Horizontal Scaling (Scaling Out):?

Short answer: Horizontal scaling involves adding more database servers to distribute the load, typically using replication, sharding, or clustering. Advantages: It can handle much larger datasets and traffic since the workload is distributed across multiple servers. Disadvantages: More complex to implement and maintain, requires specialized techniques like load balancing and data partitioning.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s SQL Server database stores customers, products, and orders. Good indexes and clear foreign keys keep checkout queries fast and safe.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.