Week 11: Firebase & Amazon Web Services
AWS, Firebase & Cloud-Based Services
Introduction To Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- AWS is a
cloud-based service hosted by Amazon offering various services to cater to different storage
and management requirements. Some of the most popular database services are stated below:
- Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service): A relational database service supporting the most used engines like MySQL, PostgreSQL and Oracle
- Amazon DynamoDB: A fully managed, key-value NoSQL database designed to run high-performance applications at any scale
- Amazon Aurora: A fully managed MySQL- and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database
- AWS has grown in popularity due to its global reach as it operates in most regions worldwide, its scalability allows businesses/organisations to adapt the scale of their resources as requirements change over time and it is cost-effective as users only pay for the resources they use through the pay-as-you-go model, hence often resulting in a lower cost than having a full on-premises infrastructure
- Advantages of AWS:
- It is flexible as customers can choose from a wide range of services of various prices based on the needs
- They implement robust security measures to protect data and infrastructure from potential threats
- It is reliable as their infrastructure is designed for high availability and fault tolerance which ensures business continuity
- They regularly introduces new features and services hence staying at the forefront of cloud technology
- Disadvantages of AWS:
- The large number of services to choose from and having to setup/maintain it all can be overwhelming for beginners
- The mismanagement of resources can result in huge unexpected costs. Read this Medium article about how an error in a lambda function cost a company thousands of dollars per day
- Customers often suffer from vendor lock-in after joining AWS which is the situation where they cannot easily transition to a competitor's services (which in this case is another cloud provider) due to the complexities and challenges it may involve
- Some of the most
notable users of AWS include:
- Netflix
- Twitch
- Airbnb
- NASA
Introduction To Firebase
- Firebase is a
mobile and web application development platform by Google that offers a range of cloud-based
services to assist developers in building and scaling applications efficiently. The primary
database services provided by Firebase are:
- Real-Time Database: A NoSQL database that syncs data in real-time between clients and servers
- Cloud Firestore: A flexible and scalable NoSQL database that offers real-time syncing, more powerful querying and hierarchical data structures
- Firebase allows for seamless data synchronisation across multiple clients in real-time, enabling collaborative features like chat apps, notifications and shared documents and allows for developers to quickly build functional prototypes without the need for complex backend setups
- Advantages of Firebase:
- It saves time and effort with its pre-built components and easy integration
- It scales automatically to handle increased user demand and data growth
- Its serverless architecture reduces the need for complex server management
- Through real-time updates, users experience real-time data changes which enhances the overall experience
- Disadvantages of Firebase:
- Same as AWS, customers often suffer from vendor lock-in after joining Firebase as migrating away from it can be challenging due to platform-specific integrations
- Firebase has limited query capabilities since complex queries may be challenging to implement with real-time databases hence its performance may not match that of traditional databases for specific use cases
- While Firebase has a free tier, extensive usage or scaling may lead to increased costs for companies
- Some of the most
notable users of Firebase include:
- Alibaba
- The New York Times
- Trustpilot
- Duolingo
- Accenture
- Lyft
- Trivago
The Future Of Cloud Computing
- Some of the main
reasons why cloud computing has become more popular over traditional infrastructure include:
- The ability to scale resources on-demand allows businesses to expand/contract their computing power and storage as needed, ensuring cost-effectiveness and adaptability to changing requirements
- It eliminates the need for upfront investment in physical infrastructure and maintenance costs as companies only pay for what they consume thus transforming the capital-intensive IT model into an operational expense
- It allows users to access data and applications from anywhere with an internet connection hence this flexibility has revolutionised remote work, collaboration, and the availability of services across different devices
- Cloud service providers invest heavily in robust security measures, often surpassing what an individual organisation can achieve which enhances data protection and disaster recovery
- Cloud computing addresses several challenges such as providing tools for processing and analysing large datasets efficiently, minimising downtime through disaster recovery and backup services ensuring data resilience and their ability to be deployed globally means it can reach users worldwide with minimum latency
- Cloud computing is poised for continued growth with increased integration with AI/ML helping to improve existing services, further abstracting infrastructure management, enabling developers to focus solely on code and pushing computation closer to end-users to reduce latency and support real-time applications
Practice Question
Select all the incorrect statements about AWS, Firebase, and Cloud Computing.
End Of Week Quiz
Note: A score of 70% or higher would mean you
have successfully completed the week 11 workshop