This document provides an overview of Amazon Web Services (AWS), including key infrastructure services like Amazon EC2, S3, SQS, and CloudFront. It describes what EC2 is and how it provides virtual servers in AWS's cloud via API calls. Storage options on EC2 like instance store, block storage, and S3 are also summarized. Concepts related to EC2 like AMIs, security groups, elastic IP addresses, availability zones, and snapshots are defined. Finally, typical organizational uses of AWS like maintaining AMIs and launching instances for users are briefly outlined.

1. Amazon Web ServicesAmazon Web Services
The Blue Book pages 19 onwards

2. ReferencesReferences
http://developer.amazonwebservices.com
/connect/forumindex.jspa

3. An overview of AWSAn overview of AWS
AWS is Amazon’s umbrella description of all
of their web-based technology services.
Mainly infrastructure services:
◦ Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
◦ Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)
◦ Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
◦ Amazon CloudFront
◦ Amazon SimpleDB
Amazon EC2 is hiring
◦ http://aws.amazon.com/ec2-jobs/

4. Amazon EC2Amazon EC2
EC2 provides web services API for
provisioning, managing, and deprovioning
virtual servers inside amazon cloud.
Applications anywhere on the Internet
can launch a virtual server in the amazon
cloud with a single web services call
(either REST or SOAP WS call)
Where is SOAP API? For example,
http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AmazonEC2/dg/2006-06-26/using-soap-api.html

5. Storage
Instance –store : disappears with the
instance (transient)
Block storage: SAN-like, persists across
time
S3 is independent of an instance: for
archival purposes: vault: store it now and
retrieve it at a later date
Amazon: SimpleDB: Relational database
better than MySQl or Oracle for
reliability.

6. Amazon Cloud-front
Cloud-based content distributing
network enables you to place the content
at the edges of the network for rapid
delivery.
Place the contents in S3 and run the
application from anywhere and the
content is moved to where the
application is (to the edges).

7. S3
 Amazon web services API support the ability to:
 Find buckets and objects
 Discover their meta data
 Create new buckets
 Upload new objects
 Delete existing buckets and objects
 When manipulating the buckets you can optionally
specify where they should be stored.
 Use REST API preferably something that abstracts out
even that: Jets3t; s3cmd (command line)
 BitTorrent access to S3 is also available

8. Bucket Naming
Flat namespace
Names may contain only lowercase
letters, numbers, periods, underscores,
and dashes, and must start with a number
or letter
Create your own namespace with your
own bcukets

9. EC2 concepts
See figure 2.1
Instance: virtual server running a guest os
of your choice
AMI: Pristine image of your server so
that you can launch any number of
instance from this. Minimally machine
image will operating systems + pre-
installed tools.
Elastic IP address: Not static not dynamic
but elastic; an IP reserved for your use;
disappears once the server is terminated.

10. EC2 (contd.)
Availability zone: Any two availability zones are
guaranteed to share any common points of
failure ( US, EU, Asia/Pacific)
Security group: define the firewall/security.
Defines what can talk to your instances. (Ex;
http, and not sftp etc.)
Snap shot: You can take snapshots of block
volume (that can be formatted etc) and is
stored in S3 for later use or for rollback etc.
What is the difference between instances and
machine images?

11. How to access Ec2?
AWS console
http://console.aws.amazon.com
The ElasticFox firefox plugin
The amazon command line tool

12. Typical Use in an organization
Maintain a library of AMIs for the business
◦ May contain legacy systems or company-specific
systems
◦ Harden AMIs using such software as Bastille
Launch instances for non-technical but domain
experts to work with.
◦ What will you provide them so that they can start
working?
Use S3 for archival storage and shared storage