Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - Improve performance and availability with AWS Global Accelerator (NET301)

Summary

• AWS Global Accelerator improves performance, availability, and security for internet-facing applications globally.
• Ananda Rajagopal, lead product manager for Global Accelerator and internet monitoring at AWS, presents the session.
• The session covers a refresher on Global Accelerator, multi-region deployments, DDoS protection capabilities, a case study of Okta's journey with Global Accelerator, new features introduced in 2022, and deployment best practices.
• Global Accelerator uses Anycast to provide global static IP addresses and carries end-user traffic on the Amazon global network, reducing the impact of internet weather.
• It supports TCP and UDP workloads, including HTTP, HTTPS, and quick workloads.
• Traffic is routed to the closest region's endpoints, with fast failover capabilities that do not rely on DNS.
• AWS Shield and Shield Advanced provide DDoS protection at the edge.
• Global Accelerator has 104 Points of Presence (POPs) worldwide, with new POPs added in Oman and Vietnam.
• The AWS global network is high bandwidth and congestion-free, with multiple redundant 400 gig links.
• Global Accelerator offers up to 60% improvement in throughput due to optimizations like TCP termination at the edge.
• Over 20,000 customers use Global Accelerator across various industries.
• Okta's case study highlights their migration to Global Accelerator for improved edge resiliency and simplified customer IP allow listing.
• New features in 2022 include dual-stack accelerators for IPv6 support and API calls for adding/removing endpoints.
• Best practices for deployment include avoiding connection collisions, managing TCP keep-alives, disabling cross-zone load balancing on NLB endpoints, ensuring sufficient IP address space in subnets, and using both IP addresses of the accelerator.

Insights

• Global Accelerator is a critical service for businesses that require high availability and performance for their internet-facing applications, especially those with a global user base.
• The service is not a CDN but a layer 4 Anycast service, which is an important distinction for potential users to understand.
• The case study of Okta demonstrates the practical benefits of migrating to Global Accelerator, including reduced complexity for customers and improved service availability during ISP events.
• The introduction of dual-stack accelerators and new API calls for endpoint management shows AWS's commitment to continuous innovation and addressing customer needs.
• The best practices shared by Ananda Rajagopal are valuable for AWS customers planning to use or already using Global Accelerator, as they address common pitfalls and optimization strategies.
• The session emphasizes the importance of using both IP addresses provided by Global Accelerator to maximize data plane availability and capacity.
• The mention of AWS Shield and Shield Advanced highlights the integrated approach AWS takes to security, combining services for a comprehensive defense strategy.
• The session's focus on performance metrics, such as latency and throughput improvements, underscores the tangible benefits that Global Accelerator provides to AWS customers.