AWS Best Compute & Networking Strategies | Deep Dive.

A deep dive into Compute & Networking Strategies.

Scope:

•        Designed for engineers who operate across:
•        DevOps,
•        DevSecOps,
•        Cloud Engineering,
•        Platform Engineering,
•        SRE,
•        HPC,
•        Multi-Cloud domains.

Breakdown:

•        Intro,
•        Key Strategies for Compute & Networking
•        Compute Strategy,
•        Networking Strategy,
•        Global & Multi-Region Strategy,
•        HPC-Specific Compute & Network Design,
•        Cost Optimization Strategies,
•        Architecture Patterns.

 Intro:

•        This guide breaks down core principles, architectural patterns, optimizations, advanced strategies for building resilient, scalable, cost-efficient compute and network infrastructure on AWS.
•        Effective compute & networking strategies focus on performance, cost efficiency, security, and future scalability,
•        Effective compute & networking strategies often leveraging modern technologies like cloud, virtualization, and AI.

Key Strategies for Compute & Networking

Cloud and Edge Integration:

• Strategically use a hybrid approach, where some workloads run in the cloud for storage and complex analysis, and others are processed at the edge for real-time, low-latency applications like autonomous systems and IoT devices.

Virtualization and Consolidation:

• Reduce hardware costs and improve energy efficiency by creating virtual versions of servers, storage, and networks. Server consolidation maximizes resource utilization and minimizes the physical footprint.

Automation and Orchestration: 

•  Automate routine tasks such as provisioning, configuration management, and patching to reduce manual effort, minimize human error, and free up staff for more strategic initiatives.

Performance Monitoring and Analytics: 

•  Implement continuous, real-time monitoring and analytics tools to track performance, identify bottlenecks, and proactively resolve issues before they impact users.

Scalability and Capacity Planning: 

• Design infrastructure with a modular and scalable architecture (e.g., spine-leaf topology for networks) that can grow with business needs. Regularly assess capacity to anticipate future demands, such as those driven by AI and data growth.

Robust Security Measures:

• Integrate security from the design phase, not as an afterthought. This includes implementing robust firewalls, intrusion detection systems, data encryption (at rest and in transit), and adopting a zero-trust security model.

Network Optimization Techniques:

• Use techniques like Quality of Service (QoS) to prioritize critical applications' traffic, implement load balancing to distribute workloads evenly, and use data compression to reduce bandwidth usage and latency.

Regular Maintenance and Upgrades: 

• Establish schedules for regular maintenance, including firmware and software updates, to address security vulnerabilities and ensure all components operate optimally.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity:

• Develop and regularly test a comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity plan to ensure minimal downtime in the event of an outage or natural disaster.

Vendor Alignment &Training: 

•  Select vendors whose roadmaps align with twtech long-term strategy and invest in ongoing training and upskilling of IT staff to manage evolving technologies effectively.

1. Compute Strategy Deep Dive

1.1 Compute Models

• AWS offers four major compute paradigms. Mature architectures mix them for performance, cost, and reliability.

 EC2 Instances (VM-based)

•         Use cases: traditional apps, HPC clusters, custom kernels, long-running workloads.
•         Key strategies:
•    Use Instance Families based on workload profile:
•   Compute (C), Memory (R/X), Storage (I/Im), GPU (P/G), HPC (H), Inferentia/Trainium (Inf/Trn)
•    Prefer Graviton instances (Arm) for ~30–40% cost-perf gains.
•    Use Auto Scaling Groups with multi-AZ distribution and scaling based on:
•   SQS queue depth
•   CPU/Memory
•   Custom CloudWatch metrics

 Containers (ECS, EKS)

•         Key strategies:
•    EKS = best for large-scale microservices + multi-cloud portability
•    ECS on Fargate = best for serverless containers
•    Use Karpenter or EKS Managed Node Groups for cost-efficient scaling
•    Use bottlerocket OS for hardened, immutable node images

 Serverless (Lambda, Fargate, Step Functions)

•         Fit for asynchronous, event-driven, spiky workloads
•         Strategies:
•    Prefer ARM (Graviton2) functions for cost reduction
•    Use Provisioned Concurrency for latency-sensitive APIs
•    Use EventBridge as a central event router
•    Offload orchestration to Step Functions for highly distributed apps

 High-Performance Computing (HPC)

•         Use HPC-optimized families (Hpc6a/Hpc6id/Hpc7g)
•         Use FSx for Lustre for high-speed parallel storage
•         Strategies:
•    Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) for low-latency HPC messaging (MPI)
•    Cluster Placement Groups for tightly-coupled compute
•    Auto-scaled Slurm clusters via ParallelCluster

1.2 Compute Optimization Techniques

1.2.1 Right-Sizing

•         Use Compute Optimizer
•         Match CPU, memory, and I/O to actual consumption

1.2.2 Spot Strategy

•         Use a diversified spot fleet across:
•    Multiple instance families
•    Multiple AZs
•    Mixed purchase models (On-Demand + RI + Savings Plans + Spot)

•         Make workloads spot-tolerant:
•    Stateless apps
•    Checkpointing for HPC
•    Graceful termination hooks

1.2.3 Graviton Migration

•         Move workloads to ARM-based Graviton2/3 for:
•    Higher performance per watt
•    Lower cost
•    Lower network jitter

1.2.4 Compute Placement Patterns

•         Distributed Placement Group: high availability
•         Cluster Placement Group: low latency HPC
•         Partition Placement Group: shuffle resistance for large data stores

2. Networking Strategy

2.1 Foundational Principles

 VPC Design

Use a hub-and-spoke or multi-tiered VPC architecture:

•         Public subnets: ALB, NLB, NAT Gateways
•         Private subnets: EC2/EKS/Lambda
•         Isolated subnets: Databases, HPC, sensitive workloads

Subnet size guidance:

•         /19 or /20 for EKS worker nodes
•         /24 for application tiers
•         /28 for endpoints and NATs

2.2 Connectivity Strategies

 Private Connectivity

•         Use VPC Interface Endpoints (AWS PrivateLink) for internal AWS API access
•         Use VPC Gateway Endpoints for S3 and DynamoDB
•         Disable Internet Gateway for private workloads
•         Use split-horizon DNS where required

 Hybrid Connectivity

For on-prem ↔ AWS:

•         Site-to-Site VPN for quick setup
•         Direct Connect for stable bandwidth and low latency
•         Use Direct Connect Gateway for multi-region connectivity
•         Redundant DX circuits:
•    Prefer redundant locations
•    Use BGP multipath

 Multi-Cloud Connectivity

•         Build cloud-to-cloud links using:
•    Transit Gateway + DX + Partner Interconnect
•    Aviatrix or SD-WAN for consistent policy enforcement
•    Multi-cloud mesh VPN for uniform routing

2.3 Networking Performance Optimization

 Throughput

•         Enable Enhanced Networking (ENA) on EC2
•         Use Placement Groups for HPC or big-data clusters
•         Use EFA for MPI workloads

 Latency

•         Keep intra-node traffic in the same AZ
•         For ultra-low latency:
•    Use Nitro-based instances
•    Use local NVMe or FSx for Lustre

 Load Balancing Strategy

Choose based on traffic profile:

•         ALB – HTTP/HTTPS (L7 routing, WAF integration)
•         NLB – extreme performance, static IPs, TCP/UDP
•         GWLB – third-party firewall insertion

Optimization:

•         Use connection draining
•         Pre-warm or use adaptive load balancing
•         Use weighted target groups for gradual rollouts

2.4 Security Best Practices

 Network Segmentation

•         Multi-tier subnets (public, private, isolated)
•         Use Security Groups as your primary enforcement boundary
•         Use Network ACLs for coarse-grain rules

 Zero-Trust Networking

•         Enforce identity-aware access (IAM + mTLS)
•         Keep workloads in private subnets
•         Use Amazon Verified Access for secure app access without VPN

 Encryption

•         TLS 1.2+ everywhere
•         In-transit encryption for all internal connections
•         Use KMS CMKs with rotation

 Traffic Inspection

•         Use GWLB + firewall appliances
•         Use VPC Lattice for cross-service connectivity with integrated auth
•         Central logging via VPC Flow Logs

3. Global & Multi-Region Strategy

3.1 Multi-Region Active-Active

•         Use Route53 latency-based or weighted routing
•         Keep compute workloads stateless
•         Replicate state using:
•    DynamoDB Global Tables
•    Aurora Global Database
•    Multi-region S3 replication

3.2 Disaster Recovery

Patterns:

•         Backup & Restore
•         Pilot Light
•         Warm Standby
•         Hot Active

DR strategy tips:

•         Minimize RPO using asynchronous replication
•         Use Transit Gateway inter-region peering
•         Test DR paths quarterly

4. HPC-Specific Compute & Network Design

 Compute

•         Use HPC instance families with EFA
•         Use placement groups for tight coupling
•         Auto-scale Slurm clusters using ParallelCluster

 Storage

•         FSx for Lustre for parallel I/O
•         S3 for cold data
•         EFA for MPI communication

 Network

•         Avoid NAT gateways for HPC traffic
•         Use larger MTUs when possible
•         Keep entire HPC clusters in the same AZ

5. Cost Optimization Strategies

Compute:

•         Graviton migration
•         Spot instances with fallback to On-Demand
•         Rightsizing + autoscaling
•        Savings Plans (compute, EC2, SageMaker)

Networking:

•         Consolidate NAT gateways per AZ
•         Prefer S3/Dynamo VPC endpoints to avoid NAT costs
•         Use PrivateLink to reduce egress charges
•        Minimize cross-AZ traffic for chatty applications

6. Architecture Patterns

6.1 Microservices Platform

•         EKS + Service Mesh
•         ALB ingress
•         PrivateLink to shared services
•         Multi-account architecture

6.2 HPC Architecture

•         ParallelCluster
•         FSx for Lustre
•         Cluster Placement Group
•         EFA-enabled compute

6.3 Hybrid Cloud Hub-and-Spoke

•         Transit Gateway as core router
•         DX Gateway for WAN connectivity
•         Split-horizon DNS
•         EKS + ECS hybrid clusters