Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

• When should you use AWS IAM roles vs. users?

  Access management is critical to securing the cloud. Understand the differences between AWS IAM roles and users to properly restrict access to AWS resources.  Continue Reading

• How can you prevent a cloud data breach in your AWS environment?

  Get a cloud expert's take on the technical factors involved in the Capital One data breach that exposed sensitive data of millions of the bank's customers.  Continue Reading

• What AWS testing tools and services are available?

  There are many tools available on the AWS Marketplace for QA testing, making it difficult to determine where to begin. What should an enterprise look for when choosing among QA tools?  Continue Reading

• AWS Storage Gateway performance depends on resource placement

  Senior technology editor Stephen Bigelow breaks down how AWS Storage Gateway can trip up users' hybrid cloud strategies. Beware these issues with latency and security.  Continue Reading

• Plan ahead for traffic spikes with AWS CDN

  While Amazon CloudFront can make traffic spikes more manageable, IT teams still need to carefully prepare their environment for these increases in user activity.  Continue Reading

• VMware Network Insight eyes better AWS network visibility

  Some AWS users should consider a third-party tool to find better visibility into their network infrastructure and traffic patterns instead of relying on Amazon VPC.  Continue Reading

• When should data normalization occur in Amazon DynamoDB?

  Not sure when to normalize data in Amazon DynamoDB? Follow these three examples to learn more about the normalization process and how it can play a role in this AWS database.  Continue Reading

• Use SQS to trigger functions in Lambda -- finally

  The wait is over, as you can now trigger Lambda functions with SQS messages. Follow these steps to get up and running with this new capability.  Continue Reading

• Use AWS tags to sharpen your cloud visibility

  AWS resource tags provide admins with more visibility into their cloud deployment. Learn how to implement them with these best practices.  Continue Reading

• Avoid data loss during AWS Spot Instance termination

  While Spot Instances can be economical, they can also cause data loss without proper backup. Use databases to save instance data, and set up interruption notices to be warned.  Continue Reading

• Remove AWS security credentials for outgoing employees

  Personnel changes are inevitable at an enterprise, and security teams need to revoke AWS credentials accordingly to ensure the integrity of their cloud data.  Continue Reading

• Professional-level AWS certifications pay off for cloud vets

  To gain a Professional-level AWS certification, AWS requires at least two years of experience with its platform. But will it help your career, or is it just a notch in your belt?  Continue Reading

• Avoid AWS access control mistakes to keep your cloud safe

  If you get clumsy with AWS security, you can put your whole business at risk. Be wary of these common errors, and implement best practices to secure your workloads.  Continue Reading

• Prevent hacked AWS accounts from wreaking havoc

  Security should be a top priority in public cloud deployment, but breaches are still possible. If your AWS account has been hacked, follow these steps to minimize the impact.  Continue Reading

• The benefits and drawbacks of AWS Convertible Reserved Instances

  Reserved Instances save IT teams money on compute resources but lock them into a particular type of instance. How do Convertible RIs differ, and what are the drawbacks?  Continue Reading

• Understand the pros, cons of an AWS cloud VPN service

  Our team will move workloads into AWS, but we need control and security over them. What VPN features does Amazon Lightsail provide, and is it better suited for certain workloads?  Continue Reading

• Which AWS programming language is best for our project?

  AWS developers can choose between a variety programming languages, including Microsoft, .NET, Java and Python. How do they differ and should we use them to develop applications?  Continue Reading

• What are some AWS Marketplace benefits for enterprises?

  Our enterprise lists its services in the AWS Marketplace. What's the best way to use the marketplace to sell our products?  Continue Reading

• How do AWS IAM permissions manage resource access?

  We use AWS Identity and Access Management for cloud security, but aren't sure how roles, permissions and policies differ in a cloud security strategy. How do they protect resources?  Continue Reading

• Which caching engines does Amazon ElastiCache support?

  Amazon ElastiCache supports Redis and Memcached as in-memory caching engines. What are the main features of each and how do they differ?  Continue Reading

• What are the limitations when running Active Directory in AWS?

  AWS Directory Service provides three options for running Active Directory in the cloud: Microsoft AD, Simple AD and AD Connector. What are the drawbacks of each AD option?  Continue Reading

• How long does it take to retrieve data from Glacier storage?

  Our enterprise periodically needs to access cold data from Amazon Glacier. How long does it take to retrieve data, and what are other infrequent data access options?  Continue Reading

• What features are involved with Amazon Glacier backup storage?

  We'd like to move infrequently accessed data to cold storage to save money. How does Amazon Glacier work and what are some of the main features?  Continue Reading

• How do CloudWatch logging features track resources?

  Between our on-premises and in-cloud resources, our hybrid infrastructure produces a multitude of logs. How can we use Amazon CloudWatch to aggregate and visualize logs?  Continue Reading

• How do AWS configuration management tools work?

  When running AWS in our enterprise, it has been a challenge to keep tabs on active resources. Which native tools define and maintain configuration scripts?  Continue Reading

• How does AWS fit into the application testing process?

  Our on-premises environment makes QA difficult, as our resources are limited. How can a public cloud provider like AWS enable a more effective process to test applications?  Continue Reading

• When should we run Oracle on EC2 vs. RDS?

  There are different approaches to running Oracle Database on AWS. What are the strengths and limitations of using Amazon RDS and EC2 for Oracle Database?  Continue Reading

• What licenses do we need to run Oracle Database on AWS?

  Working in AWS has made it difficult for our enterprise to keep track of software license limitations. What restrictions should we watch for when running Oracle on AWS?  Continue Reading

• How can I troubleshoot AWS connectivity problems?

  Our business is having trouble connecting to our AWS resources. We're not sure if this is an availability or connectivity issue. How can we determine the problem?  Continue Reading

• Making an AWS Lambda function and microservices work together

  Our developers want to switch to microservices to improve scalability and ease upgrades to our AWS-based applications. How does AWS Lambda support this type of architecture?  Continue Reading

• What's the best way to secure Amazon S3 buckets?

  Our enterprise stores different types of data, including video and graphics, in Amazon S3. What options are available to secure Amazon S3 buckets and encrypt our data?  Continue Reading

• How does AWS Simple Email Service differ from my email server?

  Our business sends promotional emails and newsletters. We like our current email server, but could AWS Simple Email Service help with our marketing efforts?  Continue Reading

• How does Elastic File System affect AWS storage costs?

  Amazon only charges for actual storage capacity incurred in its new Elastic File System service. Fine, but what is the final price for the service?  Continue Reading

• How can we save money in Amazon EC2 Container Service?

  Our group doesn't need containers all the time. How can we scale back or stop a Docker container that's running in Amazon Elastic Container Service?  Continue Reading

• How to save an Amazon EBS snapshot to S3

  I'd like to back up an Elastic Block Store volume to AWS S3. What do I have to do and what are the associated costs?  Continue Reading

• Advantages of Amazon RDS vs. a personal relational database

  One of the advantages of developers using Amazon RDS instead of managing their own databases is that it reduces or eliminates their administrative responsibilities.  Continue Reading

• Does AWS CloudFront work with static and dynamic content?

  Dan Sullivan reviews AWS CloudFront and the two types of content it works with, static and dynamic.  Continue Reading

• Benefits of Amazon SES in the enterprise

  Marketing firms and online gaming companies often look for less expensive ways to send bulk email to customers or would-be buyers. Here's a look at what Amazon SES has to offer.  Continue Reading

• Amazon Kinesis: When to use Amazon's new big-data processing service

  In this expert answer, Chris Moyer offers advice on using Amazon Kinesis for near-real-time processing of streaming big data.  Continue Reading

• AWS auto-scaling lets companies expand and contract service as needed

  Contributor Chris Moyer describes how Amazon Web Services customers can use AWS auto-scaling to adjust to changes in demand.  Continue Reading

• How do I choose the right AWS instance for my cloud application?

  Expert Chris Moyer explains AWS instances and which types are right for your cloud application.  Continue Reading

• What's the difference between Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront?

  Storing large files in the cloud has its advantages, and Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront are two seemingly identical options. What's the difference?  Continue Reading