After helping build 50+ cloud architectures in just 4 days, I discovered something surprising: 90% of applications use the same 7 components.
You don't need to memorize 200+ AWS services. Master these 7, and you can build almost anything.
The Magnificent 7
1️⃣ Compute (EC2/VM)
🖥️ What it does: Runs your application code
When to use: Web servers, APIs, background jobs
Real example: Your Node.js app serving the website
Type: AWS::EC2::Instance
Purpose: Application Server
Size: t3.medium
2️⃣ Load Balancer (ALB/ELB)
⚖️ What it does: Distributes traffic across servers
When to use: High availability, scaling
Real example: Handling Black Friday traffic spikes
Type: AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer
Purpose: Traffic Distribution
Health Checks: Every 30 seconds
3️⃣ Database (RDS/Managed DB)
🗄️ What it does: Stores your structured data
When to use: User accounts, transactions, inventory
Real example: PostgreSQL for your e-commerce orders
Type: AWS::RDS::DBInstance
Engine: postgres
Multi-AZ: true
Backups: 7 days
4️⃣ Storage (S3/Blob)
📦 What it does: Stores files and assets
When to use: Images, videos, backups, logs
Real example: User profile pictures, product images
Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
Versioning: Enabled
Lifecycle: Archive after 90 days
5️⃣ CDN (CloudFront)
🌐 What it does: Caches content globally
When to use: Static assets, API acceleration
Real example: Serving images 10x faster worldwide
Type: AWS::CloudFront::Distribution
Origins: S3 + Load Balancer
Cache: 24 hours for images
6️⃣ Security Group
🛡️ What it does: Firewall for your resources
When to use: Always (seriously, always)
Real example: Only allow HTTPS traffic
Type: AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup
Inbound: 443 (HTTPS) from anywhere
Outbound: All traffic allowed
7️⃣ Subnet/Network
🔒 What it does: Isolates resources in private networks
When to use: Database isolation, security layers
Real example: Database in private subnet, web in public
Type: AWS::EC2::Subnet
Public Subnet: Web servers
Private Subnet: Databases
NAT Gateway: For outbound traffic
Real Architecture Examples
🛒 E-commerce Site
Load Balancer → routes to multiple Compute instances
Database → stores products and orders
Storage → product images
CDN → fast image delivery
Security Groups → protect each layer
Subnets → isolate database
📱 Mobile App Backend
Load Balancer → handles API requests
Compute → runs API servers
Database → user data and app state
Storage → user uploads
CDN → API acceleration
Security Groups → API protection
Subnets → secure architecture
📊 Data Analytics Platform
Compute → processing servers
Storage → data lake
Database → processed results
Load Balancer → dashboard access
CDN → report caching
Security Groups → data protection
Subnets → processing isolation
Why These 7?
After analyzing hundreds of architectures:
80% use all 7 components
15% use 5-6 components
5% need specialized services
These components are:
Battle-tested at scale
Well-documented with examples
Supported across all clouds
Cost-optimized with free tiers
The Canvas Cloud AI Advantage
Instead of memorizing these components, Canvas Cloud AI lets you:
Describe your application in plain English
Visualize the architecture instantly
Understand how components connect
Deploy with generated Terraform
Try it yourself: https://www.canvascloud.ai
Your Turn
What are you building? Can it be built with these 7 components?
Share your architecture ideas in the comments - I'll show you how to build them with just these pieces!
Free Resource: Cloud Architecture Cheat Sheet with these 7 components coming soon! Follow for updates.
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