Programming for the Amazon EC2 cloud
Lofty Code
© Iakov Kalinin, Fotolia
We show you some techniques for harnessing the benefits of cloud technology.
Everyone is talking about the promise of cloud computing, but when it comes to implementation, some of the early adopters have simply deployed cloud services by copying older methods used in conventional environments. In fact, the cloud can do much more for you. Running sites on EC2 is easy, but really making use of the scalability and flexibility of cloud computing requires a new approach (Figure 1). In this article, I describe some techniques for building the benefits of cloud computing into your infrastructure. Although I use examples based on the Ruby language and Amazon's EC2 cloud environment, these concepts also apply to other languages and cloud vendors.
Keep It Static
In the cloud, you don't need everything to go through your server (even if it is virtual). You don't need a virtual server for serving files, managing queues, and storing shared data. Dedicated services can perform these tasks, and using them will help you get your applications working better in the cloud.
Online Storage
In this first example, you use an online storage service to host your static files. Because it takes an unnecessary load off of your web servers, online storage is good practice for any site operating within the cloud paradigm. In the case of the Amazon environment, the S3 service (Simple Storage Service) will play host to your static files.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.