The interplay between timeliness and scalability in cloud monitoring systems

Cloud computing is a groundbreaking solution to acquire computational resources on demand. To deliver high quality cloud services and provide features such as reduced costs and availability to customers, a cloud, like any other computational system, needs to be properly managed in accordance with its characteristics (e.g., scalability, elasticity, timeliness). In this scenario, cloud monitoring is a key to achieve it. To properly work, cloud monitoring systems need to meet several requirements such as scalability, accuracy, and timeliness. This paper aims to unveil the trade-off between timeliness and scalability. Evaluations demonstrate the mutual influence between scalability and timeliness based on monitoring parameters (e.g., monitoring topologies, frequency sampling). Results show that non-deep monitoring topologies and decreasing the frequency sampling assist to reduce the mutual influence between timeliness and scalability.