AWS Cloud Computing

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon providing on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. AWS services are categorized into computing, storage, databases, analytics, machine learning, networking, security, and more, which are delivered through a global network of data centers. Key aspects of AWS include:

Compute

Services like Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) provide resizable compute capacity in the cloud, allowing users to quickly scale capacity up and down as computing requirements change. This enables businesses to run applications with varying workloads efficiently, handle sudden spikes in traffic or demand without downtime, and only pay for the computing resources they use, reducing costs and optimizing resource utilization.

Storage

AWS offers various storage solutions for different needs. Amazon S3 is a reliable and expandable service for storing large amounts of data, such as those used in data lakes, big data analysis, and machine learning. Amazon EBS offers storage units that can be connected to EC2 computers for ongoing storage needs. For long-term storage, Amazon Glacier is a budget-friendly choice that ensures your data is securely and durably stored for archiving and backup purposes. Additionally, AWS storage solutions provide features like data encryption, access controls, and versioning, ensuring that your data is protected and easily manageable.

Databases

From relational to NoSQL, AWS offers managed databases like Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon Aurora. RDS provides a fully managed relational database service that supports popular engines like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and SQL Server, allowing for easy migration and management of existing databases. DynamoDB is a fast, highly scalable NoSQL database that is ideal for applications that require low latency and high throughput, such as real-time analytics, gaming, and advertising. Aurora is a high-performance, fully managed relational database engine that is compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL, offering enhanced performance, availability, and durability. These managed databases enable developers to focus on application development, without worrying about database administration tasks like provisioning, patching, and backups.

Networking

Create isolated networks with Amazon VPC and connect to the internet or on-premises data centres using AWS Direct Connect. VPC allows you to create a virtual private cloud within AWS, providing you with a secure environment to run your applications, including the ability to configure custom IP address ranges, subnets, and network ACLs. Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection between your on-premises data centre and AWS, offering higher bandwidth and lower latency than internet connections, making it ideal for applications that require high-speed data transfer, such as data replication, backup, and disaster recovery. Additionally, AWS networking services provide advanced security features, including encryption, firewalls, and access controls, to ensure secure communication between resources and applications.

Machine Learning and AI

Build, train, and deploy ML models with Amazon Sage Maker. Leverage services like Amazon Recognition for image and video analysis and Amazon Comprehend for natural language processing. Sage Maker provides a fully managed platform for machine learning, making it easy for developers of all skill levels to build, train, and deploy machine learning models. Recognition allows you to analyse images and videos for objects, scenes, and faces. Comprehend allows you to extract insights from text data. With these services, you can automate tasks, make predictions, and uncover new insights, enabling you to build intelligent applications and enhance customer experiences. Additionally, AWS machine learning services provide pre-trained models and algorithms, reducing the need for extensive machine learning expertise.

Security and Identity

Protect your data with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), AWS Shield for DDoS protection, and AWS WAF for web application security. IAM allows you to control who has access to your AWS resources, enabling fine-grained access control, identity federation, and multi-factor authentication to ensure that only authorized users and applications can access your data. Shield protects your applications from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which can help prevent service disruptions and data breaches. WAF helps you protect your web applications from common web exploits, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS), by filtering and monitoring incoming traffic. Additionally, AWS provides a range of other security services, including encryption, key management, and compliance tools, to help you meet your security and regulatory requirements.

Analytics

Process and analyse vast amounts of data using Amazon Redshift for data warehousing, Amazon EMR for Hadoop and Spark, and Amazon Athena for SQL-based queries. Redshift is a fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse that makes it easy to analyse large datasets. EMR provides a managed Hadoop and Spark service that allows you to process and analyse large amounts of data. Athena is a serverless query service that makes it easy to analyse data stored in S3 using standard SQL. With these services, you can gain insights from your data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. Additionally, AWS analytics services integrate with machine learning and visualization tools, enabling you to build robust data pipelines and dashboards.

Serverless Computing

Run code without managing servers using AWS Lambda and create and manage APIs with Amazon API Gateway. Lambda allows you to run code without having to provision or manage servers. API Gateway allows you to create and manage APIs for your applications. With Lambda, you can build scalable and event-driven applications, and only pay for the compute time consumed. API Gateway provides RESTful APIs and WebSocket APIs, enabling real-time two-way communication between applications.

IoT

Connect, manage, and process data from IoT devices using AWS IoT Core, AWS IoT Greengrass, and AWS IoT Device Management. IoT Core provides a managed cloud platform for connecting IoT devices to the cloud. Greengrass allows you to run AWS services and custom code on your IoT devices. Device Management provides a service for managing your IoT devices. With these services, you can securely collect, process, and analyse IoT data, and integrate it with other AWS services. Additionally, AWS IoT services provide real-time analytics and machine learning capabilities to help you build intelligent IoT applications.

Developer Tools

AWS provides a suite of tools to streamline development, deployment, and management. Use AWS CloudFormation for infrastructure as code, AWS code Pipeline for continuous integration and delivery, and AWS Code Deploy for automated deployments. CloudFormation allows you to define and manage your AWS resources using a simple declarative language. Code pipeline allows you to automate the process of building, testing, and deploying your applications. Code Deploy allows you to automate the deployment of your applications to EC2 instances. Additionally, AWS developer tools provide integration with popular development tools and services, enabling a seamless development experience. With these tools, you can focus on writing code, not managing infrastructure.

AWS's global infrastructure spans multiple geographic regions and availability zones, enabling customers to deploy applications closer to their end-users for lower latency and better performance. With its extensive service portfolio, AWS caters to a diverse range of use cases, from startups and SMBs to large enterprises and government agencies, offering them flexibility, scalability, and reliability in the cloud.


Case Study 1 National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)
Case Study 2 Prasar Bharati News Services(PBNS)