An Overview of the AWS Well-Architected Tool
The Amazon Web Services Well-Architected Tool (AWS WA Tool) is an Amazon cloud service designed to aid you in documenting and measuring your workloads with a high degree of accuracy. The primary purpose of this tool is to provide specific guidance according to the principles of the Well-Architected Framework.
The AWS WA Tool is free and available to all AWS users through the Management Console. Here’s an overview of the WA Tool and how it works.
Workload Definition
The AWS WA Tool is designed to provide consistent and accurate measurements of your workloads, document your workload decisions, and provide recommendations to improve efficiency.
However, before the WA Tool can provide you with data, you must first define your workloads by following a few essential steps. If you manage multiple workloads, repeat these steps for each one that applies.
Workload State Documentation
Once you have defined the workload, the tool will ask you a series of questions to learn about your needs and practices according to the six pillars of the Well-Architected Framework. These six pillars are operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimisation, and sustainability.
Framework Lens and Improvement Plan
The AWS WA Tool will review the data you entered in the previous steps and identify potential vulnerabilities and risks, classifying them by severity, such as high risk or medium risk. It will then offer a multi-step improvement plan to address each risk and help your workload fully comply with the Well-Architected Framework.
● High-risk issues are operational or architectural choices that the AWS WA Tool has determined might be significantly detrimental to your business. These elements may negatively impact operations, assets, or individuals.
● Medium-risk issues are operational or architectural choices that the WA Tool believes might risk your business, but to a lesser degree than high-risk issues. These issues may also have a lesser chance of negatively affecting operations, assets, and individuals.
After determining the risk points, follow the recommendations to eliminate vulnerabilities, implement improvements, and track progress for each step.
You can identify each step with one of five markers: None, Not Started, In Progress, Complete, and Risk Acknowledged.
The first four indicate risk mitigation progress markers, whereas Risk Acknowledged is a marker typically reserved for risks your business cannot mitigate, like accepting a specific risk point and accepting all potential outcomes as possibilities.
Work With an Experienced AWS Partner
WOLK Technology understands better than anyone else that today’s workflows must perform as expected around the clock, without interruptions. For this reason, we offer tailored solutions to help ensure your AWS business is secure, reliable, and free of unnecessary risks. Contact us today for more information.
