The AWS Well-Architected Framework helps cloud architects build the most secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure possible for their applications.

The 5 Pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework

Operational Excellence

The operational excellence pillar includes the ability to run and monitor systems to deliver business value and to continually improve supporting processes and procedures.
There are six design principles for operational excellence in the cloud:

  • Perform operations as code
  • Annotate documentation
  • Make frequent, small, reversible changes
  • Refine operations procedures frequently
  • Anticipate failure
  • Learn from all operational failures

    Security

    The security pillar includes the ability to protect information, systems, and assets while delivering business value through risk assessments and mitigation strategies.
    There are six design principles for security in the cloud:
  • Implement a strong identity foundation
  • Enable traceability
  • Apply security at all layers
  • Automate security best practices
  • Protect data in transit and at rest
  • Prepare for security events

Reliability

The reliability pillar includes the ability of a system to recover from infrastructure or service disruptions, dynamically acquire computing resources to meet demand, and mitigate disruptions such as misconfigurations or transient network issues.
There are five design principles for reliability in the cloud:

  • Test recovery procedures
  • Automatically recover from failure
  • Scale horizontally to increase aggregate system availability
  • Stop guessing capacity
  • Manage change in automation

Performance Efficiency

The performance efficiency pillar includes the ability to use computing resources efficiently to meet system requirements and to maintain that efficiency as demand changes and technologies evolve.
There are five design principles for performance efficiency in the cloud:

  • Democratize advanced technologies
  • Go global in minutes
  • Use serverless architectures
  • Experiment more often
  • Mechanical sympathy

Cost Optimization

The cost optimization pillar includes the ability to avoid or eliminate unneeded cost or suboptimal resources.
There are five design principles for cost optimization in the cloud:

  • Adopt a consumption model
  • Measure overall efficiency
  • Stop spending money on data center operations
  • Analyze and attribute expenditure
  • Use managed services to reduce cost of ownership

four best practice areas for performance efficiency

There are four best practice areas for performance efficiency in the cloud:

  • Selection: The optimal solution for a particular system will vary based on the kind of workload you have, often with multiple approaches combined.
  • Review: When architecting solutions, there is a finite set of options that you can choose from. However, over time new technologies and approaches become available that could improve the performance of your architecture.
  • Monitoring: After you have implemented your architecture you will need to monitor its performance so that you can remediate any issues before your customers are aware.
  • Tradeoffs: When you architect solutions, think about tradeoffs so you can select an optimal approach. Depending on your situation you could trade consistency, durability, and space versus time or latency to deliver higher performance.