aws-solution-architect
AWS Solution Architect
Design scalable, cost-effective AWS architectures for startups with infrastructure-as-code templates.
Table of Contents
Trigger Terms
Use this skill when you encounter:
| Category | Terms |
|---|---|
| Architecture Design | serverless architecture, AWS architecture, cloud design, microservices, three-tier |
| IaC Generation | CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform, infrastructure as code, deploy template |
| Serverless | Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, Step Functions, EventBridge, AppSync |
| Containers | ECS, Fargate, EKS, container orchestration, Docker on AWS |
| Cost Optimization | reduce AWS costs, optimize spending, right-sizing, Savings Plans |
| Database | Aurora, RDS, DynamoDB design, database migration, data modeling |
| Security | IAM policies, VPC design, encryption, Cognito, WAF |
| CI/CD | CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, GitHub Actions AWS |
| Monitoring | CloudWatch, X-Ray, observability, alarms, dashboards |
| Migration | migrate to AWS, lift and shift, replatform, DMS |
Workflow
Step 1: Gather Requirements
Collect application specifications:
- Application type (web app, mobile backend, data pipeline, SaaS)
- Expected users and requests per second
- Budget constraints (monthly spend limit)
- Team size and AWS experience level
- Compliance requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2)
- Availability requirements (SLA, RPO/RTO)
Step 2: Design Architecture
Run the architecture designer to get pattern recommendations:
python scripts/architecture_designer.py --input requirements.json
Select from recommended patterns:
- Serverless Web: S3 + CloudFront + API Gateway + Lambda + DynamoDB
- Event-Driven Microservices: EventBridge + Lambda + SQS + Step Functions
- Three-Tier: ALB + ECS Fargate + Aurora + ElastiCache
- GraphQL Backend: AppSync + Lambda + DynamoDB + Cognito
See references/architecture_patterns.md for detailed pattern specifications.
Step 3: Generate IaC Templates
Create infrastructure-as-code for the selected pattern:
# Serverless stack (CloudFormation)
python scripts/serverless_stack.py --app-name my-app --region us-east-1
# Output: CloudFormation YAML template ready to deploy
Step 4: Review Costs
Analyze estimated costs and optimization opportunities:
python scripts/cost_optimizer.py --resources current_setup.json --monthly-spend 2000
Output includes:
- Monthly cost breakdown by service
- Right-sizing recommendations
- Savings Plans opportunities
- Potential monthly savings
Step 5: Deploy
Deploy the generated infrastructure:
# CloudFormation
aws cloudformation create-stack \
--stack-name my-app-stack \
--template-body file://template.yaml \
--capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM
# CDK
cdk deploy
# Terraform
terraform init && terraform apply
Step 6: Validate
Verify deployment and set up monitoring:
# Check stack status
aws cloudformation describe-stacks --stack-name my-app-stack
# Set up CloudWatch alarms
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm --alarm-name high-errors ...
Tools
architecture_designer.py
Generates architecture patterns based on requirements.
python scripts/architecture_designer.py --input requirements.json --output design.json
Input: JSON with app type, scale, budget, compliance needs Output: Recommended pattern, service stack, cost estimate, pros/cons
serverless_stack.py
Creates serverless CloudFormation templates.
python scripts/serverless_stack.py --app-name my-app --region us-east-1
Output: Production-ready CloudFormation YAML with:
- API Gateway + Lambda
- DynamoDB table
- Cognito user pool
- IAM roles with least privilege
- CloudWatch logging
cost_optimizer.py
Analyzes costs and recommends optimizations.
python scripts/cost_optimizer.py --resources inventory.json --monthly-spend 5000
Output: Recommendations for:
- Idle resource removal
- Instance right-sizing
- Reserved capacity purchases
- Storage tier transitions
- NAT Gateway alternatives
Quick Start
MVP Architecture (< $100/month)
Ask: "Design a serverless MVP backend for a mobile app with 1000 users"
Result:
- Lambda + API Gateway for API
- DynamoDB pay-per-request for data
- Cognito for authentication
- S3 + CloudFront for static assets
- Estimated: $20-50/month
Scaling Architecture ($500-2000/month)
Ask: "Design a scalable architecture for a SaaS platform with 50k users"
Result:
- ECS Fargate for containerized API
- Aurora Serverless for relational data
- ElastiCache for session caching
- CloudFront for CDN
- CodePipeline for CI/CD
- Multi-AZ deployment
Cost Optimization
Ask: "Optimize my AWS setup to reduce costs by 30%. Current spend: $3000/month"
Provide: Current resource inventory (EC2, RDS, S3, etc.)
Result:
- Idle resource identification
- Right-sizing recommendations
- Savings Plans analysis
- Storage lifecycle policies
- Target savings: $900/month
IaC Generation
Ask: "Generate CloudFormation for a three-tier web app with auto-scaling"
Result:
- VPC with public/private subnets
- ALB with HTTPS
- ECS Fargate with auto-scaling
- Aurora with read replicas
- Security groups and IAM roles
Input Requirements
Provide these details for architecture design:
| Requirement | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application type | What you're building | SaaS platform, mobile backend |
| Expected scale | Users, requests/sec | 10k users, 100 RPS |
| Budget | Monthly AWS limit | $500/month max |
| Team context | Size, AWS experience | 3 devs, intermediate |
| Compliance | Regulatory needs | HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2 |
| Availability | Uptime requirements | 99.9% SLA, 1hr RPO |
JSON Format:
{
"application_type": "saas_platform",
"expected_users": 10000,
"requests_per_second": 100,
"budget_monthly_usd": 500,
"team_size": 3,
"aws_experience": "intermediate",
"compliance": ["SOC2"],
"availability_sla": "99.9%"
}
Output Formats
Architecture Design
- Pattern recommendation with rationale
- Service stack diagram (ASCII)
- Configuration specifications
- Monthly cost estimate
- Scaling characteristics
- Trade-offs and limitations
IaC Templates
- CloudFormation YAML: Production-ready SAM/CFN templates
- CDK TypeScript: Type-safe infrastructure code
- Terraform HCL: Multi-cloud compatible configs
Cost Analysis
- Current spend breakdown
- Optimization recommendations with savings
- Priority action list (high/medium/low)
- Implementation checklist
Reference Documentation
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
references/architecture_patterns.md |
6 patterns: serverless, microservices, three-tier, data processing, GraphQL, multi-region |
references/service_selection.md |
Decision matrices for compute, database, storage, messaging |
references/best_practices.md |
Serverless design, cost optimization, security hardening, scalability |
Limitations
- Lambda: 15-minute execution, 10GB memory max
- API Gateway: 29-second timeout, 10MB payload
- DynamoDB: 400KB item size, eventually consistent by default
- Regional availability varies by service
- Some services have AWS-specific lock-in