AWS (Amazon Web Services)
To secure a business edge in today’s dynamic and highly-competitive corporate world, it is crucial to stay abreast and integrate the latest in technology quickly into your existing IT landscape.
Currently, the technology that is transforming the way business is done today is cloud-computing. Cloud-computing is a ground-breaking technological advancement that enables and gives authorised users the flexibility and the convenience to access and exchange crucial business data over the cloud from anywhere and any device. An on-demand delivery of IT resources and applications via the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. This helps organisations make important business decisions in real time, tapping profit maximizing opportunities right when they occur, without any delay.
If you’re thinking about switching to cloud, then AWS might be your best bet.
Amazon Web Services began offering cloud-computing services in 2006. Cloud-computing not only makes it easy for businesses to access, connect, use and share data but it also helps start-ups and small businesses replace up front capital infrastructure expenses with a small variable cost.
Businesses using cloud then no longer have to plan for or procure servers as they can instantly spin-up hundreds of servers and deliver results fast. AWS offers highly-reliable, low cost infrastructure and scalable platform over the cloud powering thousands of businesses in more than 190 countries. AWS operates in 35 availability zones and within 13 geographic regions worldwide. This includes the US, Europe and even Asia pacific.
AWS further offers a secure suite of cloud computing services including content delivery compute power, database storage and more, helping businesses grow and scale with time.
Cloud Computing: Enabling Organizations
- Flexible, secure, and cost-effective IT infrastructure
- Centrally managed; self-service; efficient
- No need to purchase and maintain new hardware
- Computing resources delivered as a service – pay for only what you use
- More focus on business and customers instead of the IT infrastructure
Cloud Computing Components
- Compute
- Storage
- Network
- Database
- Application Services
- Management
MTCS Compliance
Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the first global cloud service provider to achieve the Singapore Multi-Tier Cloud Security Standard (MTCS SS 584) Level-3 (CSP) certification. This certification gives organizations the clarity to utilize AWS to host and process their highly confidential data in Singapore.
What is Asia AWS Services for AWS Amazon Web Services?
Asia AWS Services is for Asia Pacific based companies and global businesses that have customers located in Asia. Now businesses operating in Asia can leverage on AWS cloud infrastructure platform to run applications and build their business sparing them from massive capital investment in maintaining and running data centres and co-location facilities.
Asia AWS Services aim to help Asia Pacific based businesses invest their time to market and utilise their limited engineering resources on revenue generating areas—areas that matter most to their business. Simply stated, Asia AWS Services are created to help businesses operating in the Asian region (both small and medium sized enterprises) to optimise the power of the cloud.
The AWS Cloud offers excellent visibility into governance and compliance. It comes with built in capabilities like auditing, controlling, configuration, usage and managing identity which helps AWS users conform to and meet the governance, compliance and also the regulatory requirements, successfully.
The AWS cloud compliance enables the users to understand the necessary and robust controls at AWS, much needed to ensure data protection and maintain security over the cloud.
Simply put, with Amazon Web Services, you can rest assured that you will be operating in a secured and well-controlled environment. At the AWS, cloud security is their highest priority.
And as an Amazon Web Services customer, you will truly be able to benefit from a network architecture and data centre that is exclusively designed to meet the security requirements of the most security sensitive companies.
When it comes to switching to the cloud, the biggest concern of many organisations is data migration. Many organisations fear data loss and leak when shifting to cloud. Though this is a genuine concern because the last thing you want is to lose your valuable and confidential business data.
However, with AWS, you don’t have to worry about that as Amazon provides its customers with a suite of high quality tools designed to help move and migrate business data smoothly and successfully.
With the AWS cloud data migration tools like AWS Direct Connect, AWS Export/Import Snowball, Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration and Gateways, you can manage the task of data migration from on-premises locations to the cloud easily.
Besides this, for optimal results and to speed up the data migration process, you can also use a combination of tools.
Amazon Web Services Direct Connect enables customers to quickly establish a structured and dedicated network-connection. This is can be from your business premises to AWS or between your data centre and AWS, or AWS and colocation environment. AWS network connectivity offers several benefits to businesses as it helps:
– Lower network cost
– Improve bandwidth throughput
– Offer an excellent network experience (much better than web based connections)
Following industry standard 802.1q VLANs, AWS network connection can easily be divided into several virtual interfaces, enabling customers to use the same network connection to access public resources like objects saved in Amazon S3.
AWS auto-scaling feature enables users to ensure application availability and also enables users to scale Amazon EC2 capacity, both up and down, according to the user defined conditions.
Additionally, auto-scaling as the name suggests can also multiple the number of Amazon EC2 when the demand spikes. This helps maintain performance.
On the other hand, it can also automatically reduce Amazon EC2 during lulls to keep cost low.
The auto scaling feature is both well-suited for applications that have stable demand patterns and that experience variability in usage.
Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service
Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, Worldwide
In the 2016 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, Worldwide, AWS was named as a leader in the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Magic Quadrant report for 6th consecutive year.
AWS Security & Compliance
Where cloud-computing is one of the best ways to gear up for business success, simultaneously, it is the responsibility of both the customer and AWS to maintain and manage a secure IT environment. Both sides must play their role in maintaining the security of the cloud to ensure that the data is safe and well-protected. And for this reason, it is referred to as shared responsibility environment.
It ensures optimum customer/user security and data safety, Amazon provides its services in a highly-secured and a controlled platform. It offers a wide range of security features that customers can use for their data protection. On the other hand, the customer’s role is to configure their IT environment in a controlled and secure manner. Customers can do this by reading the information about AWS security & control practices in Amazon Web Services whitepapers and on their website.
AWS has created a shared responsibility environment typically to relieve users’ from operational burden. AWS manages, operates as well as controls all components from the host OS (operating system) while the user/customer takes on the responsibility and management of the guest OS which includes updates & security patches. The customer also takes full responsibility of the associated application software programs and AWS configuration provided security-group firewall.
Additionally, Amazon also gives customers the flexibility to enhance their security to meet their compliance and industry specific certification requirements. This can be done by leveraging technologies like host-based intrusion detection & prevention, key management and encryption and host-based firewalls.
AWS focuses on strong compliance governance and requires all customers/users to maintain proper and adequate governance over their entire IT control environment. Some of the leading practices are to:
- Develop a strong understanding of compliance objectives
- Establish a controlled environment that meets these objectives
- Develop a strong understanding of the validation required based on the customer’s risk tolerance.
To assist customers, AWS offers adequate information regarding how to establish a proper IT control environment in AWS security whitepapers, reports, and certifications. Besides this, IT control environment can also be audited by both internal and external auditors to evaluate the design and operational effectiveness.
Data Migration to the AWS Cloud
If you’re thinking to switch to the cloud, then you might be worried about data loss during migration. When switching to the cloud, safe and secure data migration is the biggest challenge for businesses as the risk is high. However, the best way to ensure safe and secure data migration to cloud is to first develop your data migration strategy.
You will first need to determine the best approach based on the dynamics and specifics of your IT environment.
Here, it is important to understand that there are several ways to migrate data from your business premises to the cloud.
Some of the most popular strategies to lift and shift data to the cloud include:
- Onetime large batches
- Intermittent updates
- Constant device streams
- Hybrid data storage strategy
These data migration strategies can be used both separately and together to help successfully switch to the cloud.
Whether to combine different data migration strategies or not, depends on factors like:
- How much data has to be migrated?
- How long will it take to transfer data over the existing web connection?
Though data migration is a concern and a challenge, AWS customers don’t typically worry about this as AWS takes security in the cloud very seriously and offers excellent and several security features in all of its services.
For example:
AWS Direct Connect offers users dedicated and direct physical connection, sparing you from transmitting data over the internet. It uses AWS identity as well as Access Management enabling you, the customer, to control access to Amazon Web Services Direct Connect Management Console.
Likewise, AWS Export/Import Snowball uses Identity & Access Management to control user access. It is integrated with AWS KMS (Key Management Service) that integrates data at rest which is stored on AWS Import/Export Snowball.
AWS offers a variety of managed and unmanaged cloud data migration tools to customers to speed up the data migration process while ensuring unmatched security.
When moving data in trickles and small scales, try using data migration tools like:
- Rsync—This open source helps copy data being migrated directly to S3 buckets
- S3 command-line interface—This is used to quickly write commands to move data to S3 buckets
- Glacier command-line interface—Glacier CLI is used to swiftly shift and move data into Glacier vaults.
AWS Network Connectivity
Amazon Web Service Direct Connect helps establish a fast, well-structured and dedicated network connection. This is created between the customer’s network and at the AWS DC location.
It can be easily divided or partitioned into several virtual interfaces enabling you to use the same network connection to smoothly access public resources like objects that are stored in Amazon S3.
This is done by using public Internet Provider’s address space and private resources like Amazon EC2. Virtual interfaces can also be reconfigured at any time to successfully meet the changing business needs and on-going demands.
Let’s take a deeper dive to understand the plethora of benefits that AWS network connectivity offers to users:
Lowers the Cost of Bandwidth
Lowers the cost of Bandwidth
AWS DC (Direct Connect) can significantly lower your network cost in case you have bandwidth heavy workloads and want to run in AWS. Wondering how? Well, firstly, since the data is transferred directly, it reduces your bandwidth commitment to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). And secondly, all data that is transferred over the AWS dedicated network connection is charged, that too, at the reduced Amazon Web Service Direct Connect data migration rate instead of internet data transfer rate.
With Amazon Direct Connect, you, the customer gets to select the data that uses the dedicated network connection and also how the data is routed. This helps provide users a more consistent experience as compared to internet based connections.
Works Smoothly with All Amazon Web Services
Works Smoothly with All Amazon Web Services
AWS DC works smoothly with all Amazon Web Services such as Amazon S3, Amazon EC2 and Amazon VPC. Besides this, you can also use AWS DC to build a personal virtual interface from your on premise network directly to your Amazon VPC. Furthermore, you can also easily establish private connectivity to several VPCS while enjoying network isolation.
Scalability at Your Fingertips
Scalability at Your Fingertips
With AWS network connectivity you can easily scale your connection to meet your on-going business needs. AWS DC offers one Gbps and ten Gbps connections. In case, if you need more capacity, you can also provision several new connections. Besides, with AWS DC you don’t always have to establish a VPN connection over the web to your Amazon VPC. This is an excellent feature as it helps you avoid the use of VPN hardware which often can’t support data transfer above four Gbps.
AWS Auto-Scaling
AWS Auto-Scaling
To maintain application availability at all times and scale your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), investing in auto-scaling makes sense. AWS auto-scaling helps resize Amazon EC2 capacity up and down that too automatically. It’s the perfect way to ensure that you’re running your Amazon EC2 to its full potential.
When the demand spikes, auto-scaling automatically increases the number of Amazon EC2. This helps maintain performance. On the other hand, during lulls, the auto scaling feature lowers Amazon EC2 capacity helping you keep cost low. This product is perfect for both applications that experience variability and that have consistent demand patterns.
Here is a closer look at some of the amazing benefits of the auto-scaling feature:
- Quick Detection and Replacement of impaired Amazon EC2
Whether you choose to run 1 Amazon EC2 or thousands, auto-scaling can be a great product to invest in as it helps getting you the compute capacity that you, the user, expects. The auto-scaling feature is smart enough to detect and identify impaired Amazon EC2 instances as well as unhealthy applications. Wait there’s more! Not only does it automatically identify problematic Amazon EC2 instances but it also immediately replaces them, sparing you from the hassle and stress.
- Automatically Scales Amazon EC2 Fleet
With AWS auto-scaling, you can easily meet your business demands as it helps you follow the changing demand curve for your application meticulously. It practically eliminates the need to manually provision EC2 capacity. All you need to do to ensure that the Amazon EC2 is scaled timely when needed is to pre-set conditions to add new EC2 instances and remove instances. If you can predict load changes, you can also then set a proper schedule through AWS auto-scaling and define your scaling activities in advance.
Furthermore, you can also benefit from Amazon CloudWatch feature. This feature helps send alters for scaling activities and Elastic Load-Balancing, helping you smoothly distribute traffic to EC2 instances within the auto-scaling groups. Simply stated, the auto-scaling feature truly enables you run Amazon EC2 at its optimal level at all times.
Elasticity - Capacity Planning and Auto-Scaling
Without Auto-Scaling:
With Auto-Scaling:
