Cloud Chapter 4: High Availability & Scalability

Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of a Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

To operate at the application layer of the OSI model

To manage SSL certificates for load balancing

To provide legacy support for HTTP and TCP protocols

To handle millions of requests per second with low latencies (correct)

Which of the following load balancers support SSL?

Network Load Balancer

Gateway Load Balancer

Application Load Balancer (correct)

Classic Load Balancer

What is the purpose of Auto Scaling Groups (ASG) in AWS?

To automatically adjust the number of instances based on load (correct)

To create and maintain inline virtual network appliances

To perform data migration and backup for RDS

To manage static IP addresses for load balancers

Which type of scaling in an Auto Scaling Group is most straightforward to set up?

Target Tracking Scaling Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of using an Elastic Load Balancer (ELB)?

To forward internet traffic to multiple servers Signup and view all the answers

What role does the Gateway Load Balancer play in networking?

It operates at the network layer and manages IP packet traffic. Signup and view all the answers

Which feature of Elastic Load Balancing helps improve the availability of applications?

Health checks of instances Signup and view all the answers

Which routing algorithm is used by default in an Application Load Balancer (ALB)?

Round robin Signup and view all the answers

Which is a key management task supported by Amazon RDS?

Data migration and backup processes Signup and view all the answers

Which protocol is NOT supported by Classic Load Balancer?

SSL Signup and view all the answers

What protocol layers does a Network Load Balancer (NLB) operate at?

Layer 4 only Signup and view all the answers

What functionality does SSL Termination provide in Elastic Load Balancing?

It reduces load on application servers Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of Elastic IPs in relation to NLB?

To maintain a static IP per Availability Zone Signup and view all the answers

Which types of traffic does the Application Load Balancer (ALB) primarily balance?

HTTP and HTTPS Signup and view all the answers

What does 'stickiness with cookies' refer to in Elastic Load Balancing?

Maintaining session persistence Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes the Application Load Balancer (ALB) from the Network Load Balancer (NLB)?

ALB is designed for HTTP/HTTPS, NLB for TCP/UDP Signup and view all the answers

What primary functionality does Amazon RDS provide?

It is a service for managing relational databases. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following features is unique to Amazon Aurora?

High-performance storage subsystem. Signup and view all the answers

How can users manage access permissions in Amazon RDS?

Through AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies. Signup and view all the answers

What is the maximum size that an Aurora cluster volume can grow to?

128 tebibytes (TiB) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes the pricing model for Amazon Aurora?

Charges based on DB instance hours and data transfer. Signup and view all the answers

What is a key security feature of Amazon RDS for data at rest?

Encryption using AWS Key Management Service (KMS). Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a feature of Amazon Aurora?

On-premises installation capabilities. Signup and view all the answers

What method does Amazon RDS utilize to encrypt data in transit?

Secure Socket Layer / Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS). Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Elastic Load Balancer (ELB)

ELB forwards internet traffic to multiple EC2 servers, spreading load efficiently.
Provides a single point of access through DNS, enhancing user experience.
Conducts regular health checks on instances to ensure seamless handling of failures.
Offers SSL termination for secure HTTPS connections.
Supports session stickiness via cookies to maintain user sessions.
Ensures high availability across multiple Availability Zones (AZs) and separates public/private traffic.

Features of Elastic Load Balancing

Security measures to protect applications.
High availability and throughput, enhancing performance.
Health checks to monitor instance status.
Sticky sessions for user retention.
Operational monitoring and logging capabilities for performance insights.
Delete protection feature to prevent accidental removal of load balancers.

Types of Load Balancers on AWS

Application Load Balancer (ALB)
- Operates at the application layer (OSI layer 7), handling HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket traffic.
- Evaluates listener rules to route requests based on content.
- Supports advanced request routing and SSL.
Network Load Balancer (NLB)
- Works at the transport layer (OSI layer 4), handling millions of requests per second.
- Supports TCP, TLS (secure TCP), and UDP traffic balancing.
- Capable of ultra-low latencies (~100ms) compared to ~400ms for ALB.
- Assigns one static IP per AZ and allows Elastic IP assignments.
Classic Load Balancer
- Supports HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP but does not support SSL.
- Considered a legacy option, offering basic load balancing features.
Gateway Load Balancer
- Managed service enabling the creation of inline virtual network appliances.
- Operates at the network layer (OSI layer 3) and routes IP packets to defined target groups.

Associating SSL Certificate with ALB

Open Amazon EC2 console and select the desired Application Load Balancer.
Choose to add a listener for HTTPS on port 443.
Select the target group for forwarding connections.
Utilize an ACM (AWS Certificate Manager) certificate for SSL.

Auto Scaling Group (ASG)

Designed to dynamically scale in/out based on workload.
Maintains a minimum/maximum number of running instances.
Automatically registers new instances to the associated load balancer.

Scaling Policies

Launch Configurations define details for creating new instances.
Target Tracking Scaling: A simple approach maintaining desired metrics (e.g., CPU at 40%).
Scheduled Actions: Allows planned scaling events like increasing capacity based on time.

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service)

Managed SQL database service for deploying and maintaining relational databases in the cloud.
Facilitates tasks like data migration, backup, recovery, and patching.

Features of Amazon RDS

Supports replication and various storage configurations.
Provides monitoring, automated patching, and backup features.
Offers incremental billing models and encryption for data security.

Amazon Aurora

Fully managed relational database compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Designed for high performance with a scalable storage subsystem, reaching sizes up to 128 TiB.
Offers five times the performance of MySQL at a fraction of the cost.

Key Features of Amazon Aurora

High availability and durability with robust security measures.
Scalable performance tailored for cloud environments.
Fully managed service with pricing based on usage including instance hours, I/O requests, and data transfer.

Amazon RDS Security Features

Operate databases in Amazon VPC for network isolation and enhanced security.
Use security groups for fine control over connection settings.
Implement AWS IAM policies to manage user permissions effectively.

RDS Encryption

Provides encryption for data at rest using AWS KMS keys, including automated backups and snapshots.
Encrypts data in transit using SSL/TLS connections for secure communication.

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Description

This quiz focuses on Chapter 4 of Cloud Computing, covering high availability and scalability with a particular emphasis on Elastic Load Balancers (ELB). Participants will explore the functionalities of load balancers, such as distributing traffic, handling instance failures, and providing SSL termination. Test your knowledge on these critical aspects of cloud architecture.