Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform that offers a wide range of web services. Many large companies like Netflix, Expedia, and Airbnb use it today. It's undoubtedly the market's most popular cloud computing platform, and guess what? It's snowballing. This blog post will give you everything to know about Amazon Web Services!
What is a Cloud Computing Platform?
Wait a minute! Before diving into AWS. Do you know what a Cloud Computing platform is? A cloud computing platform lets users access computing resources like servers, storage, databases, software, and networking tools over the internet. So, instead of purchasing and maintaining hardware and software, you can simply access these resources via the cloud. These kinds of services let software and hardware products co-exist simultaneously and scale. Some examples of public cloud platforms include AWS, GCP, Azure, and IBM Bluemix.
What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
Amazon Web Services is a cloud computing platform provided by Amazon that offers services like computing storage, content delivery, and database management. AWS has over 200 services that provide solutions for multiple needs. Amazon publicly launched Amazon Web Services (AWS) on March 3, 2006. AWS offered Simple Storage Service (S3) and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) at launch, and Simple Queue Service (SQS) followed soon after.
What are Amazon Web Services' Most Popular Solutions?
1. Simple Storage Service (S3). Amazon Simple Storage Service provides object storage in the cloud. You can store and retrieve data using versioning, encryption, and lifecycle management.
2. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud lets you launch and manage virtual servers (also known as instances) in the cloud. You can use load balancing and auto-scaling to improve your performance. You can choose from different types and sizes depending on your needs.
3. Relational Database Service (RDS). Amazon Relational Database Service serves relational database management systems (RDBMS) in the cloud. You can use databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and Oracle. Consider also the backups, encryption, and multi-AZ deployment features that ensure your data's availability and durability.
4. Sagemaker. Sagemaker is a wholly managed Machine Learning platform. You can use it to build, train, and deploy machine learning models at any scale with notebooks, algorithms, frameworks, and tools to simplify your ML workflow.
5. Lambda. Lambda allows you to run supported programming languages like Python, Node, or Java code without provisioning or managing servers. A great pro is that you only pay for the computing time you consume, and you can trigger code from HTTP Requests, S3 Events, or DynamoDB Streams.
How does Amazon Web Services (AWS) work?
AWS delivers customer services via data center networks (physical servers) worldwide. These centers correspond to a region and or availability zone. This allows AWS to provide high availability and redundancy to its millions of customers. AWS offers companies and software developers various cloud-based services and solutions to build and run software applications.
Regarding pricing plans, AWS operates on a pay-as-you-go model. AWS pricing is like how you pay for utilities like water and electricity. You only pay for the services you use, and once you stop, there are no extra costs or termination fees. There are also pricing options available such as Savings Plans. Those offer savings for a one or three-year period. Additionally, with AWS, you can get volume-based discounts as your usage increases.
Pros and Cons of Amazon Web Services (AWS)
| Pros of AWS |
Cons of AWS |
| Over 200 available services. |
It's hard to switch to other providers once you build with AWS. |
| Quick and easy deployment with the ability to scale up or scale down. |
Increased learning curve due to its intricacy and feature range. |
| Reliable computing, storage, security, and analytics resources. |
Potential networking glitches can slow performance times. |
| Cost-effective pay-as-you-go subscription plans. |
|
Ultimately, AWS provides a scalable, cost-effective cloud-computing platform through various software services. It helps businesses build and run any app, which empowers companies' infrastructure to become more agile and lower costs. Further, AWS has played a significant role in the growth of cloud computing, helping to create a multibillion-dollar industry where it's the dominant player.AWS has 99 availability zones (AZs) spanning 245 countries and territories and controls 40% of the cloud computing market. But it’s not the only option for cloud computing. Some cloud computing services offer similar or better features for different use cases. What are the established competitors in the cloud computing field?
AWS vs. Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure is an innovative cloud service offered by the multinational tech giant Microsoft. It's a cloud computing service for building, testing, and managing applications. Like AWS, Azure also provides SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS services. And if you didn't know, Azure is growing faster than AWS! In 2022, Microsoft's commercial cloud services hit $23.4 billion in Q1.
AWS vs. Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Google Cloud Platform is Google's cloud service, the leading search engine and technology company. It provides flexible solutions and intelligent insights to help users grow their businesses. Like AWS and Azure, Google Cloud products include SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. GCP has an 11% market share in the cloud computing industry.
So, what are the differences between these three tech giants' cloud computing services?
| |
AWS |
Azure |
GCP |
| Storage |
S3, EBS, EFS |
Cloud Storage, Local SSD |
Blob Storage, File Storage |
| Compute |
EC2, Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk |
Compute Engine, Cloud Functions, App Engine |
Virtual Machines, App Service, Azure Functions |
| Database |
RDS, DynamoDB, Redshift |
Cloud SQL, Spanner, and Datastore |
SQL Database, Cosmos DB, Blob Storage |
| Network |
VPC, Route 53, CloudFront |
VPC, Cloud DNS, Load Balancing |
Virtual Network, Traffic Manager |
| Security |
AM, WAF, Inspector |
Identity-Aware Proxy, Cloud IAM |
Active Directory, Key Vault |
Conclusion
It may be the leading cloud provider in the world, but what does the future hold for AWS? Amazon's cloud-computing platform constantly explores new technologies and domains to improve its offerings. Some examples include Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Microservices, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Likewise, it's entering the world of Augmented and Virtual Reality, which allows access to products like Managed Blockchain and RoboMaker.
AWS is not resting on its laurels but is innovating and expanding its cloud platform to stay ahead of the curve. AWS has a clear vision of the future of cloud computing and is working hard to make it a reality. The platform is a service cloud provider, leader, and partner in the cloud ecosystem. You can expect exciting developments from AWS as it continues to shape the cloud's digital transformation future. What features do you see Amazon launching next?
