AWS Regions & Zones

AWS, a leading cloud service provider, serves millions of customers worldwide using its extensive network of Regions and Availability Zones (AZs).

Regions are geographically distinct areas where AWS operates. Each Region hosts multiple data centers to deliver services with reduced latency for users in nearby locations. For example, a user in Japan would typically choose an AWS Region closer to Japan, such as the Tokyo Region, to minimize latency.

Availability Zones (AZs) are isolated locations within a Region designed to provide redundancy and ensure high availability. Each Region contains at least two or more AZs to handle failover and disaster recovery scenarios. If one AZ becomes unavailable, others within the same Region can take over the load, ensuring seamless operations. AZ is represented by a region code followed by letter identifier. Example : us-east-1a,us-east-1b etc.

Lets look at some real life analogies to understand the concepts in a better way.

Delivery Networks (Region = Warehouse, AZ = Distribution Hubs)

• Region: A major warehouse serves a city or region. For instance, Amazon might have a warehouse near Tokyo to ensure faster deliveries to customers in Japan.
• AZ: Within that warehouse, multiple distribution hubs ensure smooth logistics. If one hub is overburdened, others can handle the load to avoid delays.

Airports and Runways (Region = Airport, AZ = Runways)

• Region: An airport is strategically located to serve a specific region. For instance, residents of New York use JFK Airport rather than flying out of Chicago.
• AZ: Each airport has multiple runways. If one runway is closed for maintenance, planes can still land or take off from the other runways.

Schools and Classrooms (Region = School, AZ = Classrooms)

• Region: A school is established in a neighborhood to serve local students. For example, students in Boston attend a school nearby instead of traveling to New York.
• AZ: Within the school, multiple classrooms provide backup. If one classroom is unusable due to repairs, the students can be moved to another without interrupting their studies.

Movie Theaters (Region = Multiplex, AZ = Screens)

• Region: A multiplex serves a city or region. If you’re in Mumbai, you watch movies at a multiplex near your location rather than one in Delhi.
• AZ: Each multiplex has several screens. If one screen is under maintenance, others can still show movies, ensuring uninterrupted entertainment.

Above analogies tells us the importance of Regions and AZ in AWS world to serve its customer purpose by enabling lower latencies and higher throughput.

Image : Region and AZ’s

Each AZ has one or more Data Centers(DC) to house physical servers, storage systems, and networking equipment that run AWS services.This redundancy ensures that even if one data center experiences an issue (e.g., hardware failure, power outage), other data centers in the AZ can take over. This prevents downtime and ensures continuous availability for customer workloads.

How to Chose a Region in AWS console?

Steps:

1. Open AWS Console , Chose a AWS region from upper right corner.

2. Search for the required AWS service which is open in that region you chose.

Hope this clears understanding between Region & Zones.