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Network scalability issues and 4 approaches to fix them
Network scalability challenges stem from architectural constraints and resource limitations. Improve scalability with approaches such as WAN optimization and latency reduction.
Network teams to ensure resource consistency even in the event of traffic spikes, hardware failures or unexpected outages. However, as networks grow more complex, many organizations struggle to reach adequate scalability within their infrastructures. Challenges related to architectural constraints, increased complexity and resource limitations have made it difficult for businesses to maintain consistent network performance.
Dynamic network scalability -- supported by insights from network monitoring tools -- ensures that organizations can respond to fluctuations in IT resource demands as networks grow.
This article explores the necessary requirements to achieve scalability and the factors that contribute to network slowdowns. Evaluate how teams can mitigate these issues to achieve scalable networks.
Manage scalability requirements
Companies are broadly increasing the adoption of IT automation, edge computing and next-gen wireless to meet operational goals and achieve sustained growth. On-demand scalability is crucial as enterprise resource demands expand and distributed environments -- such as microservices, cloud and edge networks -- grow more complex. Higher costs also become a factor as IT and network teams are required to do more within strict budgets.
Architecture is a key factor in network scalability. Distributed systems, which are prevalent in today's data centers, are designed to be dynamic, fault-tolerant and highly available. On the other hand, the flat structure of standard networking is based on centralized hubs and switches that connect all devices. This traditional networking approach lacks the flexibility required to exchange data for massive numbers of end users, devices and IT systems.
Network teams can take one of two scaling approaches to meet resource demands:
- Horizontal scaling. Add servers or storage components to increase capacity and distribute workloads across an IT environment.
- Vertical scaling. Increase capacity by adding more resources related to CPUs and RAM.
Organizations can use either of these short-term methods to gain throughput speed and handle the complexities of distributed systems. However, organizations must still contend with other mitigating factors, such as insufficient bandwidth, high latency, hardware constraints and cost limitations.
4 ways to address network scalability issues
Network professionals can address network scalability challenges with the following approaches:
- WAN optimization.
- Bottleneck fixes.
- Software improvement.
- Latency reduction.
1. WAN optimization
Data centers and networks include interconnected components subject to several variables that affect performance. For example, adequate network bandwidth is crucial for handling increased data traffic generated by new technology, such as AI and machine learning, IoT and 5G. To improve capacity, network teams can apply WAN optimization.
Examples of WAN optimization strategies include the following:
- Caching. Stores data locally to reduce the amount of data that travels across the network.
- Data compression. Compresses data to reduce the amount of data sent over the network and enhances performance.
- Load balancing. Distributes traffic across multiple WAN appliances to improve performance.
- Quality of service. Prioritizes critical traffic and applications, which provides them with the necessary resources to function.
2. Bottleneck fixes
Bottlenecks can pose obstacles in network performance, server response times, third-party resource delivery or software code. For example, slow database queries, flawed AI algorithms or resource contention can all affect network performance. Insufficient CPU, RAM and disk I/O can degrade server response times.
Organizations that rely on cloud services for consistent resource delivery can also face issues related to availability, response latencies, rate limitations or API failures. Network observability tools and regular analysis are critical to eliminate these bottlenecks.
3. Software improvement
Software code errors can negatively affect elasticity, which can lead to system-wide dysfunction and maintenance challenges. Two approaches network teams can follow to ensure future scaling potential include the following:
- Transitioning to more modular infrastructures to promote independent scaling.
- Using DevOps practices that prioritize clean code early in development.
4. Latency reduction
High latency or interruptions in data throughput can affect resource availability. When network teams access diagnostic methods, they can identify information about the network necessary for troubleshooting. Examples of tools with diagnostic methods include the following:
- Command-line tools such as ping, traceroute or My Traceroute.
- Open source tools such as Wireshark or Grafana.
- Tools and platforms that automate monitoring.
These tools can show crucial information about network performance -- such as traffic patterns, packet loss and jitter -- that teams can remediate to improve latency.
How scalability enhances the network
As organizations adopt new technology, network scalability issues can arise as infrastructures struggle to maintain the influx of new devices, complex tools and services, and sophisticated security threats. Network administrators and IT leaders require in-depth knowledge of the design and structure of their architectures. They must also factor in common constraints, such as outdated hardware, ISP throttling and application functionality.
To accommodate the growing demand in the network, teams must ensure their networks can maintain on-demand scalability. Network teams must identify gaps in the network with diagnostic processes and troubleshoot to address performance issues. This ensures networks have the necessary availability for new features and services that can provide consistent and responsive end-user experiences.
In addition, as network teams work toward achieving on-demand scalability, they must ensure that security measures maintain parity as the network expands to meet the growing resource demands of the business.
Kerry Doyle writes about technology for a variety of publications and platforms. His current focus is on issues relevant to IT and enterprise leaders across a range of topics, from nanotech and cloud to distributed services and AI.
