Deep dive on how Kubernetes auto-scales applications based on demand

Chaudhari, Anuj Harishkumar (2025) Deep dive on how Kubernetes auto-scales applications based on demand. World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences, 15 (2). 030-038. ISSN 2582-8266

This article presents an in-depth exploration of Kubernetes auto-scaling mechanisms that enable applications to dynamically adjust resources in response to fluctuating demands. It begins with an examination of the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA), which automatically adjusts pod replicas based on observed metrics through a continuous control loop with proportional scaling algorithms. It continues with the Vertical Pod Autoscaler (VPA), which complements HPA by dynamically adjusting CPU and memory allocations for existing pods through its three-component architecture of Recommender, Updater, and Admission Controller. At the infrastructure level, the Cluster Autoscaler extends scaling capabilities by modifying the node count based on pending pods and underutilized nodes. The article further delves into advanced scaling mechanisms including custom metrics integration with Prometheus, external event-based scaling through KEDA, and Kubernetes event-driven scaling with circuit-breaker patterns. Throughout the discussion, It highlights how these mechanisms work together to form a comprehensive auto-scaling strategy that significantly improves both application reliability and cost efficiency compared to static provisioning models, while offering best practices for production environments.