Item: Amazon DynamoDB
Rating: 8
Author: RISHAB MADAAN

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We used DynamoDB both alone and in combination with AWS Lambda functions. We used DynamoDB tables to store client data and combined them with DynamoDB streams to trigger lambda functions every time the table changed. This allowed us to run functions synchronously. Another use case was to run lambda functions at a specified UTC time zone, which was again stored in DynamoDB tables.

Pros and Cons

Storing of Data.
Running lambda functions to synchronously run jobs.
Run asynchronous jobs.
Store inconsistent data.

It is hard to combine them with lambda functions if the job to be run will take longer than 30 seconds.
It has some inconsistent behavior when fargate containers are involved.

Return on Investment

DynamoDB has been very effective for cost savings.
Easy to combine with other AWS services, which is both easy to develop and maintain.
Scalability is not an issue.
Well-illustrated metrics.

Scalability

DynamoDB is very easy to scale. It is easy to log into the UI console and create tables according to scalability needs. My personal experience with DynamoDB has been excellent since I had little to no experience, but the documentation and industry support are excellent, and any developer can readily pick it up to use for developmental purposes.

Performance

Our application is based on two regions, both being in North America. The performance that dynamo db offers in both these regions is quite well. There have been a couple of instances where the services have been unavailable without any advance notice, but such instances have been rare.

Alternatives Considered

Amazon Redshift and Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

DynamoDB is slightly different than both the above-stated DBs, with RDS being a relational database and Redshift being a data warehouse used for heavier jobs and analytics and vast data. DynamoDB lies in between both, with it being a no SQL base that can relatively store inconsistent data similar to Redshift, but Redshift is far better in analytics.

Key Insights

Do you think Amazon DynamoDB delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Amazon DynamoDB's feature set?

Yes

Did Amazon DynamoDB live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Amazon DynamoDB go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Amazon DynamoDB again?

Yes

Other Software Used

AWS Lambda, AngularJS, Oracle Java Platform, Micro Edition

Likelihood to Recommend

1. Amazon DynamoDB is very well suited to store data even when data is inconsistent. 2. it is incredibly easy to create and manage data through the UI console. 3. It is easy to combine with other AWS services, such as lambda functions. 4. It is less appropriate when fargate containers are involved in running jobs.

AWS DynamoDB use cases.

Overall Satisfaction with Amazon DynamoDB