AWS cloud architecture is the design of applications and systems that run on the AWS cloud platform. AWS cloud architecture aims to provide high availability, scalability, elasticity, fault tolerance, durability and business continuity for the applications and data hosted on AWS.
High Availability
High availability means that the applications and data are always accessible and operational, even in the event of failures or disruptions. High availability can be achieved by using multiple Availability Zones (AZs), which are isolated locations within an AWS Region that have independent power, cooling and network connectivity. By distributing the application components across multiple AZs, the application can continue to function even if one AZ becomes unavailable.
High Scalability
Scalability means that the applications and data can handle increasing or decreasing demand without compromising performance or availability. Scalability can be achieved by using Auto Scaling, which automatically adjusts the number of instances or resources based on the load or metrics. By using Auto Scaling, the application can scale up or down as needed without manual intervention.
High Elasticity
Elasticity means that the applications and data can adapt to changing requirements or conditions without requiring significant changes to the architecture or configuration. Elasticity can be achieved by using AWS services that are pay-as-you-go and on-demand, such as Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, Amazon RDS and Amazon DynamoDB. By using these services, the application can provision or release resources as needed without wasting money or time.
Fault Tolerance
Fault tolerance means that the applications and data can withstand failures or errors without affecting the functionality or quality of service. Fault tolerance can be achieved by using redundancy, backup and recovery mechanisms, such as Amazon S3 cross-region replication, Amazon EBS snapshots, Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments and Amazon Route 53 health checks. By using these mechanisms, the application can recover from failures or errors quickly and seamlessly.
High Durability
Durability means that the applications and data are preserved and protected from loss or corruption over time. Durability can be achieved by using AWS services that offer high durability guarantees, such as Amazon S3, which provides 11 9’s of durability (99.999999999%) for stored objects, and Amazon Glacier, which provides secure and durable storage for long-term archiving.
Business Continuity Plan
Business continuity plan (BCP) means that the applications and data have a plan to resume normal operations after a disaster or disruption. BCP can be achieved by using AWS services that enable backup, restore and migration of applications and data across regions or accounts, such as AWS Backup, AWS DataSync, AWS Storage Gateway and AWS Migration Hub. By using these services, the application can backup and restore data from different sources and destinations, and migrate applications and data to different environments.
Disaster Recovery Options
Disaster recovery (DR) options mean that the applications and data have a strategy to recover from a disaster or disruption with minimal downtime and data loss. DR options can be achieved by using AWS services that enable replication, failover and recovery of applications and data across regions or accounts, such as Amazon S3 cross-region replication, Amazon EBS cross-region snapshots, Amazon RDS cross-region read replicas and Amazon Route 53 failover routing. By using these services, the application can replicate and synchronize data across regions or accounts, and switch traffic to alternate locations in case of a disaster.