> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://zugchain.gitbook.io/zugchain/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://zugchain.gitbook.io/zugchain/architecture-and-core/scalability-and-aam.md).

# Scalability & AAM

{% hint style="info" %}
Target: 100,000+ TPS | Latency: < 2s Cross-Shard. ZugChain utilizes Vertical Sharding for parallel execution across N=256 shards.
{% endhint %}

### <mark style="color:$primary;">Paradigm Shift</mark>

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:$info;">Old Paradigm:</mark> <mark style="color:$primary;">Monolithic</mark></td><td>Serial Processing &#x26; Bottlenecking. The entire transaction load accumulates on a single chain, creating severe network congestion.</td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:$info;">ZugChain Paradigm:</mark> <mark style="color:$primary;">Vertical Sharding</mark></td><td>Parallel Execution Across N=256. Transactions are processed concurrently across 256 parallel shards without bottlenecking.</td></tr></tbody></table>

1. <mark style="color:$primary;">SHARD A (TX Submit):</mark> The user initiates the transaction. The payload is submitted and processed on the originating shard.
2. <mark style="color:$primary;">Atomic State Transition:</mark> The secure cross-shard messaging protocol (AAM) engages, transferring the state seamlessly without data loss.
3. <mark style="color:$primary;">SHARD B (TX Finalized):</mark> The transaction is atomically confirmed on the destination shard within seconds, ensuring absolute finality.