DynamoDB allows us to store complex data structures and deeply nested objects, but this complexity isn’t free. In this post we take a look at how different Lambda configurations impact the read times from boto3. We examine how different resource configurations can improve the read time of the same item by more than a factor of 12.
Data modelling in NoSQL databases is different from what we’re used to in the relational world. In this article we’ll talk about the process of data modelling in DynamoDB, single-table design and how to build a basic data access layer using python. We’ll explore these concepts by building a product catalog for a simple webshop that supports different query patterns and basic inventory management.
In this post I’ll introduce DynamoDB, a very powerful fully managed NoSQL wide-column data store in AWS. We will talk about data structures, the APIs to read and write data, indexes, as well as performance and cost considerations. In the end you will gain a solid understanding of the basics, which will serve as a starting point for further research.
Many Lambda functions are written in Python and use the AWS SDK boto3. Initializing your first boto3 client or resource can take a long time after a Lambda cold start. In this article we explore how much exactly and why it’s up to 10x faster on Lambdas with more memory.
Amazon CloudWatch is a managed service for storing, visualizing and analyzing logs and metrics data of applications and AWS infrastructure. The service is simple to configure and use and is priced based on usage. Thus, adoption is generally both easy and cheap compared to other tools such as Splunk, ElasticSearch, Datadog, and all the others out there. Upon heavy usage, it can become quite expensive though. This post summarizes some common cost drivers in CloudWatch and proposes strategies to identify these and reduce their costs.
Yoni: Oftentimes, when we think about protecting resources in the cloud, we immediately think about the typical ways in - via public-facing applications or abuse of credentials. In this talk, we will look at one additional way: through the work unit parameters of a service. During the development of Indeni’s Cloudrail SaaS product, Yoni was responsible for trying to find ways to hack into the service. One of the ways he found, raises questions about how secure ECS workloads really are.
Database migrations can be a complex and time consuming task. This is particularly true for heterogeneous database migrations. Today we will see how the AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) can be a life saver for both homogeneous and heterogeneous migrations.
In a recent training I learned something about DynamoDB streams that surprised me. I had expected that any PutItem, UpdateItem or DeleteItem API call would cause a record to appear in the stream of my table, but that’s not the case. The stream works a little different from what I expected and in this short article I’m going to explain to you how.
