AWS servers are distributed into regions. Each region is a geographical zone on the planet.
AWS Regions
AWS has Regions all around the world. Each region is named according to its zone and in each region, there are clusters of data centers (servers) to provide services. Many of the services provided by AWS are associated with the region of your choice.
For Example, some regions:
- US West (Oregon) -> us-west-2
- South America (Sao Paulo) -> sa-east-1
How to choose an AWS Region?
How to choose an AWS Regions:
There are some considerations to choosing a region:
- The price. Price varies by region. The price is the determining factor in the choice, and it is necessary to check the price list on the AWS website.
- Proximity. The closer the region is, the less latency.
- Legal issues. Local regulations and legal requirements. There may be legal regulations for data stored and transacted information.
- Services. Services are not available in all regions. You have to evaluate what services you need and check if they exist in the region.
We can see de Global Infrastructure here: Global Infrastructure
Also, It is posible to check what services exist into an AWS Region: AWS Regional Services
AWS Zones.
Every Region has one or more zones.
A zone may contain one or more data centers with their power, connectivity, and infrastructure.
Every zone is geographically separated from another. So, every zone is isolated from disaster.
Every zone is connected with other zones forming a Region
AWS has “Edge Locations”.
Edge locations are data centers with the purpose of reducing latency.
An Edge Location is a location in which content is stored in the cache. An Edge Location is not the same as a region and is separate from them, Amazon has Edge Locations in many locations around the world.
They are closer to the user than the zones.
This allows AWS to respond faster.
Amazon CloudFront Key Features
Conclusion
In this article, we understood how AWS is distributed in Regions and Zones.