More RAM vs. more servers

Posted by user357972 on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by user357972
Published on 2010-06-08T22:15:21Z Indexed on 2010/06/08 22:23 UTC
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Filed under:

memory

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server

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scaling

I was recently asked "Do you know when to decide between going for more RAM or more servers?" (in the context of scaling data mining applications).

I had no idea, so what are some ways to decide? I have very little knowledge of architecture and scaling (my understanding of computer memory and what a server does is limited to the high-level basics), so tips on learning more about these things in general are also very welcome.

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