🌍 Project Overview
As part of a Architect Engineer assessment for XYZ Company, I was tasked with designing a secure, scalable, and reliable AWS-based architecture for a government-backed e-learning platform.
The goal was to create a system capable of serving up to 200 million users across multiple regions — supporting video streaming, quizzes, progress tracking, and a multilingual AI chatbot.
🧱 Architecture Goal
Design a 3-tier AWS architecture that ensures:
- Scalability for millions of users
- Security and compliance with government data standards
- High availability across multiple Availability Zones
- Cost efficiency using serverless and auto-scaling resources
⚙️ Core AWS Services Used
1️⃣ User Authentication & Access Management
- Amazon Cognito for secure user authentication
- Integrated with government identity providers via SAML/OAuth
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled for all users
- Role-based access for students, instructors, and administrators
2️⃣ Video Delivery and Streaming
- Amazon S3 stores all course materials and videos
- AWS Elemental MediaConvert handles video transcoding
- Amazon CloudFront (CDN) delivers content with adaptive bitrate streaming for smooth playback across all regions
- Content is secured using signed URLs and S3 encryption
3️⃣ Multilingual AI Chatbot
- Amazon Lex powers the conversational interface
- Amazon Translate automatically detects and translates languages
- Chatbot supports English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and Pidgin
- Personalized responses based on user progress data stored in Aurora
4️⃣ Monitoring & Compliance
- AWS CloudTrail logs all API activities for audit purposes
- Amazon CloudWatch monitors performance metrics and triggers alarms
- AWS Config ensures resource compliance with security policies
5️⃣ Quizzes & Progress Tracking
- Real-time quiz scoring and feedback using AWS Lambda + API Gateway
- Data stored in Amazon Aurora (PostgreSQL) for structured consistency
- DynamoDB used for low-latency user progress tracking
6️⃣ Data Storage & Analytics
| Data Type | AWS Service |
|---|---|
| Videos & Materials | Amazon S3 |
| User & Quiz Data | Amazon Aurora |
| Progress Tracking | Amazon DynamoDB |
| Analytics & Reporting | AWS Glue + Redshift (future phase) |
Here is the Native Design below:
🏗️ 3-Tier Architecture Design
Tier 1: Web Layer
- Deployed on Auto-Scaled EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in public subnets
Tier 2: Application Layer
- Stateless compute services (EC2 or AWS Lambda) in private subnets
Tier 3: Database Layer
- Aurora Cluster in private subnets, Multi-AZ enabled with read replicas
Additional Infrastructure:
- VPC with 6 subnets (3 public, 3 private across 3 AZs)
- NAT Gateway for private subnet outbound access
- Security Groups + Network ACLs for layered protection
- CloudFront CDN for global performance acceleration
💰 Cost Optimization Highlights
- Aurora Serverless v2 for automatic scaling of database capacity
- S3 Intelligent-Tiering for optimizing storage costs
- Spot Instances for EC2 auto-scaling groups
- AWS Budgets + Cost Explorer for continuous cost monitoring
🧠 Key Outcomes
- Highly available, fault-tolerant, and secure architecture
- Optimized for millions of concurrent users
- Ready for NDPR/ISO compliance via CloudTrail and IAM governance
- Inclusive learning through multilingual AI support
🧾 Deliverables
- AWS Architecture Diagram
- Statement of Work (SOW)
- Presentation Slide Deck
🚀 Conclusion
This project demonstrates the power of cloud-native architecture on AWS in enabling education at scale — bringing inclusive, accessible, and secure learning to millions of users across regions.
It also highlights my practical experience as a Cloud Engineer in building enterprise-grade solutions that combine scalability, security, and innovation.
📬 Connect With Me
👤 Bakre Jamiu (CloudWithHorla)
AWS Cloud & DevOps Engineer
✉️ bakrejamiu@gmail.com
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