system scalabiltiy

Today, every company uses some form of information system. When a company starts out, a small system is usually fine but less technologically advanced companies don’t typically think about system scalability. Scalability is the term used to describe a systems ability to handle growth; as a company grows, their system needs to grow with it. How does a system grow with a company, some people upgrade their hardware (scaling vertically, or up), others just and new hardware (scaling horizontally, or out). Scaling out doesn’t necessarily mean adding more workstations, it relates more to the servers. Neither way is necessarily wrong, but standardization within the company needs to be achieved to have a well working network.

[1]

 As we can see here, when one scales up, they are adding a small amount of advanced hardware to handle their requirements. When a company scales out, they are combining “the power of multiple machines into a virtual single machine with the combined power of all of them together.” [1]Scaling out is a temporary low cost solution that many small companies choose mainly because they don’t have the cash flow to scale up. While scaling up allows for lesser space, it also allows for a much less complex programming environment. 

 The reason for scalability is simple; as a company grows their system needs grow too. Allowing multiple users on the server at the same time is probably one of the most important aspects of a network environment. A network at a company with ten people will need to be able to hold ten people. As the company grows to 1,000 people their networking needs will have to grow with it. Increased network space, and speed are very important. Also important is network redundancy. “..If you have a single point of failure and it fails you, then you have nothing to rely on. If you put in a secondary (or tertiary) method of access, then when the main connection goes down, you will have a way to connect to resources and keep the business operational.” [2] Eventually people will be working remotely and well need to have access to a Citrix style system. Citrix “lets you deliver on-demand virtual desktop and applications anywhere your users work…to any type of device, bringing unprecedented flexibility and mobility to your workforce.” [3] In essence a well-scaled network will allow multiple users to work from wherever they are, just as if they were in the office. 

 Information systems come in all sizes, from an individual desktop running Microsoft access to a multinational organization with 10s of thousands of workers. Every company needs to be aware of there IS needs and figure out the most efficient way to scale them in the future. The most cost effective way, is not always the best; similarly the most expensive hardware isn’t always the best. The best system is what works correctly for your company while still giving you room to grow.

 [1] Shalmon, Nati. "The Difference Between Scale-Up and Scale-Out." Discussions about middleware and distributed technologies. Nati Shalmon, 09/01/2010. Web. 10 Jul 2011. <http://natishalom.typepad.com/nati_shaloms_blog/2010/09/scale-up-vs-scale-out.html>.

[2] Shimonski, Robert J. "The Importance of Redundancy."The Importance of Network Redundancy. Windows Networking, 06/15/2010. Web. 10 Jul 2011. <http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Importance-Network-Redundancy.html>.

[3] Citrix Systems (2010). "Products and solutions". Citrix. Retrieved 2011-07-10.