In AWS, what is the purpose of Auto Scaling?

Auto Scaling in AWS is primarily designed to automatically adjust the capacity of applications to maintain performance and availability while optimizing costs. It enables administrators to define certain conditions, such as traffic load or performance metrics, and based on those parameters, the service can scale resources up or down. For example, during peak usage times, Auto Scaling can increase the number of instances in a fleet to handle additional requests, and during lower usage times, it can terminate unnecessary instances to save costs.

The capability of Auto Scaling ensures that applications are neither under-provisioned, which could lead to performance issues, nor over-provisioned, which could result in unnecessary expenses. This dynamic adjustment plays a critical role in enhancing application reliability and delivering a better user experience by ensuring that the required resources are available when needed.

In contrast, other options focus on different functionalities such as data storage management, backup processes, or security provisioning, which are not the primary objectives of Auto Scaling.