How to Build a Secure and Scalable Architecture on AWS

Blog Article

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a rich portfolio of cloud services that offers architectures with a high level of security and scalability. However, running an application on AWS does come with the caveat that it is not secure or scalable by default. In order to ensure full utilization of AWS services, there is the prerequisite of extensive planning and best practices.

In this article, we will discuss some of the most important tactics and practices that will help achieve security and scalability on AWS. We will discuss security parameters, ways to achieve elasticity, and specific Amazon Web Service(AWS) tools that can be integrated for that purpose.

1. Security Best Practices on AWS

Unlike the rest of the services, security rests on both AWS and their customers. The client is responsible for the applications, configurations, and data whereas the users only have to secure the infrastructure. There are some ways that you can modify security for your AWS architecture.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Leverage AWS’s tools to manage user permissions through Identity and Access Management (IAM).

Adhere to the Principle of Least Privilege by providing the minimal required permissions.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on sensitive accounts.

Instead of putting credentials in applications, use IAM Roles.

Network Security

For proper separation of networks, VPC can be deployed via AWS.

Security Groups and Network Access Control Lists (NACLs) can be used to manage traffic into and from the system.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) on AWS can defend against common online threats.

Shield is helpful for preventing DDoS attacks.

Protection of Data and Encryption

REST data can be encrypted with KMS in S3, RDS, or EBS buckets.

Use TLS/SSL for awesome encryption over data in motion.

Securely store credentials and sensitive details with AWS Secrets Manager.

Supervision and Monitoring

To track API actions, merchants can use AWS Cloud Trail.

For alerts and real-time observation, Amazon Cloud Watch can be used.

Auditing of changes in set configurations and AWS Compliance can be done using AWS Config.

Tools for security improvement and monitoring

With AWS Security Hub, a single view can be obtained across multiple AWS accounts for monitoring best practices.

Automatic detection of threats and suspicious behaviors can be set up with Amazon Guard Duty.

Vulnerability assessment can be automated with AWS Inspector.

2. Scalability Best Practices On AWS

Efficient management of increasing workload is an advantage of Scalability. To support vertical and horizontal scaling, AWS has multiple services and solutions.

Traffic Management and Distribution using Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)

Route mobile applications using HTTP or HTTPS content with ALB.

Low latency and high bandwidth traffic can pass through using NLB.

Scalable security apps can use Gateway Load Balancer (GLB).

Resource Management Elasticity via Autoscaling

Set up Amazon EC2 Autoscale to remove or create new instances automatically according to set limitations.

Employ AWS Lambda as an event-based serverless architecture for scalability.

Enforce Autoscale for Amazon Relational Database Service for database workloads.

Serverless and Containerization Scalability

Use AWS Faregate to run containers without the associated infrastructure management.

Provision the container enabling Amazon EKS or ECS.

Employ AWS Lambda to create serverless applications that scale on demand.

Strategies to Achieve Data Scalability

Store objects in a scalable manner with Amazon S3.

Use Amazon DynamoDB for best-in-class NoSQL data access performance.

Deploy Amazon RDS Read Replicas to offload read operations from the primary database.

Utilize Amazon ElastiCache (Redis/Memcached) for rapid data access.

Global Scalability using AWS Edge

Serve content with low latency using AWS Cloud front CDN.

Route global traffic with optimum speed using AWS Global Accelerator

Deploy highly available and scalable DNS services with Amazon Route 53.

3. Secure Scalable Architecture Example

An architectural best practice for AWS is to combine security and scalability. Here’s a sample of an architecture diagram from one of AWS services to another:

AWS WAF and Shield for protection against web threats.

IAM roles and policies for controlling access.

Data encryption is a must using AWS KMS and TLS.

Scalability Components:

Web traffic can be distributed through an Auto Scaling Group with ELB. Serverless API execution is enabled by AWS Lambda.

Fast content delivery is enabled through Cloud Front CDN.

DynamoDB and Amazon RDS Read Replicas provide scalable databases.

Monitoring & Compliance:

Logging and real-time monitoring is done by Cloud Watch and Cloud Trail.

For auditing changes, AWS Config is used.

Compliance checks are done by AWS Security Hub.

Using this architecture will allow businesses to have both security and scale, ensuring an application is always available during traffic spikes and fending off cyber threats.

Conclusion

To build a secure and scalable architecture on AWS, businesses need to take a proactive approach and take advantage of AWS powerful security features. Using IAM best practices, encryption, and network security controls, and combining them with auto-scaling and serverless architectures makes an application highly available .If you require AWS service to connect with us, leverage our secure, scalable, and reliable cloud solutions for optimal performance."

Modern applications demands can now be accomplished by carefully structuring an organization’s complete architecture using the wide array of tools and services from AWS. Following best practices and careful planning allow the organization to get the most out of AWS and reduce operational costs and risks.

Report this page

HOW TO BUILD A SECURE AND SCALABLE ARCHITECTURE ON AWS

How to Build a Secure and Scalable Architecture on AWS