Forem: Sully

The Hidden Cost of Not Deleting AWS Clusters: A Costly Lesson Learned

Sully — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 17:59:40 +0000

Recently, I had a wake-up call that taught me a valuable lesson about managing cloud resources. I left an AWS cluster running without realizing the financial implications. When I logged back into my account, I was shocked to find a balance exceeding $200. Thankfully, I had AWS credits available, but had I not, this amount would have been charged directly to my credit card.

Here’s what I learned from this experience:

1. Understand the Cost Implications

AWS and other cloud providers often bill based on resource usage. Even if you think a cluster is inactive, costs can accumulate rapidly from storage, data transfer, and other factors. It’s crucial to understand these costs and monitor your usage regularly.

2. Delete Unused Resources

When you’re done using an AWS cluster, ensure you delete it promptly. This applies to other cloud resources as well. Leaving resources running can lead to unexpected charges and financial strain. Implement policies or automated scripts to clean up unused resources.

3. Monitor and Set Alerts

Leverage AWS billing and cost management tools to monitor your spending. Set up alerts to notify you when your spending reaches certain thresholds. This way, you can react quickly if costs start to climb unexpectedly.

4. Utilize AWS Credits Wisely

While AWS credits can be a lifesaver, they shouldn’t be relied upon as a long-term solution. Use them to manage costs but always strive to optimize your resource usage to avoid unnecessary charges.

5. Establish Best Practices

Develop a routine for reviewing and managing your cloud resources.

This includes:

Regular audits of active clusters and resources.
Automated scripts or tools to shut down or delete resources based on usage patterns.
Documentation of resource creation and termination procedures.

Final Thoughts

Managing cloud resources efficiently is a crucial skill for anyone working with cloud platforms. By being proactive about deleting unused clusters and monitoring costs, you can avoid unexpected charges and make the most of your cloud investments. My recent experience was a costly reminder of this lesson, but I hope sharing it can help others avoid the same mistake.

Stay vigilant and manage your cloud resources wisely!

Tips and Tricks for First-Time Attendees of AWS re:Invent Conference & Popular AWS Services to Watch Out for

Sully — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:45:29 +0000

# Table of contents

Part # 1
Part # 2
Part # 3

PART 1 # First Things First, The Basics:

Plan Ahead

First things first, set clear goals for what you hope to achieve at the conference. Dive into the schedule and scope out the sessions, workshops, and events that will help you achieve those goals. Prioritize the ones that are most relevant to you and group them by location to save time.

If a hands-on experience is what you're after, workshops are where it's at! Sign up for the ones that align with your goals and prioritize those that aren't recorded. Think chalk talks, builder sessions, and hands-on workshops. As a full-stack developer, I was all about sessions that covered building full-stack applications using AWS services. And let's not forget about the machine learning aspect - I made sure to include those sessions in my schedule as well.

But it's not all about the sessions. Take some time to attend networking events and meet new people. You never know who you might bump into and what you might learn from them.

And here's a pro tip: leave some extra room in your luggage for all the fantastic conference goodies you're bound to score! Don't pack your bags to the brim with non-essentials. Plan ahead and pack strategically to avoid having to pay extra fees for overweight luggage. Trust me, your future self will thank you for it!
This is what I packed:

1 Bag
1 Carry-on
2 Pairs of Jeans
5 - T-shirts
Lots of socks, plus all the ones I get from the expo ;)
Snacks → they offer free breakfast & lunch, but, I always bring them because I don’t always have time to grab food
1- Pair of Sneakers
1- Shower Sandals
1- Dressing shoes - but, honestly, I didn’t need them. I was wearing my sneakers the whole time I was at the conference.
1- Water bottle
1- Sunglasses
1- Cap
Laptop & charger/ extra battery charger

Bring Comfortable Shoes

Wear comfortable shoes and bring a jacket or sweater as conference halls can get chilly. With so much happening at the conference, you'll be doing a lot of walking, standing, and sitting. It's essential to wear comfortable shoes that you can walk in for long hours without getting tired.

Network

Networking at the conference is absolutely crucial! Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to expand your professional community by connecting with other like-minded individuals who share your interests. Make sure to take full advantage of every networking opportunity available to you!

Keynote Sessions → SKIP, they’re recorded, watch later.

Skip the keynote sessions if you don't have the time to attend. They're recorded, and you can watch them later. However, if you do attend, arrive early as they tend to fill up quickly.

Visit the Expo Hall

Visit the Expo Hall to explore new AWS services, speak with AWS experts, and network with other attendees. Plus, it's where you'll find all the free swag!

Take Breaks!!

Take breaks to relax and recharge between sessions and workshops. Attending a conference can be exhausting, both mentally and physically. The conference offers plenty of opportunities to grab a coffee, network with others, or simply sit and relax.

Parties

Don't miss out on the parties! AWS re: Invent has some of the best parties, with an open bar, food, and great music. RSVP in advance, and follow re:Invent Parties on Twitter for all the latest parties happening during the conference.

PART # 2:The Most Popular AWS Services

First up is Amplify Studio, a service that provides developers with a toolbox for quickly and easily building and launching mobile or web applications. With a visual editor for designing the app's user interface, built-in hosting and deployment capabilities, and integration with other AWS services, Amplify Studio simplifies the development process and speeds up time to market.

Next, there's SageMaker, a fully-managed machine learning service that makes it easy to build, train, and deploy machine learning models. Whether you're looking to build a model for image recognition, natural language processing, or predictive analytics, SageMaker provides the tools and algorithms to get the job done. And with features like automated model training, hyperparameter tuning, and deployment, SageMaker helps you get to results faster.

For those interested in sustainability and climate change, AWS offers the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI), a program that provides access to large datasets related to these important issues. ASDI helps researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders better understand and address environmental challenges by providing high-quality data and analysis tools.

EC2 provides scalable computing capacity in the cloud, allowing users to run virtual servers on-demand.

S3 is a highly-scalable object storage service that can be used to store and retrieve large amounts of data.

RDS provides managed database services for popular relational database engines such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle.

Lambda is a serverless computing service that allows users to run code without provisioning or managing servers.

PART # 3: The Two Workshop I Signed-Up For

These are two of the workshops I did at the conference and their descriptions. The workshops were three hours long, so I made sure to bring snacks, food, and anything else I needed to stay focused and ready to learn. The instructors were incredibly helpful and patient, even when I asked a lot of questions. So, don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions - that's what they're there for!

Overall, I found the workshops to be a great way to dive deep into specific topics and gain practical experience working with AWS services.

Build a full-stack retail web application with AWS Amplify

“User-facing web and mobile applications are the primary touchpoint between organizations and their customers. To meet the ever-rising bar for customer experience, developers must deliver high-quality applications with both foundational and differentiating features. AWS Amplify helps frontend developers build faster front to back. In this workshop, learn how to build a full-stack retail web application with frontend UI and a backend with AWS Amplify Studio. Discover how to approach use cases such as data, authentication, storage, and APIs, and how to extend use cases as your needs evolve. Finally, learn how to deploy your serverless application using Amplify Hosting built-in hosting and out-of-the-box CI/CD capabilities. You must bring your laptop to participate.” Link

Detecting deforestation with geospatial images and Amazon SageMaker

“Since 1990, the earth has lost about one billion acres of forest, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In this workshop, learn how to track deforestation caused by fires and forest cutting using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and visualize changes using Amazon SageMaker Studio labs. Build a SageMaker Jupyter Notebook that uses Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI) geospatial imagery and calculates pixel changes, known as spectral indices. Create a machine learning model that identifies newly deforested areas and detects forest cut changes. You must bring your laptop to participate.” Link

Attending your first AWS re: Invent conference can be an exhilarating rollercoaster ride that may leave you feeling a tad overwhelmed. But don't worry, with some savvy planning, you can make this experience an absolute blast! So, buckle up, and get ready to schedule your sessions like a pro, sport those comfy shoes to navigate the massive venue with ease, hobnob with like-minded attendees to make valuable connections, hit up the Expo Hall to discover exciting new tech, and don't forget to take some well-deserved breaks to recharge your batteries. Share your thoughts on what else should've been added to this blog in the comments below, and let's make the most of this fantastic conference together!

Build a Serverless Web App for a Theme Park

Sully — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 13:55:16 +0000

Are you ready to take your theme park to the next level with a serverless web app? Look no further! In this blog post, I'll be sharing my experience from a recent AWS workshop that taught me how to build a serverless web app for a theme park using AWS services. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, this workshop is designed to teach you everything you need to know in just five hours! With step-by-step instructions and engaging video tutorials, you'll be able to follow along with ease. But be warned - some modules in the video tutorials may be a bit outdated, so I recommend referring to both the written instructions and videos to get the most out of the workshop. After completing the project, make sure to follow the "cleanup" section carefully. It's important to note that you won't be able to delete the "rules" until you delete the "targets" first. To help you out, I've included a link to a StackOverflow article explaining the command lines you need to run to delete the targets before proceeding with the instructions command. So, get ready to learn and take your theme park to new heights with a serverless web app. Let's dive into my summary of the workshop!

Workshop Description: The theme park is rolling out a mobile app that provides thousands of visitors with wait times, photo opportunities, notification alerts, and language translation for visitors who need it.
Session level: 200 - Intermediate
Targeted Job Role: Developer / Engineer, IT Professional or Technical Manager, Solution or Systems Architect
GitHub Repo: Link
Recommendation: Yes

Module 1: Connecting the frontend → backend repo & pushing it to CodeCommit

In the first module, we focused on connecting the frontend and backend repo and pushing it to CodeCommit. You'll create a web application that showcases details of rides and attractions in a theme park to park guests. You'll create a code repository in AWS CodeCommit, download the existing frontend code into your Cloud9 IDE, and configure Amplify Console to connect to your repository and publish the web app. Finally, you'll deploy the backend infrastructure for the theme park and application, populate a DynamoDB table with ride and attraction information, and test the deployment.

Module 2: Real-Time Ride Wait Time

The second module focused on creating a real-time ride time flow and traffic controller's SNS topic. The controller published updates every minute to an Amazon SNS topic, and we created a Lambda function that was invoked whenever notifications arrived on this topic. This function stored the message in DynamoDB and forwarded the message to IoT Core. We updated the front-end application configuration to listen to this IoT endpoint and republished the frontend.

Module 3: Park guests love taking photos on the rides and attractions

My favorite module was the third, which allowed guests to take a selfie and see a composited picture in the application. We learned about the Chroma Key Lambda function, which removes the green background from the image taken by the guest. This is done using the technique of chroma keying, where a specific color (in this case green) is replaced with a transparent background. After the green background is removed, the guest's photo can be composited with a pre-defined theme park adventure background image, giving the appearance of the guest taking a picture in a scenic location within the park.

Module 4: Translation

In the fourth module, we learned about translation. The front-end application used a local languages resource file to substitute language strings when the locale was changed. We downloaded this file and used a Node function that used Amazon Translate to create a new file with a range of translations. After the new language file was created, we copied it into the frontend code and republished it through Amplify Console.

Module 5: Kinesis Firehose → streaming & analyzing data

In the fifth module, we set up Kinesis Firehose to ingest data from park visitors and store it in a dedicated S3 bucket. We launched the simulator to generate test data for analysis, streaming data to Firehose. We configured Amazon QuickSight to perform business intelligence analytics on the sample data.

Module 6: Event-Based Architecture → connecting SNS topic with EventBridge

Finally, in the last module, we built new functionality that allows the park's maintenance teams to get alerts from the ride systems. We connected the SNS topic with the ride data to Amazon EventBridge, a serverless event bus service. A Lambda function pushed data from the SNS topic to EventBridge, decoupling the producers and consumers of events and making it easy to address new requirements without impacting existing systems.

Overall, the workshop provided a comprehensive and hands-on experience in using AWS services to build a serverless web app for a theme park. It taught me how to use different AWS services effectively to build a serverless web app for a theme park, and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about AWS serverless app and how frontend and backend services could be built up in AWS.

So, what are you waiting for? Give it a try and let me know what you think of the workshop!