AWS Bites

Discover the new ECS Managed Instances as a sweet spot between Fargate’s ease and EC2’s flexibility. Dive into the pricing nuances, including a management fee that can surprise you. Explore practical setups like deploying GPU-enabled workers with OpenAI Whisper for audio transcription. Uncover the ideal workloads for ECS MI, like queue-driven jobs, and the limitations to watch out for, such as startup times. Join in on the debate over the trade-offs between control and simplicity in your cloud architecture.

We dive deep into Strapi, an open-source headless CMS that's changing how we approach content management and CRUD applications. In this episode, we explore how Strapi separates content from presentation, allowing marketing teams to manage content independently while developers maintain full control over the frontend experience. We discuss the powerful features that caught our attention, including the visual content type builder, dynamic zones, components, and the innovative blocks editor that stores content as JSON rather than HTML. We also cover practical aspects like local development workflows, data synchronization between environments, and deployment strategies on AWS. While we highlight some rough edges around documentation and minor bugs, we share our overall positive experience and provide insights into when Strapi might be the right choice for your next project.In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:Strapi CMS: https://strapi.io/Strapi on GitHub: https://github.com/strapi/strapiStrapi Docs: https://docs.strapi.io/Strapi S3 Provider: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@strapi/provider-upload-aws-s3Strapi installation and pre-requisites: https://docs.strapi.io/cms/installation/cliThe React Block Content renderer: https://github.com/strapi/blocks-react-rendererContentful: https://www.contentful.com/Storyblok: https://www.storyblok.com/Sanity: https://www.sanity.io/HyGraph: https://hygraph.com/Byline CMS: https://bylinecms.app/Do you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/

What if “Java is too old for serverless” is the myth holding your team back in 2025?We put it to the test with Mark Sailes (ex-AWS, Java-on-Lambda expert). In this AWS Bites episode we get specific: when Java is the right call for Lambda and when it isn’t, how to hit real latency targets, and the exact levers that matter in production—SnapStart, provisioned concurrency, smart JVM/GC settings, and whether GraalVM is worth it. We compare vanilla Java, Micronaut, Quarkus, and Spring Boot for startup and memory, share realistic p95/p99 expectations, and outline fast feedback loops with Testcontainers and LocalStack.If Java on Lambda sounds risky, this might change your mind. Stick around for Mark’s tuning checklist and our verdict on when to bet on Java vs pick another runtime.Big shoutout to fourTheorem for powering yet another episode of AWS Bites. At fourTheorem, we believe the cloud should be simple, scalable, and cost-effective, and we help teams do just that. Whether you’re diving into containers, stepping into event-driven architecture, or scaling a global SaaS platform on AWS, or trying to keep cloud spend under control our team has your back. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fourTheorem.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see how we can help you build faster, better, and with more confidence using AWS cloud!In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:Mark Sailes's website and books: https://www.sailes.co.uk/booksMark's YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@javainthecloudRunning Java effectively on serverless (ServerlessLand): https://serverlessland.com/content/service/lambda/guides/effectively-running-java-on-serverless/1-introductionLambda execution visualizer: https://lambda-sim.sailes.co.uk/Lambda SnapStart for Java simulator: https://www.sailes.co.uk/learn/lambda-snapstartPenna logging library for Java: https://github.com/hkupty/pennaTestcontainers for Java: https://java.testcontainers.org/Localstack: https://docs.localstack.cloud/aws/Micronaut: https://micronaut.io/Quarkus: https://quarkus.io/GraalVM: https://www.graalvm.org/AWS response to the Log4j issue: https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/AWS-2021-005/Do you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/

What if AWS built an IDE to rival your favorite editor? Turns out they did!In this episode of AWS Bites, we dive into Kiro, an AI centric fork of VS Code that tries to turn an empty repo and a loose idea into working software. Kiro imports your VS Code world, then guides you through requirements, design, and a clear task plan before an agent gets to work. We share what clicked, what tripped us up, and how Kiro’s spec driven approach compares to Cursor or Claude Code. We also cover status, limits, pricing, and what this could become if AWS leans in with deep cloud integration. Stick around for our take on whether you should switch or wait.Big shoutout to fourTheorem for powering yet another episode of AWS Bites. At fourTheorem, we believe the cloud should be simple, scalable, and cost-effective, and we help teams do just that. Whether you’re diving into containers, stepping into event-driven architecture, or scaling a global SaaS platform on AWS, or trying to keep cloud spend under control our team has your back. Visit ⁠⁠⁠https://fourTheorem.com⁠⁠⁠ to see how we can help you build faster, better, and with more confidence using AWS cloud!In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: Kiro website: https://kiro.dev/ Kiro docs on Agent Hooks: https://kiro.dev/docs/hooks/ Kiro docs on Steering: https://kiro.dev/docs/steering/ Kiro pricing plans blog: https://kiro.dev/blog/pricing-plans-are-live/ Cargo Lambda: https://www.cargo-lambda.info/ Episode 64: how do you write Lambda functions in Rust?: https://awsbites.com/64-how-do-you-write-lambda-functions-in-rust/ Kiro GitHub issue: https://github.com/kirodotdev/Kiro/issues/2004 Amazon Q developer CLI: https://github.com/aws/amazon-q-developer-cli Do you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/

What if AWS had its own version of Killed by Google? Well… turns out it kind of does.In this episode of AWS Bites, we explore the AWS Product Lifecycle page, the official place where AWS quietly lists products and services that are being deprecated, shut down, or closed to new customers. If you rely on AWS in production, this is a page you’ll want to bookmark.We walk through what’s on the list today, from Amazon Pinpoint to IoT Analytics and beyond, and we even throw in some predictions of what might be next to hit the chopping block. App Runner vs Beanstalk? API Gateway REST vs HTTP? Let the speculation begin!Big shoutout to fourTheorem for powering yet another episode of AWS Bites. At fourTheorem, we believe the cloud should be simple, scalable, and cost-effective, and we help teams do just that. Whether you’re diving into containers, stepping into event-driven architecture, or scaling a global SaaS platform on AWS, or trying to keep cloud spend under control our team has your back. Visit ⁠⁠https://fourTheorem.com⁠⁠ to see how we can help you build faster, better, and with more confidence using AWS cloud!In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:AWS Product Lifecycle Page: ⁠⁠https://aws.amazon.com/products/lifecycle/⁠⁠AWS Blog – Introducing the AWS Product Lifecycle Page: ⁠⁠https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/introducing-the-aws-product-lifecycle-page-and-aws-service-availability-updates/⁠⁠AWS Bites Episode 98 – Amazon Pinpoint Quota Changes: ⁠⁠https://awsbites.com/98⁠⁠AWS Bites Episode 74 – API Gateway REST vs HTTP: ⁠⁠https://awsbites.com/74⁠⁠AWS Bites Episode 76 – AWS Copilot: ⁠⁠https://awsbites.com/76⁠⁠AWS Bites Episode 143 – Is App Runner Better than Fargate?: ⁠⁠https://awsbites.com/143⁠⁠API Gateway Routing Rules: ⁠⁠https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/dynamically-routing-requests-with-amazon-api-gateway-routing-rules/⁠⁠Alexa+ and the future of generative AI at Amazon: ⁠⁠https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-generative-artificial-intelligence⁠⁠Do you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/

Dive into the world of Amazon Aurora DSQL, where a serverless SQL database could change the game for developers. Discover its unique features like optimistic concurrency control and the challenges posed by the lack of foreign key constraints. Learn about building a fast API with Node.js while measuring performance and optimizing for SaaS. Plus, explore how Rust can enhance DSQL connections and the cost implications of its architecture. Is DSQL the right choice for new applications? Tune in to find out!

Cost is always top of mind when building in the cloud, and recently AWS has introduced some changes worth paying attention to. In this episode of AWS Bites, we explore a shift that caught many by surprise: the “free” INIT phase for Lambda’s managed runtimes is going away. That cold start time that used to fly under the billing radar? It's now part of the cost. We dig into what this means for your workloads, who might feel the impact, and whether this gives languages like Rust and Go an extra edge. But it’s not all bad news. AWS has also rolled out new pricing tiers for CloudWatch Logs, making it cheaper for high-volume accounts. On top of that, there are new options to send logs directly to S3 or Firehose, helping simplify pipelines and reduce costs. We close with a few tips to help you keep your Lambda and logging spend under control. If you're building on AWS and care about efficiency, this is one you won't want to miss.Big shoutout to fourTheorem for powering yet another episode of AWS Bites. At fourTheorem, we believe the cloud should be simple, scalable, and cost-effective, and we help teams do just that. Whether you’re diving into containers, stepping into event-driven architecture, or scaling a global SaaS platform on AWS, or trying to keep cloud spend under control our team has your back. Visit https://fourTheorem.com to see how we can help you build faster, better, and with more confidence using AWS cloud!In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:AWS Blog – Tiered Pricing for AWS Lambda: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/introducing-tiered-pricing-for-aws-lambda/Luc van Donkersgoed – When is the Lambda INIT phase free and when is it billed?: https://lucvandonkersgoed.com/2022/04/09/when-is-the-lambda-init-phase-free-and-when-is-it-billed/AWS Bites – Explaining Lambda Runtimes (Episode 104): https://awsbites.com/104-explaining-lambda-runtimes/AWS Blog – Standardized Billing for Lambda INIT Phase: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/aws-lambda-standardizes-billing-for-init-phase/Lambda Cold Start Benchmarks by Maxim David: https://maxday.github.io/lambda-perf/Duckbill Group Blog – Lambda Logs Just Got Cheaper: https://www.duckbillgroup.com/blog/lambda-logs-just-got-cheaper/AWS Bites – Becoming a Logs Ninja with CloudWatch (Episode 35): https://awsbites.com/35-how-can-you-become-a-logs-ninja-with-cloudwatchDo you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/

The podcast dives into migrating a web app built with Rust and Solid.js from an on-prem server to the cloud. It compares AWS App Runner with Fargate, showcasing App Runner's simplicity and cost-effectiveness for lighter applications. Listeners learn about the seamless GitHub integration for automation and the complexities of autoscaling. The discussion highlights when App Runner excels and when Fargate is the better choice, offering practical insights for developers seeking a smoother deployment experience.

We discuss common use cases and challenges for copying data between S3 buckets and S3-compatible object storage services. We share our experience building an open source Node.js CLI tool called S3-Migrate to efficiently migrate data with separate source and destination credentials. We cover performance considerations like streaming, chunk sizes, concurrency and parallelism.AWS Bites is brought to you in association with fourTheorem. If you need a friendly partner to support you and work with you to de-risk any AWS migration or development project, check them out at ⁠⁠⁠fourtheorem.com⁠⁠⁠In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:s3-migrate CLI tool: https://github.com/lmammino/s3-migrateDigitalOcean Spaces Object Storage: https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/spaces/Cloudflare R2: https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/developer-platform/products/r2/Backblaze B2: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storageWasabi Cloud Storage: https://wasabi.com/Linode / Akamai Object Storage: https://www.linode.com/products/object-storage/MinIO (Self-hosted S3-compatible storage): https://min.io/Basecamp / Hey’s move away from S3: https://world.hey.com/dhh/it-s-five-grand-a-day-to-miss-our-s3-exit-b8293563AWS re:Post - How to move objects between S3 buckets: https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/move-objects-s3-bucketAWS Labs - Utility for S3 Migration: https://github.com/awslabs/utility-for-s3-migrations3s3mirror (Java-based tool): https://github.com/cobbzilla/s3s3mirrorrclone S3 Support: https://rclone.org/s3/knox-copy (Ruby-based, deprecated): https://github.com/goodeggs/knox-copyFlexify.io (paid cloud migration service): https://flexify.io/Do you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/

In this episode, we provide an overview of AWS Step Functions and dive deep into the powerful new JSONata and variables features. We explain how JSONata allows complex JSON transformations without custom Lambda functions, enabling more serverless workflows. The variables feature also helps avoid the previous 256KB state size limit. We share examples from real projects showing how these features simplify workflows, reduce costs and enable new use cases.AWS Bites is brought to you in association with fourTheorem. If you need a friendly partner to support you and work with you to de-risk any AWS migration or development project, check them out at ⁠⁠fourtheorem.com⁠⁠In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:JSONata and variables official launch post: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/simplifying-developer-experience-with-variables-and-jsonata-in-aws-step-functions/JSONata exerciser: https://try.jsonata.org/Stedi JSONata playground: https://www.stedi.com/jsonata/playgroundEpisode 103: Building GenAI Features with Bedrock https://awsbites.com/103-building-genai-features-with-bedrock/Episode 63: How to automate transcripts with Amazon Transcribe and OpenAI Whisper https://awsbites.com/63-how-to-automate-transcripts-with-amazon-transcribe-and-openai-whisper/ Do you have any AWS questions you would like us to address?Leave a comment here or connect with us on X/Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/eoins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/eoin.sh⁠ | ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoins/⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/loige⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/loige.co⁠ | ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucianomammino/