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Careers360 Cost Optimization

Client Overview​

  • Client: Careers360
  • Industry: Education Services
  • Objective: Reduce AWS costs while enhancing application performance and eliminating outages.

Background​

Careers360, a leading education services provider, was facing escalating AWS costs coupled with performance bottlenecks and regular service outages. Opstree was engaged to address these issues and deliver a more cost-effective, reliable, and high-performance infrastructure.

Initial AWS Costs​

  • March: $45,513.97
  • April: $48,195.00
  • May: $50,025.67

Optimized AWS Costs​

  • June: $36,360
  • July: $32,000
  • August: $28,000

Approach​

1. Infrastructure Assessment​

We conducted a comprehensive assessment of the existing AWS infrastructure, identifying key areas of inefficiency and potential cost savings. This included analyzing instance utilization, storage costs, data transfer charges, and service dependencies.

2. Resource Optimization​

a. Instance Right-Sizing​

We performed an in-depth analysis of EC2 instance usage and identified over-provisioned instances. By right-sizing these instances to better match workload requirements, we achieved significant cost reductions without impacting performance.

b. Auto-Scaling Implementation​

We implemented auto-scaling policies to dynamically adjust the number of running instances based on actual demand. This ensured optimal resource utilization during peak and off-peak times, further reducing costs.

3. Storage Cost Reduction​

a. Storage Tiering​

We moved infrequently accessed data to cheaper storage tiers (e.g., S3 Infrequent Access or Glacier), significantly lowering storage costs while maintaining data availability.

b. Snapshot Optimization​

By optimizing the use of EBS snapshots and leveraging incremental backups, we reduced storage overheads and costs associated with data backups.

4. Network Cost Management​

a. Data Transfer Optimization​

We optimized data transfer patterns to minimize inter-region and inter-AZ data transfer costs. This involved redesigning the architecture to localize traffic and reduce cross-region data movement.

5. Performance Enhancements​

a. API Response Time Reduction​

We optimized API endpoints by:

  • Implementing caching mechanisms using AWS services like ElastiCache.
  • Refactoring inefficient code and database queries.
  • Leveraging content delivery networks (CDNs) to reduce latency and improve response times.

b. Database Performance Tuning​

We performed database performance tuning, including indexing, query optimization, and sharding strategies, to improve overall database response times and handle higher loads efficiently.

6. Outage Elimination​

a. High Availability and Fault Tolerance​

We re-architected the application to ensure high availability and fault tolerance. This included:

  • Implementing multi-AZ deployments for critical services.
  • Utilizing AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) to distribute traffic evenly across instances.
  • Setting up automated failover mechanisms to handle instance failures seamlessly.

b. Monitoring and Alerting​

We enhanced monitoring and alerting using AWS CloudWatch and third-party tools to proactively detect and address potential issues before they resulted in outages.

Results​

Cost Savings​

  • March to May Total Cost: $143,734.64
  • June to August Total Cost: $96,360

Total Savings: $47,374.64 (approx. 33% reduction)

Performance Improvements​

  • API Response Time: Reduced by an average of 20%
  • Major and Total Outages: Reduced to zero, achieving 99.9999% uptime

Conclusion​

Through strategic optimization of AWS resources, performance tuning, and robust architectural improvements, Opstree successfully reduced Careers360's AWS costs by approximately 33% while significantly enhancing application performance and eliminating outages. This case study demonstrates Opstree's capability to deliver cost-effective and high-performance solutions tailored to client needs.

Future Plans​

Building on the success of this project, Careers360 plans to further collaborate with Opstree for ongoing infrastructure optimization and performance enhancements to support their growing business needs.