Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud platform that provides users with subscription services.
The list of services includes both infrastructure solutions (for example, servers and storage systems) and ready-made platforms (databases, development environment, etc.).
AWS entered the market in 2006 and is currently number two in capacity.
List of services
1. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
The service provides subscribers with virtual server platforms, storage systems and a load balancer. Users can choose either a pre-configured server with a pre-installed operating system or build it themselves.
The service also allows you to create your own images or use your own OS.
To ensure security, subscribers can restrict access to EC2 servers by IP addresses.
The cost of the service is billed on an hourly basis, and some options are billed on a monthly basis. If the client plans to use EC2, it is recommended to use the reservation function. The subscriber pays immediately for 3 months of work, and the total cost becomes one and a half times lower.
2. Simple Storage (S3)
The service provides subscribers with shared storage space with a maximum of 5 TB. S3 stores files in so-called buckets, which are located on different Amazon sites.
The service keeps a permanent log of all operations on the storage and saves the information in a special bucket. This allows customers to immediately receive detailed information about the latest transactions.
A distinctive feature of the service is the replacement of the «http» protocol with BitTorrent for downloading files.
Subscribers can choose the security policies that apply to buckets. This allows you to differentiate access rights for users, make the cloud completely private, etc. Payment for the service is charged monthly. The cost depends on the amount of disk space, the number of requests and outgoing traffic.
3. Relational Database
This Service provides users with a virtual database, which is located on a dedicated server. At the same time, the platform is configured and optimized for the selected database. The minimum disk space for the database is 5 TB.
Access is configured depending on the wishes of users and security policies. For example, customers can allow connections only from certain IP addresses (subnets) or for those security groups that are specified in the EC2 service.
Subscribers have access to snapshots (SnapShot), replication (asynchronous and synchronous), automatic data backup and metrocluster.
Payment is made similar to the EC2 service - hourly. If you pay three or more months in advance, then the total cost is reduced by one and a half times. Additional features are charged separately.
4. Route 53
This service gives users the ability to set up a DNS server in the Amazon cloud. The service integrates easily with other AWS services.
Payment is charged for the number of requests to the server, but there is also a free limit.
Amazon Web Services provides users with the most affordable cloud solutions.
Reliability and fault tolerance are guaranteed at the level of "six nines" (99.9999%).
The client can flexibly configure the required list of available services by selecting only the necessary ones. Each service has its own personal limit (Free Tier), which significantly reduces the cost of the service provided.
