Zephyr Professional Practice Test

Which characteristic describes Y-axis scaling?

1. Splits the workload between multiple copies of an application

2. Splits data across a set of servers

3. Splits the application into multiple, different services

4. Compresses application data for efficiency

The correct answer is: Splits the application into multiple, different services

The correct choice accurately reflects Y-axis scaling, which is also known as vertical scaling. This characteristic focuses on enhancing an application's performance by increasing the resources available to it, often by adding more powerful hardware or increasing the capabilities of a single server instance. This allows the application to handle more significant workloads without requiring a redesign or redistribution across multiple service instances. When an application is split into multiple, different services, it is typically engaging in microservices architecture, which is more aligned with horizontal scaling or the X-axis scaling concept. This approach allows different components of an application to be developed, deployed, and scaled independently, but that strategy does not pertain directly to Y-axis scaling. Y-axis scaling is concerned with the scaling of individual services themselves rather than decomposing the application architecture into separate entities. In this context, enhancing the capacity and efficiency of the current application instance supports its ability to handle larger volumes of data or users, making the selection of the correct answer a clear representation of Y-axis scaling.