The definition of auto scaling is when the web server automatically scales due to spikes in web traffic. Nodes are added and subtracted like a rubber band. A feature offered only from the most reputable web hosting companies, automated parameters trigger increases when needed, automatically adding more nodes when physical demands are required on the web server.
Server hosts don’t like it when website managers use auto scaling to avoid reaching a site bandwidth limit. They don’t like it because with preset triggers there is no need to contract additional server hosting space that will go unused most of the time. By auto scaling your bandwidth limits, spikes are covered at a huge savings because you only pay for the spike. Billing changes proportionally with the instance of auto scaling, but paying for occasional usage is better than paying every month for capacity you don’t need.
Website managers make the mistake time and time again. First, they rebrand a client’s website into something beautiful and useful, but frugality gets them in trouble because they choose a hosting option that doesn’t allow for scalability in regard to pipe limits.
Only a few hosting companies offer it, including Amazon and Rackspace. Others will try to sell you on a dedicated server costing hundreds of dollars per month. But you don’t need to spend a lot to auto scale your site bandwidth limit. Avoiding the dreaded Bandwidth Limit Reached for this Site does not require buying extra capacity that you don’t need. Instead, auto scale your site bandwidth limit by insisting your hosting company provide the technology to do it. Or find a hosting company that does.
There are many aspects to consider when choosing a hosting provider. But the biggest problem a website manager is likely to encounter – especially on shared hosting plans – is bandwidth limits caused by too little RAM. Most shared services allow a maximum 1 GB RAM at any one time, which means there’s no way to scale the traffic when a post suddenly goes viral. That means when your website gets more than 10,000 users at any one moment, users will start receiving errors.
Auto Scaling is the first – and perhaps most important – dynamic to look at when choosing your hosting service. But other aspects do matter.
- Site Bandwidth Avoidance System – Remember that the website manager is the captain of the ship, so contracting a web hosting service that provides auto scaling is the first step. Once contracted, the website manager monitors the controls and sets autopilot, but he or she also needs to check in regularly to make sure the settings are correct for the site bandwidth limit avoidance system. A hired technician to manage the website’s server shouldn’t require more than a few hours per month. Check the logs and ensure the proper auto scaling parameters are in place.
- Server Location Matters – The server datacenter location should be within 100 miles of your primary place of business with redundancy spread out. Most reputable auto scale website servers will have multiple datacenters across the continent. For instance, if your client is located in Greenville, South Carolina, you could shoot for a datacenter in Atlanta, Georgia, less than 150 miles away. Make sure there’s redundancy in other big cities like New York City; Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Network Transfer is also important – Users might have up to 3 terabytes of transfer assigned for a given month, but a viral post will exceed this limit in a matter of hours if you don’t have auto scale technology activated for transfer limits as well as for load balancing. A proactively managed hosting service has built-in technology that monitors the CPU and RAM resources and monthly bandwidth. The more traffic required, the more physical resources will be dedicated to the system – automatically.
- No Shared Services – While those discount hosting services are tempting, shared hosting services will inevitably create problems when a website grows, usually because these services don’t offer auto scaling technology. Auto Scaling services are included in monthly plans costing less than $150/month, a price that will pay off in spades when your website goes viral.
If you plan in advance to use auto scaling for managing your site bandwidth limits, servers will upgrade automatically during times of intense traffic on a website. Should traffic on the website exceed expected levels, auto scaling responds with additional bandwidth to cover traffic.