Tuesday, December 5, 2017

How AWS structures its Infrastructure

This post talks about how AWS structures its global infrastructure. 


AWS' most basic infrastructure is Data Center.  A single Data Center houses several thousand servers. AWS core applications are deployed in N+1 configuration to ensure smooth functioning in the event of a data center failure. 

AWS data centers are organized into Availability Zones. One DC can only be part of one AZ. Each AZ is designed as an independent failure zone for fault isolation. Two AZs are interconnected with high-speed private links. 

Two or more AZs form a Region. As of now (dec '17) AWS has 16 regions across the globe.  Communication among regions use public infrastructure (i.e. internet), therefore use appropriate encryption methods to encrypt sensitive data. Data stored in a specific region is not replicated across other regions automatically. 

AWS also has 60+ global Edge Locations. Edge locations help lower latency and improve performance for end users. Helpful for services like Route 53 and Cloud Front. 



Guidlines for designing 

  • Design your system to survive temporary or prolonged failure of an Availability Zone. This brings resiliency to your system in case of natural disasters or system failures. 
  • AWS recommends replicating across AZs for resiliency. 
  • When you put data in a specific region, it's your job to move it to other regions if you require. 
  • AWS products and services are available by region so you may not see a service available in your region. 
  • Choose your region appropriately to reduce latency for your end-users. 

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