Cluster Auto-Scaling¶
Atlas doesn't support this feature in multi-cloud clusters at this time.
Atlas enables Cluster Auto-Scaling for M10+
clusters using
the General tier clusters.
You can configure your Atlas cluster to automatically scale its cluster tier, storage capacity, or both in response to cluster usage. Cluster auto-scaling removes the need to write scripts or use consulting services to make scaling decisions. To help control costs, you can specify a range of cluster tiers to which your cluster can automatically scale.
Auto-scaling works on a rolling basis, meaning the process does not incur any downtime.
How Atlas Scales Cluster Tier¶
Atlas analyzes the following cluster metrics to determine when to scale a cluster, and whether to scale the cluster tier up or down:
- CPU Utilization
- Memory Utilization
To learn more about how to monitor cluster metrics, see View Cluster Metrics.
Before scaling your cluster tier, Atlas checks that the cluster would not be in a tier outside of your specified Minimum and Maximum Cluster Size range.
Scaling Up a Cluster Tier¶
If the next highest cluster tier is within your Maximum Cluster Size range, Atlas scales the cluster up to the next tier if one of the following is true for any node in the cluster:
- Average CPU Utilization has exceeded 75% for the past hour, or
- Memory Utilization has exceeded 75% for the past hour.
Atlas scales a cluster to the next tier when the cluster hasn't been scaled up in the past hour.
Scaling up to greater storage capacity requires sufficient time to prepare and copy data to new disks. Automatic scaling might not occur when a cluster receives a burst of high-speed write activity, such as a bulk insert. To reduce the risk of running out of disk storage, cluster managers should plan to scale up clusters in advance of bulk inserts and other instances of high-speed write activity.
Automatic scaling works on General tier clusters but not on the Low-CPU or Local NVMe SSD tier clusters.
Scaling Down a Cluster Tier¶
If the next lowest cluster tier is within your Minimum Cluster Size range, Atlas scales the cluster down to the next lowest tier if both of the following are true for all nodes in the cluster:
- The average CPU Utilization and Memory Utilization over the past 24 hours is below 50%, and
- The cluster has not been scaled down (manually or automatically) in the past 24 hours.
M10
and M20
clusters use lower thresholds to account for
caps on CPU usage set by cloud providers after burst periods. These
thresholds vary depending on your cloud provider and cluster tier.
To learn more about downward auto-scaling behavior, see Considerations for Downward Auto-Scaling.
How Atlas Scales Cluster Storage¶
When cluster storage auto-scaling is enabled, Atlas automatically increases cluster storage when disk space used reaches 90%. The scaling behavior differs by cloud provider:
- On AWS and GCP clusters, Atlas increases cluster storage capacity to achieve 70% disk utilization. For information on AWS storage change limitations and how Atlas works around them, see Changing Storage Capacity on AWS .
- On Azure clusters, Atlas doubles the current amount of cluster storage.
Atlas only automatically scales cluster storage up, and never automatically scales cluster storage down. You can manually reduce your cluster storage from the Edit Cluster page.
Oplog Considerations¶
When you increase the storage capacity of a cluster, Atlas increases the cluster's oplog size. Atlas scales the oplog to 5% of the cluster capacity, not to exceed 50 GB. NVMe storage requires an oplog which is 10% of the storage capacity. Atlas doesn't change the oplog size if it exceeds 5% of the new storage capacity (10% in the case of NVMe storage).
As cluster storage capacity decreases, Atlas doesn't change the oplog size unless it exceeds a certain maximum determined according to MongoDB best practices.
Cluster Tier and Cluster Storage May Scale in Parallel¶
When Atlas attempts to automatically scale your cluster storage capacity, it may need to scale your storage outside of the bounds supported by your current cluster tier. To help ensure that your cluster does not experience any downtime, Atlas will scale your cluster tier (in addition to cluster storage) to accommodate the new storage capacity.
The maximum storage capacity for an M30
cluster is 480 GB. If
you have an M30
cluster with maximum storage allocated and
your disk space used reaches 90%, a storage auto-scaling event would
require raising your storage capacity to 600 GB. In this case,
Atlas scales your cluster tier up to M40
, because this is
the lowest cluster tier which can support the new required
storage capacity.
In the event that your specified maximum cluster tier cannot support the new storage capacity, Atlas:
- Raises your maximum cluster tier to the next lowest tier that can accommodate the new storage capacity.
- Scales your cluster tier to that new maximum tier.
When Atlas overrides your maximum cluster tier, it also disables your cluster from automatically scaling down. If you want to re-enable downward auto-scaling, you must do so manually from your Cluster Settings
If Atlas attempts to scale your cluster tier down and the target tier cannot support your current disk capacity, provisioned IOPS , or both, Atlas does not scale your cluster down. In this scenario, Atlas updates your auto-scaling settings based on the relationship between your current cluster tier and configured maximum cluster tier:
- If the cluster is currently at the configured maximum cluster tier, Atlas disables the cluster from automatically scaling down because all smaller tiers would not be able to accommodate the necessary storage settings. If you want to re-enable downward auto-scaling, you must do so manually from your Cluster Settings.
- If the cluster is not currently at the configured maximum cluster tier, Atlas raises the minimum cluster tier to the current cluster tier. In this case, Atlas does not disable downward auto-scaling.
This auto-scaling logic is designed to reduce downtime incurred by your storage settings not matching your workload.
When an auto-scaling event modifies your configured minimum or maximum cluster tier, Atlas sends an email to all project members with information on the event. The email includes the new cluster tier and information on any modified minimum or maximum tier bounds.
Configure Auto-Scaling Options¶
You can configure auto-scaling options when you create or modify a cluster.
Atlas displays auto-scaling options in the Auto-scale section of the cluster builder:

Configure Cluster Tier Auto-Scaling¶
In the Cluster tier section of the Auto-scale options, you can specify the minimum and maximum sizes to which your cluster can automatically scale.
Atlas defaults auto-scaling set to disabled. To enable auto-scaling:
- In the Auto-Scale section, check Cluster tier.
- Select a Maximum Cluster Size from the dropdown.
When you enable auto-scaling, your cluster can scale to increase capability with a higher cluster tier. To enable auto-scaling to a decrease capability with lower cluster tier:
- Check Allow cluster to be scaled down.
- Select a Minimum Cluster Size from the dropdown.
Considerations for Downward Auto-Scaling¶
- To permit Atlas downscale your cluster to a lower cluster tier may leave your cluster unable to handle your workload. Only allow Atlas to scale the cluster down if you understand your cluster's range of workloads. Account for any possible spikes or dips in cluster activity.
- You cannot scale to a cluster smaller than
M10
. When Atlas downscales your cluster, it checks that your minimum cluster tier bound supports your cluster's current disk configuration. If your selected minimum cluster tier can't support your current disk configuration, Atlas adjusts your minimum tier to the next lowest tier which can support your configuration.
ExampleYou have set your auto-scaling bounds to
M10
-M60
and your current cluster tier isM40
. Atlas triggers a downward auto-scaling event because the average CPU Utilization and Memory Utilization on your current cluster has been under 50% for the past 24 hours.- Atlas attempts to auto-scale your cluster down to
M30
.M30
supports your current disk configuration, so the auto-scaling operation succeeds. - Atlas checks your minimum cluster bound (
M10
) and determines thatM10
cannot support your current disk configuration. - Atlas determines that
M20
is the lowest cluster tier which can support your current disk configuration, and sets your minimum cluster tier toM20
.
- Atlas attempts to auto-scale your cluster down to
Configure Cluster Storage Auto-Scaling¶
Cluster storage scaling is enabled by default. To opt out of cluster storage scaling, un-check the Storage checkbox in the Auto-scale section.
For more information on cluster storage, see Customize Cluster Storage.
Acknowledge Auto-Scaling Events¶
When an auto-scaling event occurs:
- Atlas logs the event in the project Activity Feed. To learn more about the Activity Feed, see View All Activity.
- Atlas sends an email to all project members with information on the event. The email includes the original cluster tier and the new cluster tier after auto-scaling has occurred.