Developing and Deploying Applications Using AWS Outposts

Swapnil Vishwakarma 09 Jan, 2023 ā€¢ 5 min read

This article was published as a part of theĀ Data Science Blogathon.

Introduction

Introduction to AWS Outposts
Source – pexels.com

AWS Outposts is a fully managed service that allows users to extend the AWS infrastructure to their premises. This means that users can build and run applications on their premises using the same programming interfaces as in AWS Regions. This allows for lower latency and local data processing.

An Outpost is a pool of AWS compute and storage capacity installed at a customer site. AWS operates, monitors, and manages this capacity as part of an AWS Region. Users can create subnets on their Outpost and specify them when creating AWS resources like EC2 instances, EBS volumes, ECS clusters, and RDS instances. This allows instances in Outpost subnets to communicate with other instances in the AWS Region using private IP addresses, all in the same VPC.

AWS Outposts provide local access to AWS-managed infrastructure and allow users to create various resources on their Outpost, including Amazon EC2 instances, Amazon EBS volumes, and Amazon RDS instances. This allows users to support low-latency workloads that must be run in close proximity to on-premises data and applications.

Overall, AWS Outposts provide a convenient way for users to access AWS services and resources on their premises while still being able to take advantage of the benefits of the AWS cloud.

How Does AWS Outpost Work?

Way AWS Outposts work
Source – Unsplash

AWS Outposts are fully managed, native AWS hardware that can run AWS services on-premises. AWS Outposts enable native AWS services, infrastructure, and operational models to be delivered to practically any data center, co-location facility, or on-premises solution.

The following are some of the prime elements of AWS Outposts and how they function:

  • Network components: AWS Outposts come with network switches and routers managed by AWS. These network components connect your on-premises resources to the rest of the AWS infrastructure.
  • VPCs and subnets: Like in the cloud, AWS Outposts use virtual private clouds (VPCs) and subnets to isolate your on-premises resources logically. You can create multiple VPCs and subnets on your AWS Outposts to suit your needs.
  • Routing: AWS Outposts come with a default route table to route traffic between your on-premises resources and the rest of the AWS infrastructure. Additionally, you can create and manage the custom route tables on your AWS Outposts to control how traffic is routed.
  • DNS: AWS Outposts come with a Domain Name System (DNS) service that can be used to resolve domain names to IP addresses. This allows your on-premises resources to communicate using domain names instead of IP addresses with other AWS services.
  • Service link: The service link is a dedicated network connection between your AWS Outposts and the rest of the AWS infrastructure. This connection transmits data between your on-premises resources and AWS services.
  • Local gateways are virtual appliances that run on your AWS Outposts and act as gateways to other AWS services. These gateways provide access to services like Amazon S3 and Amazon EBS, allowing you to store and manage data on your AWS Outposts.
  • Local network interfaces: Local network interfaces are virtual network interfaces that are attached to your AWS Outposts. These interfaces can connect your on-premises resources to other AWS services, like Amazon EC2.

Overall, AWS Outposts provide a seamless and consistent experience for running AWS services on-premises, allowing you to use the same tools and APIs that you use in the cloud.

Security in AWS Outposts

Security in AWS Outposts
Source – Unsplash

AWS Outposts is a reliable platform designed to meet the needs of the most security-sensitive companies. Security is a shared responsibility between AWS and its customers, and the shared responsibility model also applies to AWS Outposts. This means that AWS is responsible for protecting the infrastructure that runs the platform, including the global network and data centers. At the same time, customers are responsible for protecting their data and ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

To help customers protect their data, AWS suggests using Amazon IAM to manage access to AWS services and resources. IAM allows customers to create and manage individual user accounts, each with its unique credentials and permissions. This helps to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data and ensures that only authorized users can perform specific tasks in the AWS environment.

In addition to security measures at the infrastructure level, AWS Outposts even provide encryption for data in transit and at rest. Amazon EBS encryption is available for Outpost racks to encrypt EBS volumes and snapshots using AWS KMS keys. For Outpost servers, the Amazon EC2 instance store is encrypted by default. This ensures that data is protected while it is being transmitted between the Outpost and its associated AWS Region, as well as while it is stored on the platform.

Finally, when customers stop or terminate EC2 instances on AWS Outposts, the memory allocated to those instances is scrubbed (set to zero) by the hypervisor before it is allocated to a new instance. This helps prevent any sensitive data from being inadvertently accessed by future platform users.

Overall, AWS Outposts provides a secure and reliable platform for customers to run their applications and workloads. By following best practices for data protection and access management, customers can ensure that their data remains secure on the platform.

Use Cases of AWS Outposts

There are several use cases for AWS Outposts, including the following:

  1. Disaster recovery: By running AWS services on-premises with Outposts, you can use the cloud for disaster recovery without moving your data and applications off-site. This can provide a fast and reliable way to recover from disasters like power outages, network failures, and natural disasters.
  2. Edge computing: AWS Outposts can be used for edge computing, which involves running workloads at the edge of the network, closer to users and devices. This can be useful for applications that require low latencies and high-speed data transfer, like real-time analytics and internet of things (IoT) applications.
  3. Compliance and regulatory requirements: By running AWS services on-premises with Outposts, you can maintain control over your data and applications, which can be helpful for companies that need to comply with strict data privacy and security regulations.
  4. Hybrid cloud: AWS Outposts can be used as part of a hybrid cloud strategy, allowing you to run some workloads on-premises and others in the cloud. This can provide flexibility and scalability while maintaining control over your data and applications.
  5. Cost savings: By running AWS services on-premises with Outposts, you can save on data transfer costs and reduce the need for extra hardware and infrastructure. This can result in notable cost savings for your company.

Conclusion

AWS Outposts is a fully managed service that allows users to extend the AWS infrastructure to their premises. This means that users can build and run applications on their premises using the same programming interfaces as in AWS Regions. This allows for lower latency and local data processing.

  • AWS Outposts are fully managed, native AWS hardware that can run AWS services on-premises.
  • AWS Outposts bring native AWS services, infrastructure, and operating models to virtually any data center, co-location space, or on-premises facility.
  • AWS Outposts provide a seamless and consistent experience for running AWS services on-premises.
  • Security is a shared responsibility between AWS and its customers for AWS Outposts. AWS is responsible for protecting the infrastructure, and customers are responsible for protecting their data and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
  • AWS Outposts come with various network components and services, like network switches and routers, VPCs and subnets, a default route table, and a DNS service.

Overall, AWS Outposts provide a convenient way for users to access AWS services and resources on their premises while still using the AWS cloud’s benefits.

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