AWS
Definition
Amazon Web Services - Amazon's cloud computing platform offering over 200 different services for businesses to enhance their operations.
Use Cases
- Netflix: Global video streaming platform hosting and scaling — Runs large-scale workloads on AWS using a mix of compute, storage, databases, and content delivery services; designs for resilience across multiple Availability Zones and automates scaling to handle variable demand. (Able to scale to meet global streaming demand and improve resilience by using cloud elasticity and managed infrastructure services.)
- Airbnb: Hosting core web applications and data services for a global marketplace — Uses AWS infrastructure services to run application workloads and store data, relying on cloud resources to scale with traffic and to support engineering teams without owning physical servers. (Faster provisioning and the ability to scale infrastructure with business growth without large upfront data-center investments.)
Provider Equivalents
- AWS: AWS (platform)
- Azure: Microsoft Azure (platform)
- GCP: Google Cloud (platform)
- OCI: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) (platform)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between AWS and cloud computing?
- Cloud computing is the general concept of renting computing resources (like servers, storage, and databases) over the internet. AWS is one specific cloud provider that offers those resources as services you can use on demand.
- When should I use AWS?
- Use AWS when you want to build or run applications without buying and managing physical servers, need to scale up or down quickly, want global infrastructure (regions and availability zones), or prefer managed services (like managed databases, serverless functions, and monitoring) to reduce operational work.
- How much does AWS cost?
- AWS pricing is mostly pay-as-you-go and depends on what you use: compute size and hours, storage amount and access patterns, data transfer (especially outbound), managed service tiers, and region. Many services have a Free Tier for limited usage, but costs can grow with traffic, high availability setups, and large data movement.
Category: cloud
Difficulty: basic
Related Terms
See Also