System Design on AWS - Monolith

A monolith in AWS is a single application that handles everything, with the user interface and data access code combined into one program. Monolithic architecture is a traditional system design model that couples all of the business concerns together.

Monolith Features on AWS

Here are the key features of a monolith in system design on AWS:

• Single Codebase: In a monolithic architecture, all application components such as User Interface, business logic, data access layer are developed and maintained in a single codebase, making it easier to manage and deploy the entire application.
• Tight Coupling: In a monolithic system, components are tightly integrated and interdependent, sharing data and resources directly.
• Simplicity in Deployment: Deploying monolithic applications is straightforward, involving the installation of the entire codebase and its dependencies in a single environment.
• Centralized Logic: A monolith has all its business logic in one place, making it easy to manage and maintain. This centralization simplifies the system's overall logic and decision-making process.
• Easy to Test: Monoliths are easy to test as a single unit. This makes it simpler and faster to identify and fix issues.

AWS Support for Monoliths

AWS offers various services that can be used in monolithic architectures:

• Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service): Amazon RDS is a service that simplifies database management for monolith applications on AWS. It provides automated administration tasks, cost efficiency, and scalability, allowing developers to focus on application development.
• Amazon EC2: Amazon EC2 provides scalable computing capacity for monolith applications on AWS, offering flexibility in instance types, storage, and networking. It simplifies modernization and enables faster deployment.
• Elastic Beanstalk: Elastic Beanstalk simplifies deploying, managing, and scaling monolith applications on AWS, providing a managed platform. It handles resource provisioning, health monitoring, and environment creation, making it easy to manage your application.
• Amazon S3: Amazon S3 provides a highly durable and scalable object storage service, allowing you to store and serve large amounts of data. It's a simple and cost-effective way to store and retrieve data.
• Amazon CloudFront: Amazon CloudFront speeds up content distribution globally. It delivers through a worldwide network, reducing latency and improving performance, with features like SSL encryption, access controls, and caching.
• AWS Elastic Load Balancing: AWS Elastic Load Balancing is a service that automatically distributes incoming traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances, containers, and IP addresses, in one or more Availability Zones.

Monolith Benefits on AWS System Design

The key benefits of using a monolith architecture for system design on AWS are as follows:

• Simplified System Design: Monolith architecture simplifies system design with a single, unified codebase.
• Easier Maintenance: Monolith applications are easier to maintain, with changes made in one place.
• Easier Debugging: Monolith applications are easier to debug, with issues fixed in one place.
• Reduced Operational Complexity: Monolith architecture reduces complexity, with fewer parts to manage.
• Simplified Testing: Monolith applications are easier to test, as the entire application can be tested as a single unit.
• Better Performance: Monolith architecture can provide better performance, as the application can be optimized as a single unit.

Monolith Limitations on AWS System Design

The following are the Limitations of monolith in system design on AWS:

• Scalability Issues: Monoliths are hard to scale because the entire system needs to be scaled together which leads to high cost and complexity.
• Modularity Issues: Monolith lacks modularity as application grows. Developing, testing, and deploying individual components independently is difficult, as monolith leads to a tightly coupled system, where changes to one component can affect the entire system.
• Limited Flexibility: Monoliths make it hard to adopt new technologies. This is because the entire system needs to be rewritten or refactored, which can be time-consuming and costly.
• Higher Maintenance Costs: Monoliths need more maintenance. The entire system needs regular updates and patches, which can be costly and time-consuming.