Compute
AWS Auto Scaling and Elastic Load Balancing
Complementary capabilities: Auto Scaling adjusts capacity to demand, while Elastic Load Balancing distributes incoming traffic across healthy targets.
Key points
- Auto Scaling provides elasticity by adding or removing capacity according to policies or schedules.
- Load balancers route traffic and perform health checks; they do not by themselves create new compute capacity.
- Together they support responsive capacity and availability.
Best-known use cases
- Scale an EC2 fleet as demand changes.
- Distribute client requests across healthy application targets.
What candidates often confuse it with
- Auto Scaling changes capacity; load balancing spreads traffic.
- Multi-AZ deployment reduces dependence on one AZ, while these services manage capacity and traffic within the design.
Key Cloud Practitioner takeaway
Changing capacity is Auto Scaling; distributing traffic is Elastic Load Balancing.
Related services
- Amazon EC2
- AWS Regions, Availability Zones, and edge locations
Relevant exam tasks
- D3.3