Explore what is AWS, AWS vs Azure, is AWS SaaS, or is AWS a web server, is it good to move website, why is AWS popular and how we best DevOps consultant in Toronto..
What is AWS?
Before starting what is AWS, you should know about what is cloud computing. Any company which works on technology, be it IT companies or any organization requires computers on daily bases for activities like storage of databases or dealing with any other computational activities like the creation of a server, hosting a website, etc. For these activities, the companies rent these computing systems through online mode. This is called cloud computing. Through the use of virtualization-based technology called cloud computing, we may design, set up, and customize apps remotely.
Amazon web services (AWS), which comes under the umbrella of Amazon, provide similar services. AWS provides these services for small startups and Fortune 500 companies. Companies like Facebook, Airbnb, Netflix, etc are part of the AWS clientele base. According to a survey conducted in 2020, 92% of websites use AWS for hosting their website. Thus, AWS is a platform where you can host your services as well as manage them.
Why AWS is better than Azure – AWS vs Azure
AWS and Azure are the leading cloud platforming services providers in the world. Although AWS covers the major part of the market According to a recent report by Gartner, the competition of AWS and Azure is neck to neck. Let’s look at the difference between AWSand Azure.
AWS was launched in 2006 and it is the most commonly used cloud computing platform. It is used by market giants like: Adobe, Netflix, Airbnb, Spotify, HTC, and Pinterest. Whereas, Azure was launched in 2010 and is trusted by almost 80% of Fortune 500 companies.
AWS is It dominates the cloud computing market with 40% of the market cap. And Azure covers 30% of the market share. But it provides services to more regions than any other cloud service-providing companies in the world. It covers 42 regions already and 12 more are planned to be made.
AWS provides a wider range of services that covers a great number of domains like computing, networking, storage, and migration. Whereas, Azure provides more than 100 services spanning a variety of domains.
Aws is already expanding its already strong roots of more than 100 services to fulfill the shifting business requirements of organizations. Azure services also are regularly improved and updated to help users satisfy their cloud computing requirements.
AWS provides a significant number of free services to get hands on products and services. These free services are divided into two categories – services that will be free forever and services that will be only free for one year. The always-free category offers more than 20 services. These include services like Amazon SNS, SQS, CloudWatch, etc. On the other hand, the valid one-year category adds up to 20 services which include Amazon S3, EC2, ElastiCache, etc. Both types of services have limits in the usage for example storage, number of requests, Compute time, etc. But users are only charged for using services that fall under the valid for a year category after one of their usages.
Azure also provides free services that are free for a year and always free. There are about 25+ always free services. These include app service functions, container services, active directories, and more. For the services valid for a year, there are 8 services like Linux or Windows virtual machines Blob storage, SQL Database, etc. Azure also provides users with a credit of 200 USD to access all their services for 30 days. This is a unique feature that Azure provides, allowing the users to use their credits to utilize any services of a choice for the entire month.
Coming to the system configuration, AWS offers a whopping 254 GB RAM and 16 vCPUs whereas, The largest configuration that Azure offers is 224 GB ram and 16 vCPUs.
Is AWS a SaaS?
Many of you are confused about is AWS SaaS or not. First, we need to understand the different types of cloud services.
There are three types of cloud services:
- IaaS
- PaaS
- SaaS
The main service provided by AWS (Amazon Web Services), which offers on-demand cloud computing, is IaaS, in which you pay for storage space, computational power, or networking services. On top of its own infrastructure, AWS nevertheless provides a wide range of services that can qualify as SaaS, where you use the service and pay for it as you go. They do provide SaaS services (such as AWS Textract, Transcribe, and Polly), but their infrastructure and platform are their major competencies.
Now coming back to the question ‘Is AWS a SaaS?’ AWS is not a simple service, it is a collection of different services. Thus, it is not entirely SaaS.
Is AWS a Web Server?
AWS is itself not a web server but it provides a range of services that can be used to host a website. You can host websites on AWS by utilizing combination of different AWS services. They provide services like :
Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service):
S3 (Simple Storage Service) from Amazon: S3 offers object storage and can be used to store assets such as photos , HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that are static files for websites.
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud):
You can host dynamic websites or web applications using Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances which can run web server software such as Apache HTTP Server, Nginx, or Microsoft IIS .
WS Elastic Beanstalk:
Elastic Beanstalk from AWS is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution that makes it easier to launch and manage web applications. Web servers, load balancers, and databases , among other components of the underlying infrastructure, can be provisioned and configured by it.
AWS Lightsail:
AWS offers a simplified virtual private server (VPS) option called Lightsail that is made especially for simpler workloads like simple websites. With a web-based management panel it offers instances that have been pre-configured.
Is AWS a good place to move the Website?
Yes, AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a popular and reliable platform for hosting and migrating websites. It offers a wide range of services and features that can support different types of websites, from small personal blogs to large-scale enterprise applications .
Scalability:
AWS offers auto-scaling capabilities, allowing you to automatically adjust your website’s resources based on demand. This means that as your website experiences increased traffic, AWS can dynamically allocate more computing resources, such as additional servers or storage to ensure your website remains responsive and available.
Reliability:
AWS has a global infrastructure that spans across multiple regions and availability zones . This distributed setup ensures high availability and fault tolerance. If one data center or server fails, AWS can automatically route traffic to alternative locations , minimizing downtime and providing a reliable hosting environment for your website.
Security:
AWS takes security seriously and provides a robust set of tools and features to protect your website and data. This includes network firewalls, encryption options for data in transit and at rest , identity and access management (IAM) controls, and advanced threat detection services like AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall) and AWS Shield.
Flexibility:
AWS offers a vast array of services that can cater to different aspects of your website’s infrastructure . Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides virtual servers with various configurations and scaling options. Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) offers scalable object storage for static assets like images, videos, and documents. Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) supports managed database solutions. These services can be combined and customized to meet the specific needs of your website.
Cost-effectiveness:
AWS provides flexible pricing models that can align with your website’s usage and growth . With pay-as-you-go pricing, you pay only for the resources you consume, which is advantageous for websites with varying traffic patterns . AWS also offers cost management tools like AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets to monitor and optimize your spending on the platform.
Integration:
AWS services are designed to work well together , enabling seamless integration and improved performance. For example Amazon CloudFront, a content delivery network (CDN), can be easily integrated with your website hosted on AWS, distributing content globally and reducing latency for your users. Amazon Route 53, AWS’s DNS management service, seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, allowing you to manage DNS records and routing efficiently.
Why is AWS cloud computing gaining massive
popularity in business
AWS was launched in 2–6, which makes it the first player in the cloud computing market. It also holds a maximum market cap of 40%. One of the salient features of AWS is that it uses a pay-as-you-go model. This means you have to pay only for the time period you use the services.
Based on the requirements of the user, AWS offers scalability and very flexible solutions. It provides the same goods and services to large corporations in addition to SMEs. The infrastructure and tools needed to set up the cloud for businesses are provided by AWS. Given its enormous success, AWS is unquestionably the most dependable and secure provider of cloud computing services. AWS is present throughout the world and has data centers located in several regions. Security is still a top priority, and it is closely monitored and maintained.
How VaST ITES Inc can help?
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Conclusion
In conclusion, AWS (Amazon Web Services) has established itself as a leading cloud computing platform offering a wide range of services and features for hosting and migrating websites. AWS offers a reliable and effective infrastructure for companies of all sizes thanks to its scalability, dependability, security precautions, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and easy integration possibilities. As the pioneer in the cloud computing market and with its pay-as-you-go model , AWS continues to gain massive popularity enabling organizations to leverage the benefits of cloud technology and meet their diverse computing needs.