Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

• How do incremental backups on Amazon EBS work?

  Looking for the best way to back up Amazon EBS? Expert Chris Moyer clarifies how incremental backups work.  Continue Reading

• What are the benefits and drawbacks of an AWS SLA?

  It's hard to determine when to adhere to a service-level agreement versus compromising for price. What are the pros and cons of the AWS SLA?  Continue Reading

• How does EFS compare to other AWS storage options?

  Amazon Elastic File System is one of a handful of choices for data storage. What are its strengths and weaknesses compared to other storage services?  Continue Reading

• How does Elastic File System affect AWS storage costs?

  Amazon only charges for actual storage capacity incurred in its new Elastic File System service. Fine, but what is the final price for the service?  Continue Reading

• What security features are available in AWS EFS?

  Our enterprise is interested in storing EC2 instances in AWS Elastic File System. How does EFS protect and restrict access to data and resources?  Continue Reading

• What are the best AWS cost management tools?

  Our company migrated to AWS to save money, but we're having a hard time managing and monitoring cloud costs. What tools can help?  Continue Reading

• How do I schedule tasks in Amazon EC2 Container Service?

  Our enterprise started using Amazon ECS to run instances within containers. How can developers create and schedule tasks in the service?  Continue Reading

• How can we save money in Amazon EC2 Container Service?

  Our group doesn't need containers all the time. How can we scale back or stop a Docker container that's running in Amazon Elastic Container Service?  Continue Reading

• How can I manage workloads that run on-premises and in AWS?

  Our enterprise is running workloads on-premises and in AWS. What tools and resources can we use to maintain performance in all the applications?  Continue Reading

• What is the AWS billing structure for Lambda?

  We clarify how Amazon bills users for their requests within Lambda. Dealing with large and small numbers, developers need to be aware of their computing decisions.  Continue Reading

• How do I manage and monitor AWS Lambda code?

  AWS Lambda code creates threads and processes to help companies thrive. But how should developers manage Lambda functions for the best results?  Continue Reading

• What is AWS Lambda and how can our enterprise use it?

  Lambda automatically manages compute resources for its AWS users. But, how can your business take advantage of Lambda's responsive offerings?  Continue Reading

• Which EC2 instance types are better for regression tests?

  When performing regression tests in the cloud, should we choose to run tests on one AWS EC2 instance versus another?  Continue Reading

• What are the top features in AWS Machine Learning?

  Before our developers experiment with AWS Machine Learning, what are some of its main features, how much does it cost and how secure is the service?  Continue Reading

• How do I create machine learning applications for AWS?

  Enterprises interested in AWS Machine Learning should follow these four steps to successfully create machine learning applications.  Continue Reading

• How to resize an EBS volume

  AWS recently increased EBS volume sizes, enabling companies to store up to 16 TB. What steps do we need to take to resize an EBS volume?  Continue Reading

• Should I use Amazon DynamoDB when developing mobile apps?

  Our company is developing mobile apps and looking into DynamoDB. What are the benefits of using the database service with mobile apps?  Continue Reading

• Use Git to version-control AWS app development

  Our developers are looking for a simple way to keep tabs on code for AWS app development. How can GitHub help them manage and share application code?  Continue Reading

• Five reasons to use Go for AWS cloud programming

  We have some new cloud development projects in the works and I've been hearing a lot about Go. What is it and should I use it for a new AWS project?  Continue Reading

• How to save an Amazon EBS snapshot to S3

  I'd like to back up an Elastic Block Store volume to AWS S3. What do I have to do and what are the associated costs?  Continue Reading

• What can we expect from AWS SDK Go?

  With Amazon’s latest announcement to deliver a new AWS SDK to Go-using customers, we asked expert contributor Chris Moyer to weigh in on the news.  Continue Reading

• Advantages of Amazon RDS vs. a personal relational database

  One of the advantages of developers using Amazon RDS instead of managing their own databases is that it reduces or eliminates their administrative responsibilities.  Continue Reading

• Can I turn off unused AWS EC2 instances?

  I've heard our company could save money if we turn off our AWS EC2 instances when they're not in use. How can I manually do that?  Continue Reading

• Does AWS CloudFront work with static and dynamic content?

  Dan Sullivan reviews AWS CloudFront and the two types of content it works with, static and dynamic.  Continue Reading

• Benefits of Amazon SES in the enterprise

  Marketing firms and online gaming companies often look for less expensive ways to send bulk email to customers or would-be buyers. Here's a look at what Amazon SES has to offer.  Continue Reading

• What Amazon CloudWatch Logs can and can't do

  There are a lot of tools available to manage AWS resources, including the native CloudWatch Logs. So, what exactly does it do and is this monitoring tool right for your enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Amazon Machine Images: HVM or PV?

  Learn the differences between HVM and PV for Amazon Machine Images.  Continue Reading

• Amazon cloud services: What's new?

  Expert Chris Moyer discusses whether Amazon cloud services are new or simply updates of older services.  Continue Reading

• Considering Amazon WorkSpaces? Balance virtual desktop pros and cons

  In this answer, expert Chris Moyer discusses concerns companies should address before moving to Amazon WorkSpaces or other virtual-desktop services.  Continue Reading

• Amazon Kinesis: When to use Amazon's new big-data processing service

  In this expert answer, Chris Moyer offers advice on using Amazon Kinesis for near-real-time processing of streaming big data.  Continue Reading

• Do you need a hardware security module to protect your information?

  Expert Chris Moyer explains how to decide whether your company needs a hardware security module, or HSM, to protect valuable corporate information.  Continue Reading

• How can I programmatically control AWS cloud and storage resources?

  System admins who fear losing functionality in a move to a public cloud actually have several tools to programmatically control an AWS cloud.  Continue Reading

• How do I choose the right AWS instance for my cloud application?

  Expert Chris Moyer explains AWS instances and which types are right for your cloud application.  Continue Reading

• What's the difference between Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront?

  Storing large files in the cloud has its advantages, and Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront are two seemingly identical options. What's the difference?  Continue Reading