How I Designed a Scalable AWS Architecture for a Growing Startup (And Earned My Solutions Architect Certificate)
Ever wondered how to architect a solution that can handle sudden traffic spikes while keeping costs under control? I recently tackled this exact challenge through AWS's Solutions Architect simulation on Forage AWS Challenge, and the experience taught me invaluable lessons about cloud architecture design.
After completing the Commonwealth Bank Software Engineering Challenge, I discovered this AWS challenge that would test my ability to design scalable hosting architecture. The simulation was so well-crafted that I got completely absorbed in solving the real-world scenario presented.
Here's how I approached designing a scalable infrastructure for a fictional startup facing genuine scaling problems—and earned my AWS Solutions Architect certificate in the process.
Want to try the challenge yourself? Check it out here before reading further. SPOILER ALERT below!
The Challenge: A Growing Startup's Infrastructure Crisis
The simulation places you in the role of an AWS Solutions Architect receiving a client email. Here's the scenario that landed in my inbox:
To: luis.faria@aws.com
From: lilly.sawyer@fastier.com
Subject: Scaling and Deployment Solutions for Our Python Web ApplicationHi there,
I hope this email finds you well. My name is Lilly Sawyer, and I'm the CTO of Fastier, a startup that has been experiencing rapid growth over the past few months.
We currently have a Python web application (a mix of API and web app) that is hosted on a single AWS EC2 instance (t3.medium, 4GB of RAM). Our application is built using Python and Flask, and we use PostgreSQL as our database.
As our user base has grown, we've started to encounter some significant challenges:
- Our website becomes very slow during peak periods, and we've even experienced a few server crashes due to memory overflow.
- We're experiencing downtime during deployments, which is frustrating for our users.
- We don't have any disaster recovery plan in place, and the thought of losing our data keeps me up at night.
We're looking for a solution that can help us scale our application to handle increased traffic, eliminate downtime during deployments, and provide us with a robust disaster recovery plan.
Can you design an architecture for us that will alleviate the problems we're experiencing? We are not on a strict budget right now, but at the same time, it's not unlimited.
Kind regards,
Lilly
Classic startup scaling problems! This scenario captures the challenges many growing companies face: single points of failure, performance bottlenecks, and deployment headaches.
My Solution: Elastic Beanstalk-Centered Architecture
After analyzing Fastier's requirements, I designed a comprehensive AWS architecture that addresses each pain point while positioning them for future growth.
Core Components & Rationale
AWS Elastic Beanstalk - The Foundation
- Native Python runtime support with minimal configuration
- Automatic capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring
- Zero-downtime deployments through blue/green strategies
- Built-in auto-scaling based on traffic patterns
Auto Scaling EC2 Groups - Dynamic Resource Management
- Automatically scales up during traffic spikes
- Scales down during quiet periods to optimize costs
- Redundant deployment across multiple availability zones
- Eliminates single server overwhelm scenarios
Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) - Traffic Distribution
- High availability through health checks and automatic failover
- Improved response times via intelligent request routing
- SSL termination capabilities for enhanced security
- Lightning-fast response times under load
Amazon RDS PostgreSQL - Managed Database
- Automated backups and point-in-time recovery
- Multi-AZ deployment for database redundancy
- Automatic scaling and maintenance windows
- Enhanced security with encryption at rest and in transit
Amazon S3 - Static Content Hosting
- Virtually unlimited storage capacity
- 99.99% durability guarantee
- Cost-effective storage with multiple storage classes
- Perfect for CSS, JavaScript, images, and other assets
AWS CodePipeline - CI/CD Automation
- Automated deployment process
- Blue/green deployments for zero-downtime releases
- Rollback capabilities if issues arise
- End-to-end continuous integration and deployment
Route 53 - DNS Management
- High availability and reliable domain resolution
- Health checks and automatic failover
- Seamless integration with other AWS services
My Response to Lilly
Here's the email I crafted addressing Fastier's specific needs:
Hi Lilly,
Thank you for your message and for giving us the opportunity to assess your current setup.
What you're facing is a common challenge for companies growing fast—and it's actually a great signal! We've had countless startups in the same position, and it's always a turning point that leads to exciting growth.
I've collaborated closely with our top Solutions Architects here at AWS to craft an infrastructure proposal that not only solves your current pain points but will scale seamlessly with Fastier's future growth.
I'd be delighted to make myself available next week to walk through what we've prepared for you. When would be a good time for a 30-minute sync? Feel free to reply here or schedule directly: calendly.com/luisfaria
You can take a sneak peek at the attached architecture diagram and find a simplified summary below:
Fastier Architecture Revamp - At a Glance
- Elastic Beanstalk: PaaS for simplified deployment, zero-downtime updates, built-in auto-scaling and health checks
- EC2 Auto Scaling Groups: Dynamically handle spikes and quiet periods; redundant across two availability zones
- Elastic Load Balancer (ELB): Ensures high availability, SSL termination, and lightning-fast response times
- RDS PostgreSQL: Managed DB with backups, encryption, and failover support
- Amazon S3: Secure, scalable static asset hosting for images, CSS, JS, etc.
- CodePipeline: End-to-end CI/CD flow, including rollback + blue/green deployments
- Route 53: High-availability DNS with traffic routing and failover
Migration Strategy
- Containerize the current Python web app
- Set up Elastic Beanstalk environment
- Migrate DB to RDS with minimal downtime
- Implement CI/CD with CodePipeline
- Gradual cutover to new infrastructure
Note: We've internally named this initiative "Fastier Architecture Revamp," and we'd love to feature it in our AWS Success Stories series once live: https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies
Looking forward to helping Fastier scale with confidence!
Warm regards,
Luis Faria
Mission Accomplished!
The comprehensive solution earned me this awesome AWS Solutions Architect certificate:
Key Takeaways
This challenge reinforced several critical architecture principles:
- Start with the pain points: Every architectural decision should address specific business problems
- Design for failure: Assume that components will fail and plan accordingly
- Automate everything: From deployments to scaling, automation reduces risk and operational overhead
- Think beyond the MVP: To consider how the architecture will evolve as the business grows
- Cost optimization matters: Use auto-scaling and managed services to optimize spend
Areas for Enhancement
While I'm confident in the core solution, I recognize there are areas that could be enhanced:
- Observability & Monitoring: CloudWatch dashboards, X-Ray tracing, and comprehensive alerting
- Security: WAF implementation, VPC configuration, and IAM role optimization
- Performance: CloudFront CDN integration for global content delivery
- Cost Management: Reserved instances strategy and detailed cost monitoring
What's Next?
The complete solution, including my notes and architecture diagrams, is available as open source on GitHub.
Calling all AWS experts! What do you think about my solution? I'd love to hear your thoughts on potential improvements, especially around the observability and monitoring aspects I mentioned.
What architectural challenges are you currently facing? Let's discuss!
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