Blog Details

Technology

AWS DevOps: All You Need to Know About

March 21, 2023

In recent years, we have seen trends favoring AWS DevOps. A blend of the leading cloud platform and a proven set of strategies to deploy applications at scale is bound to attract attention.

DevOps is a phenomenon with a USD 4 Billion market in 2019 and an expected compound annual growth rate of 20% from 2020 to 2026. DevOps' association with an all-inclusive and widely adopted cloud platform (AWS) makes sense, as the cloud is its most significant growth driver.

AWS DevOps: All You Need to Know About

If you, too, wish to jump into the AWS DevOps bandwagon, read on. We unravel the ins and outs of this phenomenon to give you a jumping-off point for informed decisions.

DevOps Spelled Out:

DevOps is a multi-disciplinary approach to software development. Think of it as a blend of new-age “cultural philosophies, practices, and tools.” When appropriately mined, it boosts the speed at which a company rolls out applications and services. That helps the company stay competitive and profitable.

DevOps is a portmanteau combining “Development” and “Operations.” True to the name, it merges the development and operations departments to ensure quick and flawless application building, testing, and deployment at scale. DevOps is about automating processes, promoting collaborations, and democratizing decision-making. As a side note, it is an improved version of agile and lean.

DevOps in Action:

Traditionally, codes were developed, tested, and deployed in isolation. Enter DevOps; these individual processes are automated and integrated into a single operation. The team that develops a code works with the team that tests and deploys it.

The cross-team communication and collaboration, thus achieved, helps eliminate glitches and costly bottlenecks. That positions the company to fast-track the software’s time-to-market while maintaining quality standards throughout the product life cycle.

Why DevOps?

Call DevOps an advantage that no software development company can afford to pass up. Here’s why.

  • Accelerated Development:

DevOps guarantees rapid application workflows from inception to deployment. Those who write code and test and deploy it work as a single, unified team. The cross-team collaboration and communication, thus achieved, allows for quick planning and execution. As the processes are well-defined and prioritization is clear, unplanned work can be handled quickly.

  • Complete Control Over SDLC:

With DevOps, you have complete control over every aspect of the application development. The team can take a collaborative approach to application design thanks to cross-team communication and collaboration. With feedback pouring in constantly, the team can implement changes for code improvements. The application, thus, evolves organically.

  • Better Quality:

DevOps not only translates to better productivity but also helps maintain quality standards. As the team members are organically communicating with each other, the complexities and errors are minimized. That leads to a better Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR) in an outage or incident.

  • Formidable Security:

Implementing security measures across the entire SDLC is easy and quick with DevOps, thanks to the centralized architecture. DevOps teams are in a position to fix vulnerabilities and automate data as per the company’s security requirements. Also, they can easily restrict access to the most sensitive part of the workflow.

Also Check: DevOps Engineer Skills

AWS Spelled Out:

AWS is an abbreviation for Amazon Web Service. It’s the leading cloud platform with 33% of the USD 494.7 billion public cloud market. That’s way higher than the next two competitors, Microsoft Azure (21%) and Google Cloud (8%). The platform offers over 200 services through a network of Availability Zones, Regions, and Edge locations across 180 countries. AWS’s global execution capabilities and comprehensive range of cutting-edge products allow it to cater to all needs. From Twitter, Facebook, and Netflix to small and medium enterprises, all vouch for AWS to stay agile, innovative, and cost-efficient.

AWS in Action:

To understand how AWS works, let’s first get our heads around cloud computing. Simply put, it democratizes access to IT resources through cyberspace. Cloud computing frees you from investing in storage, computing power, databases, networking, analytics, AI, IoT, and other resources. Everything can be accessed via the cloud anytime and anywhere on a pay-as-you-go basis. Your data stays in the cloud infrastructure, protected and easily accessible, on-demand.

AWS takes cloud computing to the next level with the broadest and deepest range of services. From infrastructural resources to emerging technologies, you have everything at your disposal to move your applications to the cloud and create new ones at scale. Just create an account and get started. No setup, software installations, or infrastructure is required. Besides provisioning and configuring, AWS allows seamless scaling to meet your current and future needs. AWS even makes automation, the cornerstone of DevOps, quick and easy across the entire software development lifecycle.

AWS DevOps: An Overview

AWS compliments DevOps with tailor-made tools and services, allowing rapid and continuous building, testing, and deployments. The platform makes available all the IT resources a DevOps team requires to stay productive and efficient across all levels of the software development life cycle. From monitoring codes and automating processes to deployment and release, AWS DevOps can help at each step.

AWS DevOps Architecture

We understand your eagerness to implement DevOps on AWS. However, not so fast. First, you need to know the AWS DevOps architecture. Here it comes.

  • CloudFront.

Think of it as a content distribution service. From dynamic and static to streaming, every type of content is made available to your users through a global network of databases. As soon as the user requests, the edge location closest to him/her delivers the content without delays while retaining quality. The service works well with other cloud platforms.

  • Elastic Load Balancing

An integral part of virtually all application architectures, Load Balancing, takes care of your incoming traffic. It disseminates EC2 traffic to various “healthy” resources via a network of Availability Zones. With Elastic Load Balancing, AWS allows for quick automation of load balancing. Plus, it automatically adjusts to the fluctuating traffic volume without troubling the flow of requests.

  • Security Group:

AWS addresses the security concerns with Security Group. Serving as a virtual firewall, it blocks out unauthorized requests for EC2 access. The access is granted only when the user furnishes the right protocols and ports. Inbound rules and outbound rules govern the Security Group. The former regulates incoming traffic to the virtual server in EC2, while the latter manages outgoing traffic. You are free to alter the rules anytime to suit your needs.

  • Elastic Caches:

It is an online service designed to control memory cache in the cloud. Rather than depending exclusively on lethargic disk-based databases, the service leverages in-memory caches to salvage frequently used data. That translates to better performance and scalability of web applications.

  • Relational Database Service (RDS)

Setting up, operating, and scaling relational databases is a hassle. That’s where Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) kicks in, keeping it simple and sorted. Amazon RDS handles day-to-day functions across all types of databases, from Microsoft SQL Server and Amazon Aurora to MariaDB, MySQL, Oracle, and more. It proves to be economical as well.

  • Simple Storage Service (S3)

It’s an “object storage service” that can preserve application data in large quantities. Using S3 is a breeze, thanks to a friendly user interface with clever management features. Feel free to store, archive, and access data from the place and time you choose for a wide range of applications. Even data deletion is possible.

  • Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)

Looking for block storage solutions? AWS has you covered with EBS. The data partitions and application logs can be quickly taken care of while ensuring quick access long after the expiry of individual containers. It’s ideal for applications that require random or continuous read and write.

  • Auto Scaling

Here’s a web service that keeps track of the applications and alters the capacity to ensure reliable performance while maintaining cost efficiency. It clubs servers to build a capacity group that can be increased and decreased on-demand. With a user-friendly interface, the service makes scaling easy and quick for several resources across several benefits, such as but not limited to, ECS tasks, Aurora Replicas, and DynamoDB tables and indexes.

AWS DevOps Advantage:

AWS is more than compatible with DevOps principles and practices. Here’s how.

  • Fully Managed Service:

AWS is a fully-managed service, meaning you can skip the hassle of installing and managing IT infrastructure. With everything taken care of, you can focus on your core competencies.

  • Quick Start:

Getting started with AWS is a breeze. Just create an account and get started. You don’t need to put together infrastructure or install any software.

  • Scaling Made Easy:

Up or down, scaling is easy with AWS. Be it a single instance or several thousand, the cloud platform can scale to your exact needs to ensure need-based solutions. Even provisioning and configuration are rapid and easy.

  • Facilitates Automation:

DevOps is much about automation. AWS facilitates the automation of all aspects of SDLC, from building and testing to configuration management and deployments. That keeps DevOps teams efficient and productive.

  • High-Level Security:

With AWS, high-level security comes by default. The Identity and Access Management (IAM) feature allows you to define security protocols. With granular control thus achieved, it is up to you to decide who can access the data and who cannot. How the data is accessed is also your prerogative.

  • It’s Programmable:

The service can be used through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Software Development Kits (SDKs), or the AWS Command Line Interface. CloudFormation templates are also there for convenient provisioning.

  • Wide Compatibility:

AWS is compatible with a wide range of third-party tools. The integration part is also easy, allowing you to create turkey solutions suiting your requirements and budget.

  • It’s even Economical:

AWS works on a pay-as-you-go model, meaning you only pay for what you use in a specified period. The onerous long-term contracts and any punitive actions for early contract terminations are out of the way. What better? You need not pay anything upfront.

Conclusion:

AWS DevOps is an enabler of software development. It combines the power of DevOps philosophies and practices with cutting-edge cloud computing for rapid, high-quality, and economical application development. AWS has what it takes to simplify infrastructure provisioning, configuration, and management. It also aids automation and streamlines code testing, deployment, and release to reduce time-to-market and qualitative improvements.

Hope the article gives you the kind of insights you are looking for. Feel free to contact us for more information and/or feedback. The comment section is right below. For more informative and helpful content, watch the space. We are your one-stop resource for all things tech.

Also Check: