Introduction

The way you’ll use AWS services for your cloud workloads will be largely defined by the way AWS itself organizes its hardware, networking, and security infrastructure. So, the best way to learn how to configure things as efficiently and effectively as possible is to understand exactly how AWS infrastructure works.

This chapter will help you map out the “lay of the AWS land” in your mind. You’ll learn about how—and why—Amazon’s hundreds of globally distributed data centers are divided into regions that, in turn, are further divided into Availability Zones. You’ll explore how you can design your own applications to take the best advantage of those divisions.

You’ll also learn about how AWS can extend the network reach of your applications through its globally distributed edge locations that make up the front end of CloudFront, Amazon’s content delivery network (CDN). Finally, you’ll learn how the ways...