Skaalabiliteet

Skaalabiliteet, often translated as scalability, refers to the capability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work, or its potential to be enlarged to accommodate that growth. In computing, scalability is a property of a system that describes how well it can adapt to increasing user demand or the capacity to be enlarged in order to meet that demand. This can refer to the ability to scale up, by adding more resources like processing power or memory to a single node, or scale out, by adding more nodes to a distributed system.

A system is considered scalable if it can function effectively and efficiently as its size or the number of its users increases. For instance, a website's scalability is tested by how well it performs when traffic surges. Poor scalability can lead to performance degradation, such as slow loading times or system crashes, when demand exceeds capacity.

Different types of scalability exist. Vertical scalability, also known as scaling up, involves increasing the capacity of an existing node. Horizontal scalability, or scaling out, involves adding more nodes to a system. The choice between these approaches often depends on the specific architecture and requirements of the system.

The concept of scalability is crucial in many fields, including software engineering, network design, and business operations, as it directly impacts performance, cost-effectiveness, and user satisfaction. Designing for scalability from the outset is often more efficient than attempting to retrofit it later.