High Performance Computing Lens - AWS Well-Architected Framework

Publication date: December 2019 (Document Revisions)

Abstract

This document describes the High Performance Computing (HPC) Lens for the AWS Well-Architected Framework. The document covers common HPC scenarios and identifies key elements to ensure that your workloads are architected according to best practices.

Introduction

The AWS Well-Architected Framework helps you understand the pros and cons of decisions you make while building systems on AWS. Use the Framework to learn architectural best practices for designing and operating reliable, secure, efficient, and cost-effective systems in the cloud. The Framework provides a way for you to consistently measure your architectures against best practices and identify areas for improvement. We believe that having well-architected systems greatly increases the likelihood of business success.

In this “Lens” we focus on how to design, deploy, and architect your High Performance Computing (HPC) workloads in the AWS Cloud. HPC workloads run exceptionally well in the cloud. The natural ebb and flow and bursting characteristic of HPC workloads make them well suited for pay-as-you-go cloud infrastructure. The ability to fine tune cloud resources and create cloud-native architectures naturally accelerates the turnaround of HPC workloads.

For brevity, we only cover details from the Well-Architected Framework that are specific to HPC workloads. We recommend that you consider best practices and questions from the AWS Well-Architected Framework whitepaper when designing your architecture.

This paper is intended for those in technology roles, such as chief technology officers (CTOs), architects, developers, and operations team members. After reading this paper, you will understand AWS best practices and strategies to use when designing and operating HPC in a cloud environment.