AWS Global Infrastructure Overview - Regions, Availability Zones, Edge Locations and more

Summary

This lesson delves into AWS's global infrastructure, explaining the concept of regions and availability zones for high availability and redundancy. It introduces local zones for reduced latency and AWS Outposts for on-premises cloud services. The video also covers Wavelength zones for 5G network integration and CloudFront's edge locations for enhanced content delivery. The focus is on understanding the infrastructure's layout rather than memorizing specific numbers, which are subject to change.

Takeaways

• 🌐 AWS Global Infrastructure refers to the physical and virtual components that make up the AWS cloud platform worldwide.
• 📍 A 'Region' is a distinct geographical area with its own independent infrastructure, and regions are connected through the AWS global network backbone.
• 🏢 'Availability Zones' within a region are clusters of data centers that provide redundancy and high availability for AWS resources.
• 🔁 Each Availability Zone has multiple, redundant power sources and networking to ensure reliability of AWS services.
• 📈 AWS is continuously expanding, with the number of regions potentially increasing beyond the 26 mentioned at the time of the recording.
• 🛡️ Subnets, which can be public or private, are created within Availability Zones to organize and isolate resources for security and organizational purposes.
• 🔌 AWS Outposts allow AWS services to be run on-premises, providing low-latency access to AWS APIs within a company's own data center.
• 📶 'Local Zones' are designed to reduce latency by extending AWS services closer to end-users, improving performance for applications.
• 📲 'Wavelength Zones' offer single-digit millisecond latency to mobile devices and end-users by leveraging 5G networks.
• 🌍 Use cases for AWS Outposts include running AWS services within on-premises data centers, while Wavelength Zones are ideal for live video, machine learning, AR, and VR applications.
• 🚀 CloudFront, AWS's content delivery network (CDN), uses regional edge caches and edge locations to reduce latency by caching content closer to end-users globally.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the lesson in the provided transcript?

The lesson focuses on explaining the AWS global infrastructure, including regions, availability zones, local zones, AWS Outposts, Wavelength zones, and the CloudFront network.

What is an AWS region?

An AWS region is a physical location in the world that hosts the AWS cloud platform. It is independent and geographically distant from other regions.

How are AWS regions connected to each other?

AWS regions are connected via a high bandwidth, fully redundant network known as the AWS global network backbone.

What is an availability zone within an AWS region?

An availability zone is a cluster of data centers within an AWS region, designed to provide redundancy and high availability for cloud services.

What is a local zone in AWS, and what is its purpose?

A local zone is an extension of an AWS region that brings AWS services closer to end users to reduce latency, improving the user experience by minimizing network delay.

What does AWS Outposts allow users to do?

AWS Outposts allows users to run AWS services on dedicated hardware within their own data centers, providing low latency access to AWS APIs on-premises.

What is the purpose of Wavelength zones in the AWS infrastructure?

Wavelength zones are designed to provide single-digit millisecond latency to mobile devices and end users by connecting services via a 5G network.

What are the use cases for AWS Outposts?

AWS Outposts are used to run AWS services within on-premises data centers, allowing for the use of AWS APIs on-premises and reducing latency.

What is the role of regional edge caches and edge locations in the AWS infrastructure?

Regional edge caches and edge locations are part of the CloudFront network, a content delivery network service, used to cache content closer to end users for better performance.

How does the CloudFront network benefit users?

The CloudFront network reduces latency by caching content such as video files or images in edge locations close to the users, allowing for faster content delivery.

What is the significance of the number of AWS regions and availability zones mentioned in the transcript?

The numbers indicate the scale of the AWS global infrastructure but are not crucial for understanding the concepts or for exams, as AWS is constantly expanding and the numbers are subject to change.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 AWS Global Infrastructure Overview

This paragraph introduces the AWS global infrastructure, focusing on the concept of 'regions' which are physical locations that make up the AWS cloud platform. Regions are independent and geographically distant from each other. Within each region, there are 'availability zones', which are clusters of data centers. As of the recording, there are 26 regions, but this number is constantly changing as AWS expands. Regions are connected via a high-bandwidth, fully redundant network known as the AWS global network backbone. Each region contains at least two availability zones to provide redundancy. The paragraph also mentions 'local zones' which extend regions closer to end users to reduce latency. Latency is the delay over a network, and it increases with distance from the service. The infrastructure within a region includes multiple availability zones, each composed of one or more data centers with redundant power and networking for high availability. AWS Outposts allow running AWS services on-premises, and 'wavelength zones' enable low-latency connections to end users via 5G networks. Use cases for these components include on-premises AWS API access, single-digit millisecond latency for mobile devices, and reduced latency for end users.

05:02

📡 CloudFront Network and AWS Infrastructure Details

The second paragraph delves into the CloudFront network, which is a content delivery network (CDN) service that caches content like video files and images in 'edge locations' close to users worldwide. This reduces latency and improves performance by serving content from locations that are geographically closer to the users. The paragraph emphasizes that the number of edge locations and regional edge caches can change and that it's not necessary to memorize these numbers for the AWS exam. The focus is on understanding the concepts rather than exact figures. The paragraph concludes with a mention of the dynamic nature of AWS infrastructure, indicating that the numbers provided are subject to change and that the key takeaway is the global reach and performance optimization of AWS services.

Keywords

💡AWS Global Infrastructure

AWS Global Infrastructure refers to the comprehensive network of data centers, services, and technologies that make up Amazon Web Services' cloud platform. It is the backbone of AWS's global reach and service delivery. In the video, this concept is central to understanding how AWS operates on a worldwide scale, with regions, availability zones, and various other components ensuring high availability and low latency for users.

💡Region

A Region in the context of AWS is a distinct physical location within the AWS Global Infrastructure. Each region is independent and geographically separated from others to ensure redundancy and disaster recovery. The script explains that regions are crucial for deploying resources and are connected via the AWS global network backbone, highlighting their importance in the distribution of cloud services.

💡Availability Zone

Availability Zones (AZs) are subsets within an AWS Region, composed of one or more data centers. They are designed to provide even higher levels of fault tolerance and redundancy. The script mentions that deploying resources across AZs can significantly enhance the availability of applications, as each AZ is equipped with redundant power and networking.

💡Local Zone

A Local Zone is a service that extends AWS regions closer to end users, thereby reducing latency. The script describes Local Zones as a way to bring AWS services physically closer to users, which is particularly beneficial for applications requiring single-digit millisecond latencies, such as live video streaming or gaming.

💡Wavelength Zone

Wavelength Zones are a type of AWS service delivery point that operates over a 5G network. The video script explains that Wavelength Zones allow for low-latency connections to mobile devices and end users, making them suitable for latency-sensitive applications like AR/VR, live video, and machine learning.

💡Latency

Latency, as discussed in the script, is the delay experienced over a network and is a critical factor in the performance of cloud services. The script emphasizes the importance of reducing latency by deploying services in Local Zones and Wavelength Zones, which are closer to the end users.

💡Subnet

In AWS, a Subnet is a segment of a VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) where you can place groups of isolated resources. The script mentions that subnets can be either public or private and are always located within an Availability Zone, allowing for organized and secure deployment of resources.

💡Redundancy

Redundancy in the context of AWS refers to the duplication of critical components to ensure reliability and high availability. The script explains that each Availability Zone has redundant power sources and networking, which is vital for maintaining service continuity in the event of a failure.

💡AWS Outposts

AWS Outposts enable customers to run AWS services on-premises, providing low-latency access to AWS APIs and services within their own data centers. The script describes Outposts as a way to extend AWS infrastructure to local environments, which is useful for applications that require local data processing or low-latency access.

💡CloudFront

CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service offered by AWS. The script explains that CloudFront uses regional edge caches and edge locations to store content closer to end users, improving performance by reducing latency when delivering content like videos or images.

💡High Availability

High Availability (HA) in the context of AWS refers to the design of systems to ensure that they are highly resistant to failures. The script discusses how deploying resources across multiple Availability Zones within a Region contributes to high availability, as it provides a means to maintain service continuity even if one AZ goes down.

Highlights

Introduction to AWS Global Infrastructure, covering the physical and logical components that make up the AWS Cloud Platform worldwide.

Definition of a region in AWS as a physical location that is independent and geographically distant from other regions.

Explanation of availability zones within a region, composed of one or more data centers.

AWS's constant expansion, with the number of regions expected to increase beyond the 26 mentioned at the time of recording.

Description of the AWS global network backbone, a high-bandwidth, fully redundant network connecting all regions.

Deployment of resources across availability zones for redundancy and high availability.

Introduction to local zones, which extend regions closer to end users to reduce latency.

Importance of latency in network performance and its reduction through local zones.

Details on AWS Outposts, enabling AWS services to run on-premises for low-latency access.

Use of AWS Outposts for developing applications within an on-premises data center.

Overview of Wavelength Zones, providing services to end users via 5G networks with low latency.

Use cases for AWS Outposts, including running AWS APIs on-premises.

Use cases for Wavelength Zones, focusing on single-digit millisecond latency for mobile devices and applications like live video, machine learning, AR, and VR.

Use cases for Local Zones, similar to Wavelength Zones but focusing on reducing latency for end users and applications.

Explanation of Regional Edge Caches and Edge Locations as part of the CloudFront network for improved content delivery.

Impact of caching content in edge locations on reducing latency and improving user experience.

Acknowledgment of the dynamic nature of AWS Global Infrastructure numbers and the importance of understanding concepts over exact figures.

Transcripts

[Music]

in this lesson i'm going to cover the

aws global infrastructure so what i'm

talking about is the infrastructure that

makes up the aws cloud platform around

the world

now the first concept to understand is a

region a region is a physical location

in the world and regions are independent

from each other and they're

geographically distant from each other

as well

within a region we then have

availability zones availability zones

are composed of one or more data centers

and you can essentially think of these

as a cluster of data centers now there

are lots of regions around the world as

of this recording there are 26 but i

added a plus there because that might

well have changed by the time you watch

this video aws are constantly expanding

and you don't need to let me know when

it's changed i know it's changing all

the time and you don't need to remember

these numbers for the exam so the aws

regions are connected via a high

bandwidth fully redundant network that's

the aws global network backbone

now each region will contain two or more

availability zones so that means that

you can deploy your resources across

availability zones and you get lots of

redundancy by doing that

there's also something called a local

zone which we'll go into in a bit more

detail shortly

local zones extend regions closer to

your end users really that's for

reducing latency latency is the delay

over a network typically the farther you

are from a specific service the more

latency there's going to be across that

network

so let's look inside of region in a bit

more detail

so within a region as i mentioned there

are two or more availability zones

within those availability zones you can

create your subnets they can be public

subnets or private subnets and each

subnet is always within an availability

zone and you can create many many

subnets availability zones are one or

more data centers each availability zone

is composed of one or more data centers

and each of those data centers will have

redundant power sources you also have

redundant networking within each of the

data centers so there's lots of

redundancy for power for cooling for

networking for all of the resources on

which the cloud services depend

so you can then deploy your resources

across subnets and availability zones

and you get lots of high availability

for your applications

so what other components are there so

let's say we have our region here with

some availability zones and we've

created our subnets

we might want to extend some of the

services into our on-premises data

center within our company so we can use

aws outposts to do exactly that

with outposts you can run some aws

services on dedicated hardware within

your own data center

and that means that you've got really

low latency access and you can develop

and build your applications within your

own on-premises data center

we also have local zones so local zones

help you to get aws services closer to

your end users

and that means you get lower latency so

less delay over the network because

they're closer than the region might be

to wherever you actually are or your

users actually are

we also have something called a

wavelength zone this is also about

getting your services to your end users

but in this case via a 5g network

so users can connect with low latency

over their 5g networking to services

that you're running in the wavelength

zone and those are all connected to your

aws region as well

so what are the use cases for aws

outposts

we would use it to get aws services

running in our on-premises data centers

and so that we can use aws apis on

premises

for wavelength zones this is about

getting single digit millisecond latency

to mobile devices and end users

it's good for live video use cases

machine learning augmented reality and

virtual reality and then lastly for

local zones we want to use these for

single digit millisecond latency to our

end users and applications and again for

similar use cases as the wavelength zone

another important part of the aws global

infrastructure is regional edge caches

and edge locations these are part of the

cloud front network cloud cloudfront is

a content delivery network services cdn

and essentially what we use these for

are to get content closer to our end

users for better performance

so for example we might cache video

files or images in the edge locations

that are close to our users around the

world and there are many edge locations

and regional edge caches so that means

the latency is lower and the users can

download or watch those videos without

having to go a long distance around the

world to get them

so that's the cloudfront network and of

course again these numbers are subject

to change

lastly i'll just show you the actual

numbers for the aws global

infrastructure today as i mentioned

these numbers change all the time so you

don't need to let me know when they

change i'm aware of that and it's not

important for the exam to know any exact

numbers for the number of regions or azs

you just need to understand the basic

concepts around these different parts of

the global infrastructure but it's good

to get an understanding of how many of

these there are around the world

[Music]