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# AWS Services Overview

Lukasz Kolko 3 min read
dev-ops aws cloud
Table of Contents

Serverless Web App

Route 53 → CloudFront → S3 (frontend)
                      ↓
               API Gateway → Lambda → DynamoDB

No servers to manage. Scales to zero when idle.

Containerised Microservices

Route 53 → ALB → ECS (Fargate)
                    ↓
               ECR (images)
               RDS (PostgreSQL)
               ElastiCache (Redis)
               S3 (uploads)

Classic SaaS stack. Replace ECS with EKS if you need Kubernetes.

Rails / Node Backend

ALB → ECS → RDS (PostgreSQL)
        ↓
   ElastiCache (Redis for Sidekiq/BullMQ)
   S3 (ActiveStorage / Multer uploads)
   SQS (async jobs)

ElastiCache handles background job queues; SQS decouples heavier workflows.

Static Site with API

CloudFront → S3 (Next.js/Astro export)
         ↓
   API Gateway → Lambda → RDS (Aurora Serverless)

Frontend cached globally; backend scales on demand.

Compute

EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)

virtual machines on demand

Full control over OS, networking, and storage—ideal for custom runtimes, GPU workloads, or long-running processes.

Lambda

run code without managing servers

Event-driven functions triggered by API Gateway, S3, SQS, or schedules—pay only for execution time.

ECS (Elastic Container Service)

run Docker containers at scale

AWS-managed orchestration that schedules tasks across EC2 or Fargate—simpler than Kubernetes within the AWS ecosystem.

EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service)

managed Kubernetes

AWS handles the control plane while you manage worker nodes or use Fargate for serverless pods.

Fargate

serverless compute for containers

No EC2 to provision—define CPU/memory per task for ECS or EKS and AWS allocates resources automatically.

Storage

S3 (Simple Storage Service)

object storage for anything

Unlimited capacity for files, frontends, uploads, and logs—pair with CloudFront for global delivery.

EBS (Elastic Block Store)

persistent block storage for EC2

Attach SSD or HDD volumes to instances with snapshot support for backups and migrations.

EFS (Elastic File System)

shared file system across instances

NFS-compatible filesystem that multiple EC2 instances or containers can mount simultaneously.

Container Registry

ECR (Elastic Container Registry)

private Docker image storage

Push images from CI into ECS/EKS/Lambda with IAM access control and built-in vulnerability scanning.

Databases

RDS (Relational Database Service)

managed relational databases

PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, or SQL Server with automated patching, backups, and Multi-AZ failover.

Aurora

AWS-native relational engine

MySQL/PostgreSQL-compatible with better performance, auto-scaling storage, and serverless option for unpredictable workloads.

DynamoDB

fully managed NoSQL

Key-value and document store with single-digit millisecond latency and global tables for multi-region replication.

Caching & Queues

ElastiCache

managed Redis or Memcached

Session storage, caching, and pub/sub—perfect for Sidekiq (Rails) or BullMQ (Node) job queues.

SQS (Simple Queue Service)

fully managed message queues

Decouple services with standard or FIFO queues and dead-letter queues for failed messages.

SNS (Simple Notification Service)

pub/sub messaging

Fan-out events to Lambda, SQS, HTTP, or email—combine with SQS for reliable event-driven architectures.

Networking & Content Delivery

CloudFront

global CDN

Cache assets at edge locations with S3/ALB integration, HTTPS, custom domains, and signed URLs.

Route 53

managed DNS

Domain registration with health checks, latency-based routing, and geolocation routing for global apps.

VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)

isolated network environment

Define subnets, route tables, security groups, and NAT gateways—every AWS resource lives inside a VPC.

ALB (Application Load Balancer)

HTTP/HTTPS load balancing

Path and host-based routing with native ECS/EKS/Lambda integration, TLS termination, and sticky sessions.

API Gateway

managed API layer

REST and WebSocket APIs with authentication, throttling, and caching—routes requests to Lambda, ECS, or any HTTP backend.

Security & Identity

IAM (Identity and Access Management)

who can do what

Users, groups, roles, and policies following least privilege—service roles eliminate hardcoded credentials.

Secrets Manager

store and rotate secrets

Database passwords, API keys, and tokens with automatic rotation—SDKs fetch secrets at runtime.

KMS (Key Management Service)

encryption key management

Create and control encryption keys integrated with S3, RDS, EBS, and Lambda.

Monitoring & Logging

CloudWatch

metrics, logs, and alarms

Collect logs, set threshold alarms, visualise dashboards, and query structured data with Logs Insights.

X-Ray

distributed tracing

Trace requests across microservices to identify latency bottlenecks and errors with automatic SDK instrumentation.

CI/CD

CodePipeline

orchestrate release workflows

Source → Build → Test → Deploy pipeline integrated with GitHub, CodeBuild, and ECS/EKS.

CodeBuild

managed build service

Run containerised builds with Docker layer caching—pay per build minute, no Jenkins to maintain.

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