What is Amazon SNS? | The comparison

What is Amazon SNS? | The comparison

Not all "messages" sent by a web or mobile application are intended for end users. In fact, when you use a social media app like Twitter to schedule an upcoming post or check your Facebook feed, there can be thousands of "micro" messages sent to and from the app that aren't even human-readable (or intended for them). ). Think of a gaming app that needs to record the high score for a multiplayer game or keep track of a micro transaction like buying a new item in Fortnite. These messages are important: they can track a player's progress or make sure a patient's medical history is up to date at a hospital. They are often sent from one mobile app to another or from a web app to a mobile app (and vice versa). Keeping track of all these messages, including the ones that are actually sent to the end user and that appear in the end user interface, is quite a business. There are thousands, if not millions, of messages, and they all require secure and efficient delivery, a network capable of transmitting them securely, as well as supporting servers, storage, and computing resources. This is what makes Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service) so valuable to companies with Big Data needs (or even those who need "little data"). Known as a "pub/sub" (which stands for producer/subscriber) service that runs in the cloud, SNS is an "always-on" service that securely transmits messages within applications. Users subscribe to a topic or topics are configured for streaming by developers, and message streaming is managed by SNS. Imagine an application that manages the ticket sales required for a major event. The developer must think about the interface and functionality for the end user and ensure that it is easy to understand and use. On the back-end, the application must manage all the details of the event, such as seating locations, prices, times, and dates. SNS helps by managing and relaying these messages and tracks all the details and changes that occur for hundreds of thousands of user accounts. Another easy to understand example is the "one time password" (or OTP) required by an application for secure account authentication. Amazon.com uses an OTP to protect your account; connection is required and adds a second level of protection. The end user is given a code to type, and the same code can be used to authenticate other apps and communicate with a web app, desktop app, or smartphone mobile app. SNS is the mechanism to send, manage and track these messages, even when they are transmitted between applications and are not visible to the end user. SNS may also transmit other micro messages such as text messages, emails, and mobile push messages used to notify users of updates, security issues, and other concerns.

Amazon SNS benefits

This is the most important benefit of Amazon SNS: the flexibility in how you use it. New users can sign up for the service in the AWS console (or by using the AWS SDK or command line interface), and from there the options are nearly limitless in terms of configuring messages, how they are transmitted, and for what purposes. . In cloud computing, the word "sustainable" is sometimes used to describe a service like Amazon SNS. In this context, this means that the service is improved and reliable; there is little concern as to whether the messages will actually reach their intended applications. In the aforementioned scenario with a gaming app, if messages have to be sent between apps to track high scores or items, a developer can rely on Amazon SNS, which will deliver the required messages via a system that is independently maintained, optimized, and scaled. . Developers don't need to become experts in managing a mail server and all the associated technology dependencies, such as compute performance, storage, and device security. Linked to all of this is the ability to easily scale the messaging platform, which is the bane of many developers who create a new app and suddenly experience the pain of growing users, services, and features. This often leads to serious reliability issues and unpredictable costs associated with upgrading the infrastructure to track messaging levels. Amazon SNS removes this as a bottleneck for growth. The service means you don't need to do the normal planning, provisioning, network monitoring, and repairs for a messaging service. Plus, it means all scaling happens automatically as you go, even for bursts of user growth (or sudden slowdowns) and growth-related email traffic spurts. Ultimately, developers can focus on building the app itself and the content of the messages, regardless of the actual, trusted messaging platform.