Reliability and Predictability in the Cloud
Slide deck explaining reliability and predictability in the cloud, how they differ, resiliency and recoverability, performance and cost predictability, and best practices for designing reliable and predictable cloud systems.
Benefits of Reliability and Predictability in the Cloud
Introduction to the benefits of reliability and predictability in cloud computing, covering how these concepts help maintain service quality and enable better planning.
Benefits of Reliability and Predictability in the Cloud
Introduction to the benefits of reliability and predictability in cloud computing, covering how these concepts help maintain service quality and enable better planning.
Reliability vs Predictability
Reliability equals recover from failures; Predictability equals fewer surprises over time. Reliability: keep operating and recover after failures. Predictability: performance and cost planning. Often connected, but not identical. You still need good design and configuration.
Reliability: what it really means
A reliable system continues to function and returns to normal after failures. Failures happen (hardware, software, network, dependencies). Goal: acceptable service level during trouble. Then: return to normal operation. Cloud gives capabilities; you must use them.
Resiliency + Recoverability
Reliability combines staying up during trouble and recovering cleanly afterward. Resiliency: withstand problems, keep operating. Recoverability: restore normal operation after disruption. You want both, not just one. 'Up' isn't enough if behavior is wrong.
Reliability vs High Availability vs Scalability
Different goals: recover, stay accessible, or match demand. Reliability: function and recover when things go wrong. High availability: uptime-focused design (avoid single points of failure). Scalability: adjust capacity as demand changes. Scalability can protect reliability during spikes.
Predictability: fewer surprises
Predictability means you can plan, detect drift early, and stay in control. Performance predictability: consistent user experience. Cost predictability: forecast and control spend. Needs visibility and control, not 'no change'. Guardrails reduce surprises.
Performance predictability
Consistent performance comes from visibility plus planned scaling behavior. Plan resources and configuration for user experience. Monitoring detects drift early. Autoscaling can reduce performance surprises. Needs sensible rules and thresholds.
Cost predictability
Forecast and control spend using visibility, budgets, and alerts. Spend is measurable, but can change fast. Budgets set expectations. Alerts warn before overspending. Review and adjust during the month.
Reliability in action: redundancy + failover
Failures happen; reliability keeps service acceptable and recovers cleanly. Failure occurs, service continues. Redundancy: more than one instance. Failover: move traffic to healthy instance. High availability is part of reliability, not the whole story.
Reachable ≠ Reliable
Uptime alone doesn't guarantee correct operation or clean recovery. 'Responding' can still mean 'broken behavior'. Reliability includes correct operation after failures. Clean recovery matters (return to steady state). Watch for inconsistent results after disruptions.
Cost predictability in action
Budgets and alerts reduce surprise bills. Track spend during the month. Set budgets to define targets. Alerts give early warning. Month-end cost stays close to expectation.
Autoscaling needs guardrails
Autoscaling helps, but it still works within limits and budgets. Autoscaling automates scaling, not infinite capacity. Limits and quotas still apply. Scaling out can increase cost quickly. Add guardrails: alerts, caps, cost checks.
Common pitfalls
The platform provides capabilities; your design determines outcomes. Reliability does not equal high availability does not equal scalability. Predictability equals performance plus cost (not only uptime). Provider doesn't guarantee your workload outcomes. Autoscaling still needs planning and guardrails.