This document discusses Forward Internet Group's experiences with rapid deployment of applications and services using cloud technologies like Amazon Web Services. It outlines key enablers like focusing on cycle time and fast failure. It also provides examples of how Forward experimented with AWS, including deploying a VM within 5 minutes that normally took 1/2 day with their data center. Statistics on Forward's usage of AWS are also presented, along with best practices learned.

1. Really Rapid Deployment
Fred George
Forward Internet Group, London
fred.george@forward.co.uk
Copyright © 2011 by Forward Internet Group, Ltd 1

2. Experiences at...
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3. forwardtechnology.co.uk
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4. Cost Tradeoff
Defect Fast
Prevention Failure
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5. Key Enablers
✦ Focus on cycle time (and Fast Failure)
✦ Risk-oriented culture
✦ Focus on business metrics by developers
✦ Rapid creation of new servers
✦ Redundancy for capacity and reliability
✦ Including DNS updates
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6. Forward “Hockey Stick”
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7. Experimentation drives
Innovation
✦ Forward experimented with “Cloud”
✦ AWS VM up in 5 minutes
✦ Data center VM up in 1/2 day
✦ IT controversy ensued
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8. ✦ Self-contained group to:
Customer
Developers
IT Support
✦ Self-configure servers
✦ Self-deploy (often)
✦ Self-monitor & -maintain
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9. AWS Features We Use
Agency uSwitch InvisibleHand
✦ Over 20 EC2 ✦ Original .NET ✦ EC2 for stack
instances
✦ Migratingtech to ✦ Ruby,
MySQL,
✦ node.js Ruby, Clojure, MongoDB
MongoDB
✦ 20M visitors/day ✦ EBS for DB backup
✦ 20 EC2 instances
✦ ELB across ✦ S3 to snapshot
different zones ✦+ ELB, S3, RDS,
✦ Autoscaling for
CloudFront
✦ S3 & CloudFront traffic spikes
for assets
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10. Features We Want
✦ DNS - Like UltraDNS (location specific)
✦ Better Web console
Features We Don’t/Won’t
Use
✦ Ruby-, Clojure-specific environments
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11. Statistics -- Tale of the
Tape
✦ 20M requests per day
✦ At least 50 EC2 instances running at any given
time
✦ Serving
✦ 200 clients
✦ 30 countries
✦ 25 languages
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12. Best Practices
✦ Use multiple availability zones and regions
✦ For uptime
✦ Use Autoscaling for spikes
✦ EC2 instances disposable
✦ Build your architecture to accommodate losses
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