Best way to handle a Laravel multitenant application for best and affordable scaling

Hey Louis,

Scaling a multi-tenant application, especially with Laravel, can be both fun and a bit tricky. It would essentially be up to some personal preferences and use-cases.

Here are some of my thoughts on this:

On the topic of single Droplet vs multiple Droplets:

• Single Droplet:

  • Advantages:
    • Save costs.
    • Easy management.
  • Drawbacks:
    • Potential performance issues.
    • Single point of failure for all customers.

• Multiple Droplets:

  • Advantages:
    • Better isolation and potential performance.
    • Scale per tenant. This is probably the most important one!
  • Drawbacks:
    • Costs add up.

You can always start with one Droplet. When things get tight, consider scaling later on.

On the database side:

Option: Single Droplet, Multiple Databases.

• Advantages:
  • Unified database management.
  • Saves money.
• Drawbacks:
  • Shared resources.
  • Trickier backup procedures.

Option: Managed DigitalOcean Databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis).

• Advantages:
  • Seamless scaling.
  • High reliability.
• Drawbacks:
  • A bit more pricey but compensated by the operational ease.
  • Some customizability might be lost.

I would personally do the following:

1. Start with one Droplet, multiple databases. Perfect for when you’re bootstrapping.
2. Use caching. Redis with Laravel is a solid combo.
3. Make sure to use the DigitalOcean’s monitoring.
4. Docker might be up your alley. Then scaling after that you can dive into managed databases.
5. Always enable Backups

Here is an article that we wrote a while back on how to scale your Laravel app using a Managed database and DigitalOcean Spaces:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-a-scalable-laravel-6-application-using-managed-databases-and-object-storage

Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Bobby