# How we achieved 99.99% uptime and 100% data protection with AWS migration

Millennium Communications, an award-winning digital agency providing turnkey web experiences and digital solutions for SMB and Enterprise-level clients,...

_2024-09-11 · Technology & Digital Services · Data & Analytics_

## At a glance

Millennium Communications, an award-winning digital agency providing turnkey web experiences and digital solutions for SMB and Enterprise-level clients, excels in managing multiple clients and designing, developing, and hosting numerous brand and mission critical websites across various on-premises and data center-located servers.

- **50%** — Enhanced operational efficiency
- **70%** — Reduced risks
- **40%** — Improved decision-making

## Overview

Millennium Communications, an award-winning digital agency providing turnkey web experiences and digital solutions for SMB and Enterprise-level clients, excels in managing multiple clients and designing, developing, and hosting numerous brand and mission critical websites across various on-premises and data center-located servers. As their client needs grew, they faced challenges in scaling their infrastructure to meet increasing demands.

To address these issues, they turned to Amazon and zeb – an advanced AWS partner for expert guidance. Amazon's team introduce zeb to help facilitate the migration of Millennium's hosting centers to AWS, ensuring seamless performance, enhanced security, and improved operational efficiency.

## Primary objectives

1. Consolidate multiple on-premises servers into a more efficient and scalable AWS infrastructure.
2. Enhance security for web applications and databases.
3. Maintain high availability and performance of client-facing applications.

## Timeline

The entire migration was completed within a 5-week timeline, after which operations were successfully transitioned to the customer.

## KPIs and Outcomes

## Operational KPIs:

- **Uptime**: Achieved 99.99% uptime post-migration.
- **Performance**: Achieved 100% compliance with data protection standards using AWS Secrets Manager and KMS.

## Security KPIs:

- **Incident Reduction**: Decreased security incidents due to enhanced firewall protection and secure subnets.
- **Data Protection**: Improved website loading times.

## Tech Stack

- **Compute**: Amazon EC2
- **Storage**: Amazon EFS
- **Database**: Amazon Aurora MySQL, Amazon RDS Proxy
- **Security**: AWS WAF, AWS Secrets Manager, AWS KMS
- **Networking**: Elastic Load Balancing (NLB, ALB), AWS Transit Gateway

**Here's how we addressed the key challenges across various aspects of the migration:**

## Operational Enhancements

## 1. Consolidation and Hosting

**Challenge**: Millennium Communications faced inefficiencies with multiple clients' websites spread across various on-premises servers in multiple data centers.

**Solution**: Our experts consolidated these disparate hosting environments by migrating the websites to AWS EC2 instances. This approach optimized resource usage by enabling each EC2 instance to handle multiple small-sized applications. **Implementation**:

- Created EC2 instances based on their clients.
- Utilized Amazon EFS for shared storage across instances.
- Deployed an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute traffic efficiently.

## 2. Load Balancing

**Challenge**: Managing traffic efficiently for multiple client websites was complex, particularly with maintaining static IPs required for DNS purposes.

**Solution**: To resolve this issue, zeb specialists deployed an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to handle internal traffic and a Network Load Balancer (NLB) to preserve the static IPs initially provided to clients, ensuring seamless traffic management. **Implementation**:

- Deployed ALB for internal traffic management.
- Configured NLB with the required Elastic IPs for DNS purposes.

## 3. Elastic IP and DNS Management

**Challenge**: The client needed to maintain specific Elastic IPs for DNS, which complicated traffic management and IP allocation.

**Solution**: Our team of experts configured a Network Load Balancer with the required Elastic IPs and integrated it with an Application Load Balancer (ALB), ensuring efficient traffic management while preserving essential DNS settings. **Implementation**:

- Set up NLB with specific Elastic IPs.
- Integrated NLB with ALB for optimal traffic distribution.

## 4. Site-to-Site Connectivity:

**Challenge**: Establishing secure connections between AWS and various Millennium Communications locations presented challenges in maintaining network security and performance.

**Solution**: With expertise in network design, we implemented AWS Transit Gateway to create a hub-and-spoke network topology, ensuring secure and efficient site-to-site communication. **Implementation**:

- Deployed AWS Transit Gateway for secure connectivity.
- Configured the network topology to ensure efficient communication.

## Security Enhancements

## 1. Private Subnets and IP Management

**Challenge**: Ensuring secure hosting environments and protecting database access from potential internet threats was a significant concern.

**Solution**: WWe deployed instances in private subnets with private IP addresses to minimize internet exposure and implemented AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) to safeguard against malicious traffic. **Implementation**:

- Configured VPC with private and public subnets.
- Set up NAT Gateways to allow instances in private subnets to access the internet securely.
- Deployed AWS WAF to monitor and block harmful web traffic.

## 2. Database Security

**Challenge**: Maintaining secure connectivity and management for databases was crucial, given the sensitivity of the data involved.

**Solution**: We implemented Amazon RDS with RDS Proxy to ensure secure and efficient database connections, enhancing both performance and protection. **Implementation**:

- Migrated databases to Amazon Aurora MySQL for enhanced performance and scalability.
- Configured RDS Proxy to manage database connections and improve security.
- Used AWS Secrets Manager and AWS KMS to manage database credentials and encryption keys.

Migrating Millennium Communications infrastructure from on-premises to AWS resulted in significant operational and security improvements. By leveraging AWS's robust services, zeb successfully consolidated resources, enhanced performance, and ensured the security of client data and applications.

## Millennium Team Quotes

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