Message Queue
Massive buffer holding 200 requests. Place after Firewall to
smooth DDoS spikes, or before Compute to prevent overload. Cheap
insurance against traffic bursts.
Flow: Firewall → Queue → Load Balancer or Load Balancer → Queue
→ Compute
Memory Cache
Caching layer with 35-65% hit rate. Cache hits complete
instantly without hitting DB/Storage. Upgrade tiers for higher
hit rates. Great for reducing DB costs.
Flow: Compute → Cache → DB/Storage
API Gateway
Rate limits incoming traffic. When requests exceed the rate limit,
excess requests are throttled with only -0.2 reputation loss (vs -1.0 for failures).
Upgrade tiers to increase rate limit (20/40/80 RPS).
Flow: Internet → API GW → ALB or WAF → API GW → ALB
NoSQL Database
Faster and cheaper than SQL for READ/WRITE traffic (150ms vs 300ms processing).
Cannot handle SEARCH queries — keep SQL DB for those.
Upgrade tiers for higher capacity (15/30/50).
Flow: Compute → NoSQL or Compute → Cache → NoSQL
Search Engine
$120
Processes SEARCH traffic 3× faster than SQL DB (100ms vs 300ms). Only accepts SEARCH queries — other traffic types will fail. Upgrade tiers for higher capacity (12/25/40).
Flow: Compute → Search Engine or Cache → Search Engine
Read Replica
$100
Processes READ traffic faster than master DB (200ms vs 300ms). Must be connected to a SQL DB or NoSQL DB to function. Only accepts READ queries.
Flow: Compute → Replica → DB or Cache → Replica → DB
Serverless Function
$45
Auto-scales with traffic (capacity 30). Very low upkeep ($2/min) but charges $0.03 per completed request. Cheap for bursty / low-volume traffic; expensive at sustained high RPS. Same connection topology as Compute.
Flow: ALB / Queue → Serverless → Cache / DB / NoSQL / S3