Which scaling option should a company use for predictable peak traffic patterns on their website?

Scheduled scaling is the most suitable option for managing predictable peak traffic patterns on a website. This approach allows companies to prepare for known surges in demand by automatically adjusting their resources at predetermined times. For example, if a website experiences increased traffic during specific events, like promotions or seasonal sales, scheduled scaling ensures that the right amount of resources is allocated ahead of time.

This proactive strategy is efficient and cost-effective, as it prevents over-provisioning of resources during off-peak times while adequately preparing for the increased load during peak times. In contrast, dynamic scaling responds to real-time changes in demand but may not be as efficient for predictable patterns, as it reacts to spikes only as they occur rather than anticipating them. Manual scaling, on the other hand, requires human intervention to adjust resources, which can lead to delays and potential service disruption during peak times. Vertical scaling, while useful for increasing the capacity of a single instance, does not address the need for a distributed approach during predictable peaks; it also has practical limitations as workloads increase. Thus, scheduled scaling is the optimal choice for companies with predictable traffic.