# COST 8  How do you plan for data transfer charges? Ensure that you plan and monitor data transfer charges so that you can make architectural decisions to minimize costs. A small yet effective architectural change can drastically reduce your operational costs over time. **Topics** + [ # COST08-BP01 Perform data transfer modeling ](cost_data_transfer_modeling.md) + [ # COST08-BP02 Select components to optimize data transfer cost ](cost_data_transfer_optimized_components.md) + [ # COST08-BP03 Implement services to reduce data transfer costs ](cost_data_transfer_implement_services.md) # COST08-BP01 Perform data transfer modeling COST08-BP01 Perform data transfer modeling Gather organization requirements and perform data transfer modeling of the workload and each of its components. This identifies the lowest cost point for its current data transfer requirements. **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** High ## Implementation guidance Implementation guidance Understand where the data transfer occurs in your workload, the cost of the transfer, and its associated benefit. This allows you to make an informed decision to modify or accept the architectural decision. For example, you may have a Multi-Availability Zone configuration where you replicate data between the Availability Zones. You model the cost of structure and decide that this is an acceptable cost (similar to paying for compute and storage in both Availability Zone) to achieve the required reliability and resilience. Model the costs over different usage levels. Workload usage can change over time, and different services may be more cost effective at different levels. Use [AWS Cost Explorer](https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/aws-cost-explorer/) or the [AWS Cost and Usage Report](https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/aws-cost-and-usage-reporting/) (CUR) to understand and model your data transfer costs. Configure a proof of concept (PoC) or test your workload, and run a test with a realistic simulated load. You can model your costs at different workload demands. **Implementation steps** + ** Calculate data transfer costs: **Use the [AWS pricing pages](https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/) and calculate the data transfer costs for the workload. Calculate the data transfer costs at different usage levels, for both increases and reductions in workload usage. Where there are multiple options for the workload architecture, calculate the cost for each option for comparison. + ** Link costs to outcomes:** For each data transfer cost incurred, specify the outcome that it achieves for the workload. If it is transfer between components, it may be for decoupling, if it is between Availability Zones it may be for redundancy. ## Resources Resources **Related documents:** + [AWS caching solutions](https://aws.amazon.com/caching/aws-caching/) + [AWS Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/) + [Amazon EC2 Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/) + [Amazon VPC pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/vpc/pricing/) + [Deliver content faster with Amazon CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/tutorials/deliver-content-faster/) # COST08-BP02 Select components to optimize data transfer cost COST08-BP02 Select components to optimize data transfer cost All components are selected, and architecture is designed to reduce data transfer costs. This includes using components such as wide-area-network (WAN) optimization and Multi-Availability Zone (AZ) configurations **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Low ## Implementation guidance Implementation guidance Architecting for data transfer ensures that you minimize data transfer costs. This may involve using content delivery networks to locate data closer to users, or using dedicated network links from your premises to AWS. You can also use WAN optimization and application optimization to reduce the amount of data that is transferred between components. **Implementation steps** + **Select components for data transfer: **Using the data transfer modeling, focus on where the largest data transfer costs are or where they would be if the workload usage changes. Look for alternative architectures, or additional components that remove or reduce the need for data transfer, or lower its cost. ## Resources Resources **Related documents:** + [AWS caching solutions](https://aws.amazon.com/caching/aws-caching/) + [Deliver content faster with Amazon CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/tutorials/deliver-content-faster/) # COST08-BP03 Implement services to reduce data transfer costs COST08-BP03 Implement services to reduce data transfer costs Implement services to reduce data transfer. For example, using a content delivery network (CDN) such as Amazon CloudFront to deliver content to end users, caching layers using Amazon ElastiCache, or using AWS Direct Connect instead of VPN for connectivity to AWS. **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Low ## Implementation guidance Implementation guidance [Amazon CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/) is a global content delivery network that delivers data with low latency and high transfer speeds. It caches data at edge locations across the world, which reduces the load on your resources. By using CloudFront, you can reduce the administrative effort in delivering content to large numbers of users globally, with minimum latency. [Direct Connect](https://aws.amazon.com/directconnect/) allows you to establish a dedicated network connection to AWS. This can reduce network costs, increase bandwidth, and provide a more consistent network experience than internet-based connections. [Site-to-Site VPN](https://aws.amazon.com/vpn/) allows you to establish a secure and private connection between your private network and the AWS global network. It is ideal for small offices or business partners because it provides quick and easy connectivity, and it is a fully managed and elastic service. [VPC Endpoints](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/privatelink/concepts.html) allow connectivity between AWS services over private networking and can be used to reduce public data transfer and [NAT gateways](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/vpc-nat-gateway.html) costs. [Gateway VPC endpoints](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/privatelink/gateway-endpoints.html) have no hourly charges, and support Amazon Simple Storage Service(Amazon S3) and Amazon DynamoDB. [Interface VPC endpoints](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/privatelink/create-interface-endpoint.html) are provided by [AWS PrivateLink](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/privatelink/privatelink-share-your-services.html) and have an hourly fee and per GB usage cost. **Implementation steps** + ** Implement services: **Using the data transfer modeling, look at where the largest costs and highest volume flows are. Review the AWS services and assess whether there is a service that reduces or removes the transfer, specifically networking and content delivery. Also look for caching services where there is repeated access to data, or large amounts of data. ## Resources Resources **Related documents:** + [AWS Direct Connect](https://aws.amazon.com/directconnect/) + [AWS Explore Our Products](https://aws.amazon.com/) + [AWS caching solutions](https://aws.amazon.com/caching/aws-caching/) + [Amazon CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/) + [Deliver content faster with Amazon CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/tutorials/deliver-content-faster/)