Suggest an editImprove this articleRefine the answer for “How does scaling differ from optimization?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.Approval requiredContentWhat you’re changing🇺🇸EN🇺🇦UAPreviewTitle (EN)Short answer (EN)**Scaling** and **optimization** are different approaches to improving database performance: optimization improves **the efficiency of the current system**, without adding new resources (indexes, rewriting heavy queries, tuning caches), while scaling adds **new resources** (servers, CPUs, memory) so the system can handle more load. **Key point:** in simple terms - **optimization** means "making what already exists better", **scaling** means "adding capacity to handle growth".Shown above the full answer for quick recall.Answer (EN)Image**Scaling** and **optimization** are different approaches to improving database performance. ### Optimization Improves **the efficiency of the current system**, *without adding new resources*. Examples: - creating indexes to speed up queries, - rewriting "heavy" SQL queries, - tuning caches or DBMS parameters, - cleaning up and compacting tables. **Goal:** make the same hardware faster. ### Scaling Adds **new resources** (servers, CPUs, memory) so the system can handle more load. Examples: - increasing a server's power (vertical scaling), - adding more nodes (horizontal scaling). **Goal:** handle a larger volume of data or users. **In simple terms:** - **Optimization** means "making what already exists better". - **Scaling** means "adding capacity to handle growth".For the reviewerNote to the moderator (optional)Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.