What is burstiness in workload modeling?

• A. Irregular, sporadic spikes in demand
• B. Steady, predictable traffic
• C. Decreasing traffic over time
• D. Constant peak usage

Answer: (A)

Burstiness in workload modeling refers to irregular, sporadic spikes in demand. It describes how workloads stay relatively low most of the time but suddenly surge in short bursts, then return to baseline. This variability is what makes predicting capacity tricky, because you can’t rely on a smooth, predictable load—you need enough headroom or elastic resources to handle those rapid increases. This stands in contrast to steady, predictable traffic, which implies low variation; decreasing traffic over time, which implies a downward trend; and constant peak usage, which would mean the load stays high and uniform rather than having bursts. In practice, recognizing burstiness helps you plan for moments of high demand and design systems that can scale quickly to meet those spikes.