How to Estimate Server and Database Needs for a New Service?

Definitely a mix of experience and some testing to find the right balance. There’s a good chance you'll miss a few times before you get it right. Just look to gather hard data from your tests; that will steer your estimates in the right direction.

One principle to keep in mind is to avoid guessing your capacity needs, as faulty sizing can lead to waste or performance issues. Cloud computing allows you to scale easily as demand shifts. Configure sensible minimums and scaling options for your service to adjust automatically. And consider running multiple smaller instances for better scaling and resilience.

The truth is, you usually can't predict performance accurately until you actually run benchmarks or load tests. You can plan for scalability, but there’s a lot of variability based on your implementation. For example, just a single poorly optimized line of code could sabotage your throughput by a factor of ten! So, testing is crucial.

Without actual metrics, it's almost a shot in the dark. Usage patterns can vary significantly, making guesses pretty unreliable. Synthetic benchmarks might help, but they come with their assumptions as well. Focus on understanding your scaling factors to be adaptable when it comes to managing capacity.