Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Migration with zero downtime: Toyota Drivelink Safety Connect Platform (AUT205)

Summary

• Introduction: Rob Botticher introduced the session highlighting the innovative partnership between AWS and Toyota, particularly in the connected vehicle space.
• Toyota Connected Overview: Kevin O'Dell, Director of Engineering at Toyota Connected, explained the company's mission to transform into a mobility company and detailed the four pillars of Toyota Connected's in-market products: mobility, labs, UI/UX, and DriveLink.
• Safety Connect Platform: Kevin described the Safety Connect features, including SOS button, automatic crash notification, roadside assistance, and stolen vehicle locator, emphasizing the importance of the Safety Connect agents.
• Migration to AWS: The session covered the migration of Toyota's Safety Connect platform to AWS with zero downtime, including the planning, execution, and the future vision for the platform.
• Migration Principles and Steps: The migration was guided by principles such as no customer impact, lift and shift functionality, low-risk deployments, cost consciousness, and continuous improvement. The migration involved six steps: moving to RabbitMQ, MongoDB, deploying DriveLink services, redirecting vehicle data, moving DNS, and Redis.
• Reflections and Future: Key reflections included the importance of iterative planning, seeking help, verifying solutions, understanding effort levels, and recognizing differences between clouds. The future focus areas include smarter cars with more data, AWS IoT Core, extending Safety Connect services beyond vehicles, generative AI, and innovative customer experiences.

Insights

• Cost Optimization: Toyota's migration to AWS was partly driven by the need to reduce costs, which was a recurring theme throughout the migration process. This focus on cost optimization allowed Toyota to offer a 10-year complimentary Safety Connect service.
• Cloud Agnosticism: Toyota's decision to use CloudAMQP for messaging and MongoDB for data storage reflects a strategic move towards cloud agnosticism, allowing for easier transitions between cloud providers if necessary.
• Iterative Approach: The migration's success was attributed to an iterative approach, allowing for adjustments and validation at each step. This approach minimized risk and ensured no customer impact.
• AWS Professional Services: The embedded AWS DevOps engineer played a crucial role in the migration, providing expertise and resources, and acting as an integral part of the Toyota team.
• Innovation and Customer Experience: Toyota's future plans involve leveraging AWS IoT Core and generative AI to enhance vehicle safety features and customer experiences, demonstrating a commitment to innovation and customer-centric development.
• Challenges with Cloud Differences: The migration highlighted the importance of understanding the nuances between different cloud services and platforms, as some AWS services did not directly map to their Azure counterparts, affecting cost and implementation strategies.