How Auto Scaling works
Your VM grows itself when visitors pour in, with no restart and no dropped connections. Nothing to install, no late nights watching graphs.
- Live resize in 2–4 seconds
- Clear, adjustable threshold
- The higher price only runs while you need it
Turn Auto Scaling on or off whenever you like — no commitment, no fee.
Demo: VM web-01 is running 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM. When CPU stays above 80% for 5 minutes, the system raises it to the ceiling of 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM within 2–4 seconds, with no restart, and the IP and disk unchanged; the price switches to the ceiling price. When the load drops, the VM keeps 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM and the ceiling price — nothing changes on its own. The customer presses "Restart to revert to base size": the VM Stops then Starts, about 1–2 minutes, then it is back at 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM and the base price.
The short version
- You set a ceiling up front — for example "may grow up to 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM".
- When the VM is overloaded — CPU high for a few minutes in a row — we raise it straight to that size. No restart, no dropped connections, it takes 2–4 seconds.
- When the rush is over, the VM keeps the bigger size and the higher price — it does not shrink itself. You press a "Restart to revert to base size" button whenever you want it back down; the VM Stops then Starts, about 1–2 minutes, then runs at the base price.
What happens over one evening
One livestream evening for a ONIE customer:
The dashed line is the overload threshold you set. The shaded band is the higher price — it does not end on its own, it lasts until you press the button to revert to the base size.
Two different things, don’t mix them up
| Resize (you click) | Auto Scaling (we click for you) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides | You | We do, using your thresholds |
| When it happens | The moment you click Apply | Only when the VM is overloaded |
| What you pay | Charged now, the new size is permanent | Only the hours the VM actually ran big |
| Can change the disk | Yes | No — the disk never grows by itself |
| Scaling down | Yes, with a ~70 second restart | We never shrink it on our own — it keeps the bigger size and price until you press the revert button (~1–2 min) |
Both live in the same dialog: type the size you want, then choose whether it applies now or only when the VM is overloaded.
How you are billed
The price follows exactly the size you picked. We never meter anything inside your VM. The amount is on screen before you press the button — no surprise invoices.
When the VM grows, the new hourly price starts at that moment and stays until you press the button to revert to the base size — the price does not follow load back down on its own.
Example: you set the ceiling at twice your current size. A 4-hour peak evening costs you the difference for those 4 hours only — not for the whole month.
The ceiling is always yours: the size you set is the maximum. We never go past it.
What happens when the rush is over
A virtual machine cannot give back CPU and RAM while it is running — that is a limit of virtualisation itself, and every large provider has it. So the VM does NOT shrink itself when idle: it keeps the size it grew to, and the matching price.
You decide when to bring it down, with a single button: "Restart to revert to base size". The VM Stops then Starts, about 1–2 minutes, then runs at the base size and base price again. Your data, disk and IP address stay the same.
If you never press it, the VM simply keeps the grown size — there is no time limit and nothing happens automatically. A regular restart, password reset, or OS reinstall does NOT change the configuration; only this button does.
Can your VM use it
- It runs Linux. Windows is not supported yet, because a Windows Server licence only accepts 2 CPU sockets.
- It has been restarted at least once since our last platform upgrade. If not, the dialog tells you and lets you schedule it.
- It is running, with no operation in progress.
- It has no snapshots — a snapshot pins the VM’s size. Delete them and you are good.
Not sure? Just open the Resize dialog on your VM — we check and tell you right there.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to try it?
Turn Auto Scaling on or off whenever you like — no commitment, no fee.