Elasticity in cloud computing refers to the ability of a cloud to grow or shrink capacity for CPU, memory, and storage resources to adapt to the changing demands of an organization. It is the degree to which a system is able to adapt to workload changes by provisioning and de-provisioning resources in an autonomic manner, such that at each point in time the available resources match the current demand as closely as possible). Elasticity is a defining characteristic that differentiates cloud computing from previously proposed computing paradigms, such as grid computing).
Elasticity helps businesses avoid either over-provisioning (deploying and allocating more IT resources than needed to serve current demands) or under-provisioning (not allocating enough IT resources to meet existing or imminent demands) . Elasticity aims at matching the amount of resource allocated to a service with the amount of resource it actually requires, avoiding over- or under-provisioning). Over-provisioning, i.e., allocating more resources than required, should be avoided as the service provider often has to pay for the resources that are allocated to the service).
Elastic computing is the dynamic adaptation of capacity, e.g., by altering the use of computing resources, to meet a varying workload). Cloud Elasticity enables organizations to rapidly scale capacity up or down, either automatically or manually. Elasticity can refer to ‘cloud bursting’ from on-premises infrastructure into the public cloud, for example, to meet a sudden or seasonal demand. Elasticity helps to minimize infrastructural costs and is useful to address only those scenarios where the resource requirements fluctuate up and down suddenly for a specific time interval.
Benefits of elasticity in cloud computing include agility, pay-as-you-go pricing, and continuous availability of services by avoiding unnecessary slowdowns or service interruptions. Elastic computing is more efficient than your typical IT infrastructure, is typically automated so it doesn’t have to rely on human administrators around the clock.
