Understanding Cloud Bursting

One of the cloud’s biggest advantages is its ability to scale on the fly to meet user demand. Some companies that run on-site applications have started to use the cloud as a way to scale their applications on demand. When the on-site application encounters high user demand, the application expands into the cloud through a process called cloud bursting, as shown in FIGURE 13-5. When the user demand declines, the application leaves the cloud. Cloud bursting is most common for seasonal demand, or event-driven demand, such as the demand on Google Maps, for example, when an earthquake or other natural disaster occurs.