This is an earlier version of the AWS Well-Architected Framework. For the latest version, see [AWS Well-Architected Framework](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/welcome.html).

# SUS02-BP04 Optimize geographic placement of workloads based on their networking requirements
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| This best practice was updated with new guidance on July 13th, 2023. | 

Select cloud location and services for your workload that reduce the distance network traffic must travel and decrease the total network resources required to support your workload.

 ** Common anti-patterns: ** 
+  You select the workload's Region based on your own location. 
+  You consolidate all workload resources into one geographic location. 
+  All traffic flows through your existing data centers. 

 **Benefits of establishing this best practice:** Placing a workload close to its users provides the lowest latency while decreasing data movement across the network and reducing environmental impact. 

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

## Implementation guidance
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 The AWS Cloud infrastructure is built around location options such as Regions, Availability Zones, placement groups, and edge locations such as [AWS Outposts](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/outposts/latest/userguide/what-is-outposts.html) and [AWS Local Zones](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/localzones/). These location options are responsible for maintaining connectivity between application components, cloud services, edge networks and on-premises data centers. 

 Analyze the network access patterns in your workload to identify how to use these cloud location options and reduce the distance network traffic must travel. 

## Implementation steps
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+  Analyze network access patterns in your workload to identify how users use your application. 
  +  Use monitoring tools, such as [Amazon CloudWatch](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/) and [AWS CloudTrail](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudtrail/), to gather data on network activities. 
  +  Analyze the data to identify the network access pattern. 
+  Select the Regions for your workload deployment based on the following key elements: 
  +  **Your Sustainability goal:** as explained in [Region selection](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/sustainability-pillar/region-selection.html). 
  +  **Where your data is located:** For data-heavy applications (such as big data and machine learning), application code should run as close to the data as possible. 
  +  **Where your users are located:** For user-facing applications, choose a Region (or Regions) close to your workload’s users.
  + **Other constraints:** Consider constraints such as cost and compliance as explained in [What to Consider when Selecting a Region for your Workloads](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/architecture/what-to-consider-when-selecting-a-region-for-your-workloads/).
+  Use local caching or [AWS Caching Solutions](https://aws.amazon.com/caching/aws-caching/) for frequently used assets to improve performance, reduce data movement, and lower environmental impact. 


<table>
<thead>
  <tr><th>Service</th><th>When to use</th></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
  <tr><td><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/">Amazon CloudFront</a></td><td>Use to cache static content such as images, scripts, and videos, as well as dynamic content such as API responses or web applications.</td></tr>
  <tr><td><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/elasticache/">Amazon ElastiCache</a></td><td>Use to cache content for web applications.</td></tr>
  <tr><td><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/dynamodb/dax/">DynamoDB Accelerator</a></td><td>Use to add in-memory acceleration to your DynamoDB tables.</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

+  Use services that can help you run code closer to users of your workload:


<table>
<thead>
  <tr><th>Service</th><th>When to use</th></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
  <tr><td><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/edge/">Lambda@Edge</a></td><td>Use for compute-heavy operations that are initiated when objects are not in the cache. </td></tr>
  <tr><td><a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/cloudfront-functions.html">Amazon CloudFront Functions</a></td><td>Use for simple use cases like HTTP(s) request or response manipulations that can be initiated by short-lived functions.</td></tr>
  <tr><td><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/greengrass/">AWS IoT Greengrass</a></td><td>Use to run local compute, messaging, and data caching for connected devices. </td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

+  Use connection pooling to allow for connection reuse and reduce required resources. 
+  Use distributed data stores that don’t rely on persistent connections and synchronous updates for consistency to serve regional populations. 
+  Replace pre-provisioned static network capacity with shared dynamic capacity, and share the sustainability impact of network capacity with other subscribers. 

## Resources
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 **Related documents:** 
+  [Optimizing your AWS Infrastructure for Sustainability, Part III: Networking](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/architecture/optimizing-your-aws-infrastructure-for-sustainability-part-iii-networking/) 
+  [Amazon ElastiCache Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticache/index.html) 
+  [What is Amazon CloudFront?](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/Introduction.html) 
+  [Amazon CloudFront Key Features](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/features/) 

 **Related videos:** 
+  [Demystifying data transfer on AWS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MqXgzw1IGA) 
+ [ Scaling network performance on next-gen Amazon EC2 instances ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNYpWa7gf1A)

 **Related examples:** 
+  [AWS Networking Workshops](https://catalog.workshops.aws/networking/en-US) 
+ [ Architecting for sustainability - Minimize data movement across networks ](https://catalog.us-east-1.prod.workshops.aws/workshops/7c4f8394-8081-4737-aa1b-6ae811d46e0a/en-US)