API management is probably one of the best services you can use for abstracting back-end services and for presenting sets of APIs via one HTTP endpoint.

However, here are two important questions most organizations ask about API management:

1 – How to protect API management’s Internet-facing public endpoint?

2 – How to expose selected APIs while keeping others internal?

The good news is that Microsoft offers a blueprint to support this. There are a couple of architectural components you need:

• Deploy the API Management in the internal VNET Mode
• Get the WAF Application Gateway to expose subsets of APIs externally

Here is a diagrammatic representation of what goes on:

However, there are some challenges you will face to achieve this. The blueprints work, but there are some comprehensive elements it omits. This post aims to provide a clearer guide to this scenario.

Architectural Overview

How to deem parts of the API “external” via the internet?

Is the configuration App Gateway or API-M?

The answers to these questions are easy:

Within the API-M, there are separate APIs created based on their /external and /internal URLs

The path-based routing rule inside the API Gateway redirects all API requests that have /external in their URL to the API-M back-end.

This same routing rule eliminates API requests with /internal in the URL

Here is what happens:

Note: The VNET integrations are available in either Premium or Developer tier. Work with the Developer mode for as long as you can because the Premium mode is quite costly. Maybe, eventually, Microsoft will offer a Basic and Standard tier in the future.

Certificates

If you want to add a custom domain to API-M and expose it via the App Gateway, you need two things:

• A public name to which you can add DNS records
• SSL certificate for the domain

Remember, the deployment script assumes that you would have these two certificates:

• yourdomain.org — for the API gateway
• yourdomain.org — for the developer portal

Use sslforfree.com for testing these certificates at no cost (free).

Deployment Script

Here are some important rules to recall before you proceed.

Adding a routine rule may not allow you to create the maps or allow you to apply routing rules in one single operation. This is why, the script first deploys the App Gateway, and then proceeds to apply the “external” routing rule.

It takes time to deploy the resources. Expect at least 60mins run-time.

Here is the extra code you may need for the routing rule:

DNS Resolution

When you configure the API Management to a custom domain, it will respond only to the new host address, i.e., those mentioned above.

These two scenarios follow:

• Externally: external DNS – >App Gateway Public IP Address
• Internally: internal DNS/hosts file – > API-M private IP Address

Testing

You have two scenarios you must test:

1. Assess the API across the Internet via the App Gateway

a – The external API should succeed

b – The Internal API should fail

2.  Assess the API’s internally

a – Both external and internal APIs should succeed

Conclusion

There may be some differences in the architecture, and you need to find the missing pieces on your own.

Individual configurations of these components are quite straightforward.

With this setup, you can have a single API-M and use the Application Gateway to publish a subset of APIs.

AWS Snowball, which is a part of the AWS Snow family, is a two-channel edge server, data transfer, and boundary storage tool. Optimized devices provide Amazon S3 compatible block storage and 40 vCPUs. They also include Amazon S3 compatible object storage, and are suitable for local storage and transfer of large-scale data. Optimized systems have 52 vCPUs, block and objects storage, and an optional GPU for the application of cases such as advanced machine learning or full movement video analysis. Such systems may be used to gather data, to train and process machines and to store data in intermittingly connected environments (such as manufacturing, industry and transport), or in remote places (such as military and sea operations), until shipping them back to AWS. Such tools can also be rack-mounted to build larger temporary structures and grouped together.

To build and test in AWS Cloud, applications can be used to store, pre-process and ship data to AWS on devices in remote locations, with Snowball supporting different Amazon EC2 instance types and AWS Lambda capabilities. Common uses include data migration, data transportation, picture collection, IoT stream capture sensors, and machine learning.

Some Benefits of Using AWS Snowball

Easy Data movement

Snowball moves terabytes of data almost within a week. You can use this to move databases, backups, files, medical records, analytical data sets, IoT data sensors and media content, especially when network conditions prevent realistic timeframes for large amounts in and out of AWS.

Process & analyze data locally

To perform local processing or analyzes on the Snowball Edge appliance, run EC2 AMIs and use AWS Lambda Code. Without network access you can run applications directly on the system as a consistent AWS environment. This ability lets you build and check your software tools in the cloud but runs them in areas with minimal or non-existent network connections before returning data to AWS.

Scalable

Multiple data terabytes and many tools may be used parallel or clustered together for the transmission of data petabytes into or from AWS through snowball. Snowball is available in some areas and the location is reviewed once a job is created in the AWS Management Console.

Security

Snowball Edge apps use sophisticated components, 256-bit encryption and Trusted Platform (TPM) industry-standard modules designed to guarantee the data protection and custody. Encryption key is handled by the Key Management Service of AWS (KMS) and never saved on the computer.

How AWS Snowball works

Pick your favorite computer from the AWS Snow Family app, Snowball Edge Optimized or Snowball Edge Optimized Storage. Easy notification service (Amazon SNS) for monitoring and configuration options for monitoring like Amazon AMIs EC2 and GPU, generates a job with the Amazon S3 bin. In approximately 4-6 days, AWS will prepare and ship to you the computer. After arrival, power up the computer to activate AWS OpsHub. Link your LAN.

Attach your LAN. Use AWS OpsHub for device management, data transfer, or EC2 instances launching. After completion, shut down and return the AWS unit. The dispatch mark appears on the E-Tin panel automatically. Upon arrival in the region of AWS any information stored in the on-board seal is transferred to your S3 seal and checked at approximately the same time you loaded the unit. All data is then removed safely from the computer and any customer information is sanitized.

In this post, we have highlighted 10 of the most important on-page SEO considerations today.

E-A-T

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritative, and Trustworthiness, which is the framework used by Google raters to evaluate content creators, web pages, and websites in particular.

Title Tag

In the header section of each webpage, the title tag, an HTML tag, gives an initial cue or context as to what the topical subject matter is of the respective website on which it is placed.

Meta Description

Meta descriptions and meta tags explain what the page is about; they are often shown in the SERPs below the page title.

Headlines

To stand out on the SERPs, headlines need to spark an interest. A great headline can mean the difference between a click and an impression.

Header Tags

Header tags are HTML elements (H1-H6) used to identify headings and subheadings from other text types (e.g., paragraph text) within the content.

Content Audit

It’s important to audit the existing content. Many producers of content focus on creating new content so much that they forget to audit their existing content.

Image Optimization

By optimizing images optimally, you can make the most of a valuable SEO asset. But not all images are created equal; some may slow down the website.

User Engagement

Improving the on-page SEO elements of your website is only half the battle. The other half is to make sure users shouldn’t bounce.

SEO Writing

SEO writing means writing content that takes into account both search engines and users.

Keyword Cannibalization

Identifying whether keyword cannibalization is present on your website is critical. Resolve it right away.

EC2 stands for “Elastic Compute Cloud,” which is an exceedingly popular service at the very primary part of the AWS platform. This service allows you to effortlessly rent components of computer power, storage, and network connectivity units functioning within AWS’s gigantic set-up.

When you decide to deliver your customers, users, or readers with a web-based interface—anything from a communal wiki to a fully advanced, multi-level mobile business program. You can use those resources to build a virtual machine that will function and look like the real thing to the outside world.

What is EC2 in AWS?

Amazon EC2 is one of the utmost used and most straightforward services in Amazon, so according to logic, starting with EC2 is the best decision if you are new to AWS. However, the main question is: what is EC2 in AWS?

It is an engine with an operating system, and it can fit any hardware components of your choice. But the difference is it’s entirely virtualized. Several virtual computers can be run in solo physical hardware.

EC2 is one of the essential mechanisms of the AWS environment. EC2 allows on-demand and accessible computing using the AWS cloud.

How Does Amazon EC2 Work?

Using Amazon EC2 work is quite simple. You can use the pre-configured AMI (Amazon Machine Images) template. On the other hand, you can construct AMI, making sure it contains all the important files, libraries, configuration settings, and applications that you require.

Network access and security can be arranged through Amazon EC2 for customization of settings. Then you can determine the AMI instances and choose if you want to run it on multiple sites. You can also use static IP endpoints with the use of minimal AWS Console.

After everything is done, boot, terminate and track all the instances you need. Any management tool and web service can be used to do this after paying for the resources.

The elasticity of the services you use is reflected using the Pay-for-What-You-Use bill mode. The VM environment can be used to check the resources you use.

It differs from conventional on-site hosting, usually presenting you with a restricted number of resources for a defined time. This shows that you frequently can’t answer hastily to an alteration in usage as you do in a secure, elastic, and stable environment of Amazon EC2.

Key Features and Benefits of EC2

Easy to Use

The architecture of AWS is so easy to pick up that a beginner can easily understand it. A newbie or an experienced person would have no problem using it. The AWS Management Console and the organized web services are the reason why it is so easy to use.

Instance Type as per Requirements

It is explicitly enhanced to fit several cases, such as providing a broad array of instance types. In general, multiple variations of networking capacity, storage, memory, and CPU provided by different instances, will facilitate different choices for your applications to have a perfect mix of resources.

Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

A template that contains the software configuration needed to launch your application server, applications, and operating system is known as AMI. AWS Marketplace supplies a variety of options to choose from, including AMI.

Networking Configuration

For the EC2 to be secure, you need to make the following: Public & Private Subnet, Internet Gateway, VPC, Route Table, NAT Gateways, and Auto-assign Public IP.

Termination Protection

Unexpected Termination won’t happen using the EC2 as it enables protection against it. You can use the API or command line to terminate your instance through the Amazon EC2 Console.

User Init Data

To transfer configuration files, cloud-init supply a system with a set of rules for execution of boot time, which is an early service for the initialization of operating on cloud distributions.

Storage

If you needed a cost-effective, multipurpose, and easy to use data storage, Amazon EC2 has got you covered. It has unique stability and combination. The storage options can be matched individually as well as combined.

Security and Reliability

If you want your infrastructure to be secure, AWS has an end-to-end solution for it. It delivers top-quality security and stores your data in data centers of AWS so that your privacy can be preserved. It just shows how effective and functional the AWS cloud is. Users rely on AWS because of their highest security standards.

Store the .pem File Securely

The .pem file created can be securely downloaded to the server.

CloudWatch Detailed Monitoring

You can monitor AWS resources and real-time applications running on the AWS using the Amazon CloudWatch. You can collect and track variables that will help you keep track of your applications and resources. For your ease, the notifications and alarms can modify your resources automatically however you would have to state the rules for it to work.

Adding Tags

Customers can assign metadata to form AWS resources using Amazon Web Services. Each tag contains customer-distinct keys and to make things easier it has voluntary values for filtering, managing, and searching for resources.

There was a time when companies were eager to move to the cloud. Shifting to the cloud has traditionally meant opening up the data to the possibility of breach. There were also concerns as to how a cloud can be actually secured.

Nevertheless, as years have gone by and technology became advanced, public trust in the safety of using cloud has also increased. In fact, the cloud has become a necessity in most organizations now.

So, here are five ways to build a cloud-ready application.