A Handy Guide to Amazon Web Services Cloud (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS), a leading cloud computing platform has a capture of more than one-third of the cloud market. In 2020, AWS has embarked on a record breaking $10 billion business. What flows in that makes it a giant player on clouds? Or say one of the primary profit driver for Amazon!

What is AWS exactly? Let us roll our eyes and understand in-depth about the world’s most comprehensive and largely adopted Cloud computing platform- Amazon Web Services Cloud.

What is Amazon Web Services Cloud?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a platform that offers flexible, reliable, scalable, easy-to-use and cost-effective cloud computing solutions.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a highly robust, reliable, scalable infrastructure platform in the cloud that offers a broad set of on-demand cloud services and products including compute, storage, databases, analytics, networking, enterprise applications and other functionalities (like developer tools, management tools, IoT, security) to enterprises and businesses with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. (Discussed below in detail)
• AWS is comprised of an expansive and wide-ranging bundle of cloud computing products and services which when collaborated and joint with each other helps in building highly dynamic and secured applications.
• AWS cloud helps growing startups, enterprises, leading government agencies and businesses become more agile, robust and scalable with its holistic, on-demand secure cloud services.
• AWS is widely used for a variety of computing purposes like: Website hosting, application hosting, media sharing, mobile and social applications, content delivery, storage, backup and disaster recovery among others.

What Are Amazon Web Services Cloud Products?

The Amazon Web Services consists of a wide range of cloud services and products that you can customize as per your business needs on a pay-as-you-use model. From analytics, application integration, front-end web and mobile, machine learning, developer tools, database and more in your disposal; let us introduce you to the major AWS Cloud products with their different functionalities.

Amazon Web Services Cloud Products

Let’s understand these products in detail.

AWS Compute

1. Amazon EC2

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a web service that allows creation a secure, resizable virtual server in the cloud where you can host and execute applications with minimal friction.

2. Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling

Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling helps you maintain application availability when needed. Simply put, you can scale applications on-demand and ensure the right amount of compute.

3. Amazon Lightsail

Amazon Lightsail allows you to easily deploy and manage a web application, quickly launch and manage virtual private servers, and run commercial software with ease.

4. AWS Batch

AWS run enables you to batch computing jobs on AWS at any scale without any need to install or manage batch servers. As the batch is integrated with the AWS platform, it allows to scale and access management capabilities of AWS.

5. AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Elastic Beanstalk is the quickest and simplest way to run and manage web apps on AWS. It provides the capability to handle peaks in traffic while lowering costs and also facilitates tools that preserves app performance.

6. AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda allows you to automatically run code for any type of application based on an event trigger, or say with no administration. Just write the code and upload it to Lambda.

7. Miscellaneous

Other products include Serverless Application Repository, Outposts, Snow Family, VMware cloud, and Wavelength to deliver ultra-low latency apps for 5G devices.

Front-End Web & Mobile

1. AWS Amplify

It is an end-to-end solution that helps mobile and front-end web developers to develop and deploy robust and scalable full-stack mobile and web apps powered by AWS. The framework consists of libraries, UI components, and a CLI toolchain.

2. Amazon API Gateway

API Gateway helps mobile and web developers to build, deploy, maintain and secure APIs at any scale. API Types include RESTful APIs and WebSocket APIs.

3. Amazon Pinpoint

Personalize user engagement at all channels using Pinpoint marketing communication service. Pinpoint allows you to connect with customers through communication channels like email, SMS, Push and voice.

4. AWS AppSync

Boost your app development process with right data from many sources at scale. Appsync powers your apps with simple and secure data access, built-in real-time and offline capabilities and offers fully managed API setup, administration and maintenance with high availability.

5. Device Farm

It is an application testing service that lets you test web and mobile apps on real devices in the AWS Cloud.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominates the cloud market and contributes substantially to Amazon’s profits.

AWS, an extensive and widely adopted cloud computing platform, provides flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions. Its success stems from offering diverse services, including compute, storage, databases, and security, fostering agility, scalability, and top-notch security for businesses worldwide.

AWS Analytics

1. Amazon Athena

A serverless, zero infrastructure, service that makes it convenient to analyze the data and execute queries on the AWS S3.

2. CloudSearch

A simplified, robust and scalable way that ensures you can create a custom-rich search solution without any hassles of setup and maintenance.

3. Elasticsearch Service

Deploy, secure, and run Elasticsearch at scale. Elasticsearch Service also provides you the tool to scale on-demand and simplifies management tasks such as software installation, failure recovery, backups, and monitoring.

4. QuickSight

A business intelligence tool and a fully managed service that lets you create and publish dashboards and ML insights.

5. Other Features

Other important features packaged with Analytics include Data Exchange, Data Pipeline, Glue, Lake Formation, EMR, and Lake Formation.

AWS Database

1. Aurora

Aurora is a high-performance, distributed, fault-tolerant relational database or storage system managed by Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) that has the capabilities of automating admin tasks that consume a lot of time.

2. Amazon RDS

A managed RDS for MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and MariaDB that makes the process of set-up, operation, and scaling up relatively simple.

3. Database Migration Service

Amazon database migration service helps you migrate databases to AWS with minimal downtime securely with rapid speed.

4. Dynamo DB

Dynamo DB is a widely used NoSQL database used for apps that needs little latency data access. Its consistency and fastest response time make it perfect fit for large-scale applications. Few apps supported by DynamoDB are Lyft, Airbnb, and Redfin.

5. Other Features

Other important features include Timestream, Database Migration Service, Keyspaces, and ElastiCache.

AWS Security, Identity & Compliance

1. Identity and Access Management (IAM)

AWS IAM lets you securely manage and access AWS services. It helps you to analyze access, control and protect across the AWS environment.

2. Amazon Cognito

Cognito enables you to handle the authentication process in your mobile app in a fast and convenient way. Its user pool is rich with a user directory that can scale to millions of users. Also, it helps you to do social logins and provides solutions to control access to backend resources.

3. Amazon Detective

Detective makes it easy to find the bug and the main cause of potential security issues or anything suspicious in security findings. It analyzes, investigates and visualizes the security data to give you earlier insights into the root problem.

4. Security Hub

AWS security hub as the name suggests is a home giving you a god view to all your security alerts and posture across your AWS accounts. It provides you robust tools ranging from firewalls and endpoint protection to vulnerability and compliance scanners.

5. Other Features

IAM includes many other features responsible to make the services secure, simple, authenticated and reliable. Some other crucial features include SSO, Shield, Security hub, Inspector, Resource Access Manager (RAM), Firewall Manager and Guard Duty amongst others.

AWS Networking and Content Delivery

1. Virtual Private Cloud

VPC allows launching AWS resources in a virtual network. It provides advanced security features, creates a VPC quickly using the AWS management console and helps in controlling your virtual networking environment.

2. API Gateway

It is a fully managed service that helps developers to create and monitor application interface at scale. It handles all the tasks including traffic management, authorization, and throttling and API version management.

3. CloudFront

CloudFront is a fast, highly secure content delivery network that helps in securely delivering data, videos, applications and APIs at rapid speed to customers geographically.

4. Route 53

Amazon Route 53 is a reliable, highly available and scalable way that connects user requests to infrastructure.

5. Other Features

Global Accelerator, App Mesh, Direct Connect, CloudMap, Private Link, Elastic Load Balancing and Transit Gateway are some other network and content delivery features.

AWS Migration and Transfer

1. Migration Hub

Migration Hub allows you to migrate to AWS in a simple and transparent way. By choosing the AWS and partner migration tools you can see the status of migrations with better visibility throughout your apps.

2. Transfer Family

Easily transfer files to and from Amazon S3 using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), File Transfer Protocol over SSL (FTPS), and File Transfer Protocol (FTP). This feature is a perfect fit for industries like healthcare, retail, BFSI and others. As it helps in securely transferring files like medical records, invoices, and artifacts.

3. DataSync

DataSync allows you to easily move massive data online into and out AWS at the fastest speed (10 times faster). The process is cost-effective, secured and performance rich.

4. Snow Family

Snow family helps customers that run operations in a poor network connection. The Family consists of tools having in-built computing capabilities and capacity points that improve performance irrespective of the network connectivity health.

5. Miscellaneous

Discover other fully managed features of migration and transfer like CloudEndure, Evaluator, and Transfer family on Amazon documentation guide.

AWS Storage

1. Amazon S3 Glacier

Amazon S3 Glacier enables cloud storage for data archiving and long-term backup. Highly durable, S3 Glacier comes with inclusive security and compliance capabilities.

2. S3 (Simple, Storage, Service)

Designed for providing cutting-edge scalability, data availability, security and performance, S3 is used to store, protect data for mobile apps, websites and other digital assets. S3 works wonder in maintaining compliances and meet regulatory requirements for health applications.

3. AWS Backup

AWS Backup simplifies, centralize and automate the backup of data across AWS services. Further, AWS automated backup processes are fully managed, saves time and money.

4. Elastic File System (EFS)

It is a simple, fully managed, secured and resilient file system that can be used with AWS cloud services and on-premise resources. EFS has broadly used business-specific apps and home directories.

5. Other Crucial Features

Some other features include Storage Gateway, Cloud Endure Disaster Recovery, FSx for the windows file server.

Developer Tools

1. AWS Corretto

Amazon Corretto is a free long-lasting support provider to help you upgrade versions. It is production-ready, multiplatform support which includes performance enhancements and security fixes.

2. Cloud Development Kit (CDK)

Amazon CDK is an open-source software development framework that comes with a plethora of benefits like it accelerates your onboarding to AWS, helps you define your infrastructure or cloud application resources using programming languages.

3. AWS Cloud9

It is a cloud IDE that enables you to write, run, and debug your code with just a browser. Cloud9 is power-packed with tools for widely-used programming languages like JavaScript, PHP, Python and more.

4. AWS CodeBuild

CodeBuild allows you to build and test code while eliminating the need to set up, patch, and manage your build servers. CloudBuild is highly resilient and helps you to process and run builds in parallel.

5. Miscellaneous

Several other vital features of developer tools include CodeBuild (build and test code), CodeCommit (store code in private Git repositories), CodeStar (develop and deploy AWS apps), DeviceFarm (to test Android, iOS and web apps on real devices.

Benefits of the Amazon Web Services Cloud

• Lower Variable Cost: AWS Cloud is designed to support startups as it offers full flexibility and a lower pricing model to those who cannot afford the huge cost involved in data server maintenance and installation.
• Increased Speed and Agility: AWS reduces the time to make resources available to developers in a matter of time. Which in turn, lowers the development cost and boosts the efficiency of the organization.
• Top Security: AWS cloud maintains top security levels of the cloud thereby helping in cutting down in-house security costs.

How Codiant Can Help You?

Codiant is a leading Mobile and Web App Development Company that designs, develops, deploys robust applications for enterprises, non-profit organizations, small scale to large scale industries and growing businesses.

From strategy to implementation to customer engagement, Codiant equips clients with their flexible software needs at cost-effective prices. Whether it is developing mobile/web apps or migrating data or enterprise systems to the cloud, we harness robust tools and technologies to empower organizations at their constraint budgets.

Leverage our experience in technologies like:

Native Mobile App Development: iOS (Objective C, Swift), Android SDK (Java)

Hybrid Mobile Application Development: Ionic, React Native, Angular, React JS, Xamarin etc.

Web App Development: MEAN Stack, React JS, AngularJS, NodeJS, PHP, HTML5, CSS.

Cloud Infrastructure: Amazon AWS, EC2, RDS, S3, Digital Ocean, etc.

Hardware/System Integration with App: Wireless protocol Sensors/Chips, Accelerometer, pressure sensors gyro-meter, feedback systems, temperature sensors, transducers etc.

Internet of Things (IoT): with protocols using Bluetooth, BLE, RFID, NFC, WiFi, etc.