Cloud applications are quickly becoming the norm for the modern world. More and more businesses are turning to cloud computing to increase their ability to quickly scale-up resources, faster deployment of services and rapid adaption of new technologies. However, with this sudden influx of enterprise cloud usage, comes new challenges and constraints that these companies must conform to and adhere to. One such challenge enterprises face is designing their cloud application architectures and infrastructure to meet the multiplied demands of the cloud and leverage its capabilities.
What exactly are the fundamental requirements for cloud application architecture? In essence, there are five primary requirements for any cloud application architecture, each interdependently and symbiotically related. These include scalability, load-balancing, reliability, quality of service, and security.
Scalability
Cloud scalability is one of the core foundations of all cloud-based architectures. An Architect must design an application that can be increased or decreased in resources and services, as needed, in order to keep up with customer demands and maintain service levels. This could include increasing the amount of RAM, CPUs, storage, or other infrastructure components as needed et cetera.
Architects should have an understanding of the platform’s ability to scale horizontally or vertically, so that the application can expand or contract accordingly. This means that designers must use the cloud platform’s scalability features to their advantage and understand the cost implications of scaling up or down to ensure the best possible performance.
For applications that can’t handle massive spikes in usage, cloud service providers will typically offer auto-scaling and load-balancing services in order to ensure performance is maintained.
Load-balancing
In order for there to be resiliency and flexibility inside of the cloud, administrators must be able to evenly distribute the workload between multiple servers, if they choose to deploy the application across multiple nodes in the cloud.
Load-balancing refers to the ability to have a pool of servers that are ready to share the workload. This means having the flexibility to configure a network of servers to handle requests in order to keep applications running optimally and improve end-user experience.
In a cloud environment, there are dozens of possible scenarios that necessitate the use of load-balancing. This could include transferring requests from an overloaded server to a less busy one, or redirecting web services from a server that is down.
Certain providers offer additional functionality, such as data-balancing, or the ability to transfer data across multiple nodes in order to ensure maximum performance and redundancy.
Reliability
Cloud Architectures must provide a certain level of dependability and availability that customers can rely on. In order to do this, Architectures must be designed in such a way that if one server becomes non-operational, the other servers are able to pick up the slack and maintain service-level agreements.
This requires the use of ‘fault-tolerant’ servers or servers that can be used in the event that another server fails. These servers are usually configured with redundant components, such as back-up power sources, and can be used as a ‘fail-over’ in the event that the primary server is unable to fulfill the request.
Often, cloud providers also offer high-availability solutions such as disaster-recovery services and auto-recovery to ensure that the service is constantly running and customers experience minimal downtime if any.
Quality Of Service
Quality of service (QoS) refers to the ability to guarantee certain service performance levels to customers, such as the speed at which services are delivered, the availability of resources, or any other performance criteria.
In order to ensure these performance levels are met, architects must deploy hardware and software architectures that are optimally configured to meet customer needs. This could include using best-in-class hardware, leveraging caching technologies, or optimizing network and storage connectivity in order to ensure customers get the most out of their cloud-based services.
It’s also important for Architects to configure the system to allow for guarantee levels of performance during setbacks, such as outages or high-load times. This requires having redundancy in all areas of the system and implementing scaled-down services in order to accommodate any overload.
Security
Security is paramount for cloud-based architectures. As with any system that is connected to the Internet, it is vulnerable to potential threats, such as viruses, malware, or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
In order to mitigate these risks, Architects should design their cloud environments following the “defense-in-depth” approach, where multiple layers of security are implemented to protect the system from all directions. This could include additional firewalls, secure-email services, or multi-factor authentication mechanisms.
The system should also be designed to be constantly monitored for potential issues or breaches and have pre-defined response plans for handling any potential incidents, such as malware outbreaks.
Finally, Architects should also be aware of the particular cloud provider’s security features and policies and use these to their advantage, if they are available.
Testing and Monitoring
When deploying applications to the cloud, the Architect must make sure to test the application and monitor the system’s performance on an ongoing basis. This could include conducting performance tests in order to determine if the system is optimized for maximum performance, verifying the system can handle spikes in usage, or running load tests on certain features in order to ensure the system will run optimally.
Testing can also include verifying the system is properly configured for reliability, such as ensuring backups are running and implemented properly, or that disaster-recovery solutions are functioning as expected.
Similarly, ongoing system monitoring is necessary to ensure the system is maintained and running properly. This could include monitoring the system for potential vulnerabilities, anomalies or errors, or for utilization spikes that could indicate the application is not designed properly or the cloud environment is not properly optimized.
These tests and monitoring techniques will provide the Architect with the necessary information to quickly identify and address any potential problems before they become serious, thus ensuring maximum benefit and performance out of the cloud application.
Automation
Another important aspect of cloud architecture that Architects must pay attention to is automation. In today’s world, customers expect systems to be scalable and self-healing, and Architects must be cognizant of this fact when designing their architectures.
To achieve this, Architects would do well to leverage auto-scaling, auto-correction and auto-recovery services offered by their cloud platforms, in order to ensure the system can scale-up or down as needed and is always running optimally.
Automation should also be implemented for system maintenance and monitoring. This could include automating the deployment of new infrastructure components or applications, or automating the system administration tasks, such as backup and restoration or daily system checks.
Finally, automation can also help with the provisioning of new users, the onboarding of new customers into the system, or the configuration of new services. With the proper implementation of automation services, a Cloud Architect can significantly improve the management and performance of their cloud-based application architectures.
Cost-efficiency
As with most infrastructure deployments, it is important that the Architects consider the cost efficiency of their cloud-based architectures. This could include using a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where resources are used only when needed and not over-provisioned, or using ‘elastic-resource’ services that allow the system to scale-up or down without incurring extra cost.
Architects should also consider the total cost-of-ownership (TCO) of the system, which refers to the initial investment as well as the long-term maintenance and management cost, including upgrading of hardware or software components. By considering the TCO, Architects can ensure that their cloud architectures are cost-efficient and optimized for maximum performance and benefit.
In addition to cost efficiency, the Architects should also consider customer satisfaction and the customer experience. This could include deploying customer-focused applications or deploying IoT or analytics services in order to provide a better user experience.
By properly managing the customer experience, Architects can ensure that their cloud-based architectures are running optimally and delivering a maximum level of customer satisfaction.
