’ needs. Cloud providers are going to offer the right resources to the company based on their needs. They have a good system that will deliver and remove resources automatically, so they can provide the right amount of resources for every project. For the customers, they will get enough power to run their projects without wasting money on any unnecessary resources. 

For explaining the elasticity in the cloud, we rea going to take a look at the example of running and storing an application in the cloud. An app will need a specific environment to work properly, for example, virtual machines, computing power, and also storage space. The cloud is elastic, so you will only get the resources that you need for running the application. In the future, you may want to use more virtual machines to run many different applications. Before you need the other resources, you are only charged for the resources that you are using. 

**Overprovisioning and Underprovisioning**

The main reason for using cloud elasticity is to prevent the underprovisioning and overprovisioning of the resources. Giving the cloud users too little or too many resources will give a disadvantage for the users. If the clients get too many resources, they are going to pay more for any unnecessary resources. 

If they get too few resources, they will never be able to run their apps or their needs correctly. An elastic system can be used to detect any changes in the workflows and also processes in the cloud. Therefore, this system will correct the resource provisioning automatically to adjust the user’s projects. 

**Cloud Elasticity vs Cloud Scalability**

Some people are confused when they are trying to differentiate cloud elasticity and cloud scalability. They are commonly used interchangeably and also talked in the same sentence. You need to know the differences between both terms. 

Scalability will refer to the shrinking and growing of the workflows or architectures in the pre-build infrastructures without impacting the overall performance. Both scalability and elasticity will be important for cloud users. They need to grow their workflows that can match their companies’ needs. They also need to know that they have the right amount of resources to run any apps in their companies. 

Cloud scalability will add the computing resources for meeting the demands. When the workload grows, you may want to have a good system that can handle the growth. It is called scalability. For example, when you are running an e-commerce site, you may expect to see a traffic rise during the holiday season, such as December. You need to scale up the resources to handle the seasonal demand. 

Cloud elasticity will represent some approaches for allocating computing resources. It will provide the right resources required for the workload, but it will scale up and down the resources based on the loads. If you are using the [managed service](https://www.blazeclan.com/blog/managed-service-providers-msps-all-you-need-to-know/), you will be able to get the right resources for any of your needs. 

**Why Do Cloud Elasticity and Cloud Scalability Matter?**

**Service Availability** The scalability will enable the stable system to grow, while the elasticity will solve any variable resource demands. Both of them can be scaled up based on your needs. 

**Better Performance** Elastic and scalable configurations are specially used to ensure consistent performance. All customers need to have the best customer experience by using both scalability and elasticity. 

**Cost-Effectiveness** The combination of cloud elasticity and cloud scalability will allow you to manage resources efficiently. You will never overpay for the off-peak periods. For cost management, the elasticity will offer a better optimization than scalability.