Optimizing Scalability, Security, and Cost Efficiency for a Research Platform
Leveraging AWS to modernize infrastructure, improve performance, and reduce operational costs for a dynamic research platform.
About
The Client
The client offers a subscription-based research platform designed to cater specific needs of K-12 students, educators, and researchers. This platform delivers an extensive research experience, featuring advanced tools for research, citation management, feedback, and collaboration. The interface supports genuine research practices and facilitates smooth collaboration among users. Key features include real-time collaboration, resource sharing, and the ability for educators to provide feedback on student projects.
The
Challenge
Scalability and Performance during Peak Periods
The client’s EC2-based infrastructure struggled with scalability during peak academic periods, leading to performance drops that impacted user experience. Manual scaling was resource-intensive, slow, and often inadequate for sudden traffic spikes.
Maintaining System Efficiency and Security
Frequent maintenance tasks, including patching and monitoring, demanded constant attention, diverting resources from feature development. Inconsistent patching schedules also exposed the platform to security vulnerabilities.
Cost Management and Optimization
Over-provisioning of EC2 instances during off-peak hours led to high, unnecessary costs. Manual deployments delayed feature releases and introduced errors, further impacting efficiency and profitability in a variable usage environment.
Legacy Infrastructure Constraints
Reliance on a legacy NFS server on CentOS-based EC2 instances created performance and scalability limitations, hampering the platform's ability to meet growing demand and adopt modern, efficient operations.
What Forgeahead Did
Forgeahead implemented an AWS-centric solution to address these challenges, focusing on scalability, automation, and cost efficiency
Migration to Amazon
ECS Fargate
Transitioned to a fully managed, containerized environment with Docker on ECS Fargate, eliminating the need for direct EC2 management and enabling seamless auto-scaling to match demand.
CI/CD Automation with Bitbucket Pipelines
Established an automated deployment pipeline using Bitbucket Pipelines, significantly reducing deployment times and minimizing service downtime during updates.
Enhanced Monitoring
and Logging
Implemented Amazon CloudWatch for real-time performance tracking and used Observinc to enhance logging capabilities, improving insight into system performance.
Adoption of Serverless Architecture
Moved non-real-time tasks to AWS Lambda and utilized AWS SQS for asynchronous processes, optimizing resource usage and costs.
Migration to Amazon
EFS
Replaced the legacy NFS server with Amazon EFS, providing scalable, high-performance storage with integrated security, reducing maintenance requirements, and improving data access speeds.
Role of AWS in Building
the SaaS Application
AWS played a crucial role in transforming the client’s infrastructure and application capabilities
Scalability
ECS Fargate and Lambda enabled automatic scaling to handle traffic spikes without manual intervention.
Operational Efficiency
The fully managed environment minimized maintenance, allowing the client to focus on feature development.
Cost Optimization
Pay-per-use models and reserved instances optimized resource allocation and reduced costs.
Enhanced Security
AWS-managed services provided automated updates, encryption, and consistent monitoring, improving security across the platform.
Improved Storage & Access
Amazon EFS offered scalable, secure file storage, optimizing performance and operational expenses.
Seamless auto-scaling with ECS Fargate to handle traffic spikes effectively.
30% reduction in infrastructure costs through a pay-per-use model and optimized resource allocation.
Enhanced security with automated updates and robust encryption, reducing vulnerabilities.
75% decrease in deployment times, allowing for rapid updates and feature releases.
Achieved 99.99% uptime, significantly improving user access and reliability.
Increased flexibility and dynamic scaling, leading to faster development cycles and more frequent updates.
Improved file access speeds and application responsiveness through Amazon EFS, reducing maintenance overhead.
Optimized storage and operational costs via the pay-as-you-go pricing model for EFS and serverless architecture, ensuring sustainability.
AWS Services Used
ECS Fargate
ECR
RDS Aurora Cluster
S3
EFS
Route53
OpenSearch
Elasticache
SQS
Lambda
CloudFront
DynamoDB
KMS
SAM
EC2
DevOps Tech Stack Used
Bitbucket
VCS & CI/CD
Docker Containers
Sonarqube
Nginx Web Server
Observe Inc.
What’s next?
Developing a Secure, Multi-Tenant SaaS Platform for Modern Learning
