What term describes automatically allocating server resources as needed and removing them when not?

What term describes automatically allocating server resources as needed and removing them when not?

• A. Provisioning
• B. Balancing
• C. Scaling
• D. Prioritization

Answer: (B)

The concept here is scaling. It describes adjusting the amount of server capacity up or down automatically in response to demand, so you can handle spikes without paying for idle resources and then scale back when demand drops. This automatic adjustment is often called auto-scaling, where systems add more instances (scale out) or remove them (scale in) based on metrics like CPU utilization or request rate. Provisioning is about setting up resources, which might be manual or static and doesn’t imply ongoing automatic changes. Balancing refers to distributing incoming workload across resources, not changing the total amount of resources available. Prioritization is about deciding the order in which requests are handled, not the overall capacity. So scaling best captures the idea of automatically allocating and releasing resources as needed.

The concept here is scaling. It describes adjusting the amount of server capacity up or down automatically in response to demand, so you can handle spikes without paying for idle resources and then scale back when demand drops. This automatic adjustment is often called auto-scaling, where systems add more instances (scale out) or remove them (scale in) based on metrics like CPU utilization or request rate.

Provisioning is about setting up resources, which might be manual or static and doesn’t imply ongoing automatic changes. Balancing refers to distributing incoming workload across resources, not changing the total amount of resources available. Prioritization is about deciding the order in which requests are handled, not the overall capacity. So scaling best captures the idea of automatically allocating and releasing resources as needed.