Author: Jeff Barr

Many AWS customers run CPU-bound, compute-intensive workloads on Amazon EC2, often using parallel processing frameworks such as Hadoop to distribute work and collect results. This includes batch data processing, analytics, high-performance scientific computing, 3D rendering, engineering, and simulation. To date these needs have been met by the existing members of our compute-optimized instance families — […]

Earlier today, Amazon.com CTO Werner Vogels announced the upcoming I2 instance type from the main stage of AWS re:Invent! The I2 instances are optimized for high performance random I/O. They are a great fit for transactional systems and NoSQL databases like Cassandra and MongoDB. The instances use 2.5 GHz intel Xeon E5-2670v2 processors with Turbo […]

As part of our plan to make it even easier for you to build and run AWS applications that have a global footprint, I am happy to announce that Amazon Redshift now has the ability to automatically back up your cluster to a second AWS region! You simply select the second region and the desired […]

The Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS among friends) launched in 2009 with support for MySQL. We added Oracle Database in 2011 and Windows SQL Server in 2012. Today we are adding support for PostgreSQL. After personally fielding hundreds requests for this database engine over the last couple of years, I am more than happy to […]

How would you like to build high-fidelity, graphically rich applications that run on a wide variety of devices, start instantly, and have access to all of the compute and storage resources of the AWS Cloud? What about giving this capability to existing applications? That’s a tall order; fortunately, our new Amazon AppStream service is up […]

Today, we announced Amazon WorkSpaces, a fully managed desktop computing solution in the cloud. Amazon WorkSpaces delivers a users documents, applications and resources to tablets, PCs, and Macs. The service has the benefits of on-premises VDI such as mobility and security combined with all the powerful AWS benefits such as pay-as-you-go and simplified management. With […]

Once upon a time, enterprises had a straightforward way to give each employee access to a desktop computer. New employees would join the organization and receive a standard-issue desktop, preconfigured with a common set of tools and applications. This one-size-fits all model was acceptable in the early days of personal computing, but not anymore. Enterprise […]

Do you have the need to track the API calls for one or more AWS accounts? If so, the new AWS CloudTrail service is for you. Once enabled, AWS CloudTrail records the calls made to the AWS APIs using the AWS Management Console, the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI), your own applications, and third-party software […]

The AWS Test Drives give you direct and easy access to a wide variety of enterprise solution stacks, all hosted on the AWS Cloud. These labs are available to you to run for a half-day evaluation period at no charge. Each test drive includes a guided video tour and a lab manual, so you will […]

The AWS Trusted Advisor inspects your AWS environment and makes recommendations when opportunities exist to save money, improve system performance, or close security gaps. Improved User InterfaceWe’ve made a host of improvements to the user interface of the Trusted Advisor. The dashboard contains additional information and the navigation is both cleaner and simpler. The Cost […]