This article features the 5 tips for optimizing your AWS infrastructure from the IT perspective

If your organization is reliant on AWS to provide mission-critical IT infrastructure, you might feel like your optimization options are limited.

Luckily this is not the case, and you simply need to know where to start making changes to secure the improvements you need.

To that end, here are some tips that will help you to master your use of AWS and also mesh this more seamlessly with in-house hardware and software.

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Use an external database server

Being overly precious about keeping your main database on-premises is unhelpful in many ways. You might think that this gives you greater control and more opportunities to manage performance on your own terms, but in the AWS age you are really just limiting yourself unnecessarily.

Migrating to an external server which is housed in a dedicated datacenter will afford you better, more consistent performance, and can come with as much or as little control as you require. It is simply a case of picking the package that suits your needs.

Use a network monitor

Troubleshooting your infrastructure is not always straightforward, and there are many useful metrics to monitor when dealing with AWS in particular.

Network monitoring is among the most important, since if you are largely reliant on cloud-powered resources then their performance and availability will stand or fall based on connectivity.

Monitoring your own network will let you look out for suboptimal usage scenarios, and will also empower you when it comes to improving security. Without one, you might not be aware of suspicious spikes in network use that would otherwise point you towards a potential breach or point of vulnerability.

Consider using logs from a virtual private cloud for troubleshooting problems

Logs are another excellent way to get insights into how your cloud infrastructure is functioning, and whether any optimization issues are in need of your attention.

AWS has its own platform for creating, storing and accessing logs across a number of the sub-services that are available under the broader Amazon cloud umbrella. Leveraging these tools is handy for both pinpointing problems and also explaining them to others, thanks to the ability to express log data visually, rather than relying on knowing what all the error codes mean.

Create a secure VPN tunnel between your on-premises systems and the cloud environment for better management of data privacy and security

While it is entirely possible to run an AWS infrastructure without worrying about how you are connecting to it from your premises, this is not ideal from a security perspective.

Instead, you will be better off setting up a VPN to act as a conduit between your in-house resources and your cloud-based infrastructure.

As well as improving the resilience of your connection, shielding your network traffic from prying eyes, you will also be able to take the reins in terms of network performance as well, which is crucial, as discussed earlier.

Configure continuous integration for your on-premises production servers in the cloud environments

When taking a hybrid approach to cloud adoption which still leaves you with server hardware that is housed and maintained on-site, one of the main optimization issues to keep in mind is that of how your in-house and AWS-based solutions are integrated.

Differences in data can create conflicts and cause performance problems, so continuous integration should be part of your optimization efforts.