# MSFTPERF01-BP01 Consider AWS Elastic Beanstalk for running traditional Windows servers hosting your Microsoft application
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 In scenarios where the traditional virtual machine approach is a requirement, evaluate the EC2 instance families that better address your Microsoft workload needs. Using data-driven decisions for architectural considerations, you can also opt for Elastic Beanstalk to reduce the operational overhead on managing the EC2 instances and surrounding infrastructure resources, such as Elastic Load Balancing, and Auto Scaling Groups. 

 **Desired outcome:** Optimize performance efficiency for traditional Microsoft applications by leveraging AWS Elastic Beanstalk to reduce operational overhead while maintaining the familiar Windows Server environment, enabling faster deployments, automated scaling, and simplified infrastructure management without sacrificing application performance or functionality. 

 **Common anti-patterns:** 
+  Managing EC2 instances manually for Microsoft applications without leveraging platform services, leading to increased operational complexity, slower deployment cycles, and higher maintenance overhead for load balancing and scaling configurations. 
+  Choosing inappropriate EC2 instance families for Microsoft workloads without considering performance requirements, resulting in either over-provisioned resources that waste costs or under-provisioned instances that impact application performance. 
+  Implementing traditional deployment approaches without considering managed platform services, missing opportunities to improve deployment speed, reliability, and operational efficiency through automation and best practices. 

 **Benefits of establishing this best practice:** 
+  Reduced operational overhead through automated infrastructure management, including load balancing, auto scaling, and health monitoring, allowing teams to focus on application development rather than infrastructure maintenance. 
+  Improved deployment efficiency and reliability through AWS Elastic Beanstalk's automated deployment processes, version management, and rollback capabilities that streamline application updates and reduce deployment risks. 
+  Enhanced performance optimization through automatic scaling capabilities and integrated monitoring that ensures Microsoft applications maintain optimal performance during varying load conditions. 

 **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Low 

## Implementation guidance
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 Implementing AWS Elastic Beanstalk for Microsoft applications requires understanding your application requirements and configuring the platform appropriately for Windows workloads. Begin by assessing your current application architecture and deployment processes, then configure Elastic Beanstalk with the appropriate instance types and platform settings to optimize performance while reducing operational complexity. 

### Implementation steps
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1.  Assess your Microsoft application requirements including runtime dependencies, performance needs, and scaling patterns to determine appropriate Elastic Beanstalk configuration. 

1.  Choose the appropriate AWS Elastic Beanstalk platform version that supports your .NET Framework or .NET Core application requirements. 

1.  Select optimal EC2 instance families based on your application's compute, memory, and I/O requirements, considering options like m7i, r7i, or c7i instances. 

1.  Configure AWS Elastic Beanstalk environment settings including auto scaling policies, load balancer configuration, and health check parameters. 

1.  Set up application deployment processes using AWS Elastic Beanstalk deployment methods such as rolling deployments or blue/green deployments. 

1.  Implement monitoring and logging integration with Amazon CloudWatch to track application performance and infrastructure metrics. 

1.  Configure environment variables and application settings through AWS Elastic Beanstalk configuration options to maintain environment-specific configurations. 

1.  Establish backup and disaster recovery procedures using AWS Elastic Beanstalk's configuration management and version control capabilities. 

## Resources
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 **Related documents:** 
+  [Using Elastic Beanstalk with .NET](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/platforms/platforms-supported.html#platforms-supported.net) 
+  [Seamless Production Deployment with Elastic Beanstalk](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/dotnet/seamless-production-deployment-with-elastic-beanstalk/) 

 **Related tools:** 
+  [AWS Elastic Beanstalk](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/Welcome.html)