Hybrid Cloud Automation Using AWS Outposts and AWS Systems Manager for Seamless On-Prem Integration

Organizations are increasingly adopting hybrid cloud architectures to leverage the scalability and flexibility of public clouds while maintaining control and proximity to on-premises infrastructure. AWS Outposts provides a unique solution by extending AWS infrastructure and services to virtually any on-prem location. When integrated with AWS Systems Manager, organizations can automate patching, configuration management, and data synchronization across on-prem and AWS cloud environments, enabling a seamless hybrid cloud strategy.

I was first introduced to AWS Outpost at re:invent 2022. In this article, I'll discuss how AWS Outposts integrates with on-prem workloads for hybrid cloud deployments, focusing on high-security and low-latency use cases. We will also showcase advanced automation workflows using AWS Systems Manager to manage these environments efficiently.

What Is AWS Outposts?

AWS Outposts is a fully managed service that extends AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to on-prem locations. Outposts allow organizations to run AWS services on their local infrastructure, which is beneficial for:

1. Low-latency applications that need to run closer to end users or data sources.
2. Data residency requirements where data must remain within a specific geographic region or on-premises.
3. Hybrid workloads that span both cloud and on-prem environments.

By deploying AWS Outposts, organizations can achieve consistency across their cloud and on-prem environments using the same tools, APIs, and management interfaces they use in AWS.

Integration of AWS Outposts with On-Prem Workloads

AWS Outposts enables a hybrid cloud architecture that bridges the gap between on-prem environments and the AWS public cloud. This hybrid setup allows workloads to be seamlessly shifted between the cloud and on-prem infrastructure, depending on the application’s requirements for latency, security, or compliance.

Key Integration Points:

• Compute & Storage: AWS Outposts integrates with on-premises resources using EC2 instances, EBS storage, and S3 APIs for local storage.
• Networking: AWS Outposts uses AWS Direct Connect or VPN for secure and reliable connectivity between on-prem workloads and the AWS cloud.
• Hybrid Cloud Services: AWS services like Amazon RDS, Amazon ECS/EKS, and Amazon EMR are available locally on Outposts for hybrid applications that require on-prem infrastructure.

Use Case: High-Security Workloads

One of the primary use cases for AWS Outposts is supporting high-security workloads that must remain on-premises due to compliance requirements but still need to leverage cloud-like scalability and automation. AWS Outposts allows sensitive data to be processed locally, ensuring data sovereignty while utilizing cloud-native services.

Solution Architecture

1. Data Sovereignty: Sensitive data is stored and processed on Outposts, ensuring compliance with data residency requirements.
2. Local EC2 Compute: Run security-sensitive workloads on local EC2 instances on AWS Outposts, keeping data within your secure perimeter.
3. Patching and Configuration: Automate security patches and configuration management using AWS Systems Manager (SSM) for both on-prem and cloud-based instances.

Use Case: Low-Latency Applications

For applications requiring ultra-low latency, such as IoT data processing or gaming, AWS Outposts allows compute and storage to be deployed close to end-users or devices. By deploying workloads locally, organizations can reduce latency and improve application performance without sacrificing AWS services.

Solution Architecture

1. Local Compute for Low-Latency: Deploy compute-heavy applications on EC2 instances running on Outposts. This ensures minimal latency when interacting with local devices or sensors.
2. Data Replication: Use AWS Systems Manager and AWS DataSync to automatically sync and replicate data from Outposts to the cloud for backup, archiving, or analytics.
3. Hybrid Processing: Perform real-time data processing on Outposts while pushing aggregate results to AWS for further analysis using cloud-native services like Amazon Redshift or Amazon SageMaker.

AWS Systems Manager for Automation

AWS Systems Manager (SSM) provides centralized operational control and management over both AWS and on-prem infrastructure, making it a powerful tool for managing hybrid cloud environments.

Key Capabilities of AWS Systems Manager:

• Patch Manager: Automate patching of EC2 instances running on Outposts, ensuring that your on-prem and cloud instances remain up to date with the latest security patches.
• Run Command: Execute shell commands on on-prem instances running on Outposts or in the cloud without needing SSH access.
• State Manager: Enforce configuration compliance by applying desired configurations consistently across both cloud and on-prem environments.
• Parameter Store: Securely store and retrieve configuration data for use in your automation workflows.

Let’s look at how to use these capabilities for hybrid cloud automation.

Step 1: Automating Patching with AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager

Patching both on-prem and cloud-based resources can be time-consuming. AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager allows you to automate patching for EC2 instances running on AWS Outposts, ensuring that both environments are secure.

Patch Manager Configuration:

Create Patch Baselines: Define patch baselines for different environments (e.g., dev, prod) that specify which patches should be applied and when.

Apply Patch Baseline to Outposts: Use the following command to apply a patch baseline to EC2 instances running on AWS Outposts.

aws ssm create-patch-baseline \
  --name "OutpostsPatchBaseline" \
  --operating-system "AmazonLinux2" \
  --approved-patches-compliance-level "Critical"        

Patch Maintenance Window: Define a maintenance window using AWS Systems Manager to automatically patch instances during non-peak hours.

aws ssm create-maintenance-window \
  --name "OutpostsMaintenanceWindow" \
  --schedule "cron(0 3 ? * SUN *)" \
  --duration 4 \
  --cutoff 1        

This workflow ensures that all instances, whether on AWS or Outposts, are patched in a secure, automated manner.

Step 2: Automating Configuration Management with Systems Manager State Manager

AWS Systems Manager State Manager enforces configuration consistency across your hybrid environment. You can use it to maintain the desired state for EC2 instances running on AWS Outposts and in the cloud.

Example: Enforcing Firewall Rules Across Hybrid Instances

Create a Document for Firewall Configuration:

{
  "schemaVersion": "2.2",
  "description": "Configure firewall settings",
  "mainSteps": [
    {
      "action": "aws:runCommand",
      "name": "runCommand",
      "inputs": {
        "DocumentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
        "Parameters": {
          "commands": [
            "sudo ufw enable",
            "sudo ufw allow ssh"
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}        

Apply the Configuration to Outposts Instances:

aws ssm create-association \
  --instance-id "instance-id-outposts" \
  --document-name "firewallConfig" \
  --schedule-expression "rate(1 hour)"        

With this setup, all instances on Outposts and in the AWS cloud will have the same firewall configuration, ensuring security consistency.

Step 3: Synchronizing Data Between AWS Outposts and Cloud Environments

Data synchronization between on-prem (Outposts) and AWS cloud is critical for use cases like disaster recovery, backups, or aggregating data for analytics.

Using AWS DataSync for Efficient Data Movement

AWS DataSync can be used to move data between your on-premises Outposts and the AWS cloud. Here’s how you can automate data synchronization:

1. Create a DataSync Agent: Deploy the DataSync agent on your Outposts environment.
2. Create a Sync Task:

aws datasync create-task \
  --source-location-arn arn:aws:datasync:source-location \
  --destination-location-arn arn:aws:datasync:destination-location \
  --name "OutpostsDataSyncTask" \
  --schedule-expression "rate(12 hours)"        

This setup ensures that data generated on AWS Outposts is automatically synced with the AWS cloud, providing an efficient way to back up data or move it to AWS services like Amazon S3 or Amazon Redshift for further analysis.

High-Security Workloads with AWS Systems Manager

For high-security workloads, using AWS Systems Manager with AWS Outposts ensures that critical patches, configurations, and data movement are fully automated and compliant with security best practices. In regulated industries like healthcare and finance, where data sovereignty and compliance are crucial, this hybrid solution allows organizations to enforce strict security controls while still leveraging AWS services.

Security Best Practices

1. Use IAM Roles for Outposts Instances: Ensure that EC2 instances running on AWS Outposts are securely configured with IAM roles that restrict access to sensitive resources.
2. VPC and Subnet Isolation: Use VPCs to isolate Outposts resources from the public cloud, ensuring that only authorized traffic can access sensitive workloads.
3. Audit and Monitor: Enable AWS Systems Manager’s Inventory and AWS CloudTrail to audit configuration changes and maintain visibility across both on-prem and cloud-based environments.

AWS Outposts, combined with AWS Systems Manager, offers a seamless solution for hybrid cloud automation. This approach provides a powerful way to automate patching, configuration management, and data synchronization between on-prem and AWS environments. Whether for high-security workloads that require strict compliance or low-latency applications where proximity to users or devices is critical, AWS Outposts delivers the flexibility and consistency needed to build a resilient hybrid cloud infrastructure.

Adopting the automation workflows and best practices discussed in this article ensures that your hybrid cloud deployments are secure, consistent, and optimized for performance across AWS and on-prem infrastructure.

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