Choose your workload’s location based on network requirements

Choosing the optimal location for your workload based on network requirements is crucial for minimizing latency and maximizing throughput. This consideration directly impacts user experience by enhancing responsiveness and reducing delays in data transfers.

Best Practices

Optimize Resource Location Based on Network Performance

• Assess latency requirements for your application to determine the closest regions or Availability Zones to your users.
• Utilize AWS Global Accelerator to direct traffic to optimal endpoints based on performance metrics.
• Leverage Amazon CloudFront to cache content at edge locations closer to users, improving response times.
• Consider AWS Direct Connect for dedicated network connections if connecting from on-premises to AWS, enhancing throughput and reducing latency.
• Evaluate the use of VPC peering or AWS Transit Gateway to optimize network routing for multi-VPC architectures.

Questions to ask your team

• Have you assessed the latency requirements of your workload, and how have you addressed them in your network design?
• What metrics do you use to monitor network throughput, and how do they influence your resource placement decisions?
• Have you evaluated the potential impact of network jitter on your workload performance, and how do you mitigate it?
• How do you determine the optimal region or edge location for your resources based on user distribution?
• What strategies do you have in place to ensure bandwidth availability for high-throughput applications?
• Have you conducted any testing to verify the effectiveness of your network configuration in meeting performance goals?

Who should be doing this?

Network Architect

• Design and implement an optimal network architecture that meets performance efficiency goals.
• Analyze workload’s latency, throughput, jitter, and bandwidth requirements to determine appropriate resource placement.
• Evaluate and select AWS networking services (e.g., AWS Direct Connect, Amazon CloudFront) that enhance performance.
• Collaborate with application architects to align network design with application performance needs.

DevOps Engineer

• Implement and monitor network configurations as per established design specifications.
• Manage and optimize network resources to ensure reduced latency and improved throughput.
• Utilize AWS tools to automate deployments and network monitoring for ongoing performance tracking.

Cloud Solutions Architect

• Assess current and projected user requirements to inform network design and resource selection.
• Evaluate edge location options and ensure resources are optimally situated for global access.
• Create documentation outlining network design rationales and considerations for future scalability.

Security Engineer

• Ensure that network configurations adhere to security best practices and compliance requirements.
• Conduct risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities in networking resources.
• Implement necessary security measures, such as encryption and access controls, to protect data in transit.

What evidence shows this is happening in your organization?

• Networking Resource Placement Checklist: A comprehensive checklist to assist in evaluating and selecting optimal locations for networking resources, ensuring alignment with latency, throughput, and bandwidth requirements.
• Network Performance Evaluation Report: A template report that documents the analysis of network performance characteristics, including metrics on latency, throughput, and user experience, to guide resource placement decisions.
• Optimal Resource Placement Strategy Guide: A detailed guide outlining strategies for placing resources based on network requirements, including considerations for edge locations and minimizing data transfer times.
• Latency and Throughput Optimization Dashboard: An interactive dashboard to monitor and visualize network latency and throughput metrics, facilitating real-time adjustments to resource placement for performance efficiency.
• Performance Efficiency Networking Model: A visual model representing the relationship between network architecture choices, performance metrics, and user experience, used to assess the impact of different configurations.

Cloud Services

AWS

• Amazon CloudFront: A content delivery network (CDN) that securely delivers data with low latency and high transfer speeds.
• AWS Global Accelerator: Improves the availability and performance of applications with users globally, routing traffic through the AWS global network.
• AWS Direct Connect: Establishes a dedicated private network connection from your premises to AWS for improved performance and reduced latency.

Azure

• Azure Traffic Manager: A DNS-based traffic load balancer that enables you to distribute traffic to services across global Azure regions based on optimal performance.
• Azure Content Delivery Network: Delivers high-bandwidth content to users by caching it at strategic locations around the world to reduce latency.
• Azure ExpressRoute: Provides a private connection from your on-premises network directly to Azure, bypassing the internet for increased reliability and speed.

Google Cloud Platform

• Cloud CDN: Accelerates content delivery for websites and applications over the global Google Cloud network with caching and optimized routing.
• Cloud Load Balancing: Distributes user traffic across multiple instances, improving application performance and availability.
• Dedicated Interconnect: Provides a direct physical connection between your on-premises data center and Google Cloud, enhancing performance and reducing latency.

Question: How do you select and configure networking resources in your workload?
Pillar: Performance Efficiency (Code: PERF)