• The large number of student enrollments in various programs every year eventually increases dynamic workload on department for submission, results and exam papers.

• Also, an IT Department needs to scale vertically, based on their previous experiences and best predictions which therefore turns into over- provisioning. And manual scaling is always challenging and timely process which takes lots of skills and efforts.

To create a customized infrastructure that is more flexible and easier to use to scale up on-premises applications by migrating them to cloud when your server needs are low. Electromech Corporation has demonstrated success in providing specialized solutions aligning with AWS architectural best practices to help support teaching and learning, administration, and academic research efforts in education.

Electromech successfully implemented a dynamic and efficient cloud solution using AWS services. To handle varying workloads, they utilized AWS’s Auto Scaling, which adjusts capacity in response to changing demands. This was complemented by a shift from horizontal scaling to a more robust auto-scaling approach. They also integrated AWS FSx, providing a unified storage solution for all instances in the auto-scale environment. Enhancing management, they developed an Active Directory auto-registration PowerShell script, ensuring all code updates are consistently applied to new images. The solution’s backbone included EC2 Windows for scalable computing power, a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for secure networking, and Security Groups acting as virtual firewalls for EC2 instances. Additionally, a Load Balancer was employed for optimal application performance. AWS IAM was used for secure access control, CloudWatch for comprehensive data monitoring across AWS resources, and CloudTrail for account auditing. Supporting these AWS services, Electromech incorporated third-party solutions like Windows Active Directory on EC2, native Windows FTP services, and PowerShell scripts, all contributing to a robust, agile, and cost-effective cloud infrastructure.

• EC2 Windows
• VPC
• Security Group
• Load Balancer
• Auto Scaling
• FSx
• AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• CloudWatch
• CloudTrail

Auto scaling provides excellent response to dynamic workload on demand with horizontal scaling of windows EC2, manual scaling is not required anymore. Due to Auto Scaling of windows instances, over provisioning does not occur and lots of cost can be saved with better user experience at peak load.

With the use of AWS FSx services common storage problems were resolved and the initial pilot run result was excellent. Special designed PowerShell script with Windows EC2 user data served the purpose and helped to achieve auto registration to Active Directory for new windows instances launched. All AWS and windows security best practices adopted so the solution is stable and secured.

GTU wants to replicate this architecture for their other existing windows workload in AWS. Further we have suggested introducing CodePipeline to improve the deployment process.