Small AWS environments can become more complicated over time.
It usually doesn’t happen all at once. A new resource gets added here, permissions get expanded there, monitoring doesn’t keep up, and eventually no one has a complete picture of the environment.
Some signs that it may be time for an architecture review include:
• Resources that are no longer being used
• IAM permissions that may be broader than necessary
• Limited monitoring or alerting
• Infrastructure changes that aren’t consistently documented
• Increasing AWS costs without a clear explanation
• Single points of failure
• An environment that hasn’t been reviewed in a while
An architecture review doesn’t mean immediately changing everything you find.
My approach is simple:
Investigate first. Understand the environment. Then make recommendations.
I wrote a more detailed article about this on DemarkoCloud:
7 Signs Your AWS Environment Needs an Architecture Review
https://demarkocloud.com/insights/aws-architecture-review-small-business.html