I'm curious about how high-traffic web applications like Reddit are hosted. What kind of network demands do they have? Would a typical PaaS provider like Render or DigitalOcean be capable of supporting a site like that? Also, what hardware requirements would be necessary for such an operation?
2 Answers
Basically, high-traffic sites like Reddit run on multiple copies of themselves on various servers, with each server handling a fraction of the overall traffic. This setup also needs to be backed by an equally scaled database to manage the data flow efficiently.
That clears things up, thanks! I'm wondering at what stage a social media app should consider upscaling. When does it reach a point where it’s considered "too big"?
Not much from PaaS providers can handle it. Services like Reddit are built with complex, multi-layered architectures that include separate layers for web/mobile apps, frontend APIs, backend processes, etc. You can't really run Reddit on a VPS, no matter how many copies you have, just like you wouldn't use a WWII plane to fly people today.
Exactly! Those multiple copies are strategically located worldwide so you can connect to a nearby server, which helps speed things up.