Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - [NEW LAUNCH!] Provision & scale OpenSearch resources with serverless (ANT221)

Summary

Carl Meadows, director of product management for OpenSearch, introduced Amazon OpenSearch Serverless and its benefits.
OpenSearch is a distributed search engine based on Apache Lucene and includes OpenSearch Dashboards, formerly Kibana.
OpenSearch Serverless eliminates the need for clusters, introducing collections as an organizing principle with dedicated endpoints.
Serverless is billed via OpenSearch Compute Units (OCUs), which scale dynamically based on workload.
Bhavani Singala demonstrated creating a collection and the ease of setting up and securing it.
Ryan Skousen from GenPact shared his experience with OpenSearch Serverless, highlighting the cost savings and scalability.
The architecture of Serverless separates indexing and search, allowing for independent scaling and improved performance.
OpenSearch Serverless is in preview, with plans to refine auto-scaling and add more advanced features.
The service is designed to be highly available and durable, with built-in CloudWatch metrics focused on key performance indicators (KPIs).

OpenSearch Serverless aims to simplify the administration of OpenSearch resources, making it easier for businesses to focus on their core operations rather than infrastructure management.
The separation of indexing and search in the serverless architecture can lead to more efficient resource utilization and cost savings, especially for workloads with variable demand.
The introduction of OCUs as a billing unit abstracts away the complexity of resource provisioning and allows for a more granular and fair billing model.
The serverless option is expected to be particularly beneficial for use cases with heavy data ingest and processing during specific periods, such as nightly analytics jobs.
OpenSearch Serverless inherits the compliance programs of Amazon OpenSearch Service, ensuring that users can maintain regulatory compliance while benefiting from the serverless model.
The continued support for managed clusters alongside serverless indicates that AWS recognizes the need for flexibility and choice in deployment options to cater to a wide range of use cases.
The live demo and the experience shared by GenPact's Ryan Skousen provide practical insights into the ease of use and potential cost benefits of OpenSearch Serverless, reinforcing the value proposition of the service.