AWS Mastery for .NET Architects

DynamoDB Mastery: NoSQL for extreme scale

2 Views Updated 5/6/2026

Serverless NoSQL

DynamoDB is a key-value and document database that delivers single-digit millisecond performance at any scale.

1. Partition Keys and Sort Keys

Unlike SQL, you don't 'Join' in DynamoDB. You design your data based on your Access Patterns. **Architect Tip:** Use the 'Single Table Design' pattern to store multiple entity types in one table for maximum efficiency and reduced costs.

2. Throughput Modes

Provisioned: You specify the Read/Write units you need (Best for predictable traffic).
On-Demand: You pay per request (Best for spiky traffic or new apps).

3. Architect Insight

Q: "When should I NOT use DynamoDB?"

Architect Answer: "Avoid DynamoDB if your application requires heavy **Ad-hoc Reporting** or many complex Joins. DynamoDB is for highly-predictable, high-scale application data (like User Profiles, Session State, or Order History). For everything else, stick to RDS."

AWS Mastery for .NET Architects
1. AWS Global Infrastructure
AWS Foundations: Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations VPC Deep Dive: Subnets, Route Tables, and Internet Gateways IAM (Identity and Access Management): The Principle of Least Privilege Security Groups vs Network ACLs: Handling traffic for .NET apps
2. Compute for .NET
EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): Choosing the right instance for C# apps AWS Lambda: Serverless .NET with Native AOT ECS & Fargate: Containerizing .NET APIs at scale Auto Scaling Groups: Handling spikes in traffic
3. Storage & Databases
S3 (Simple Storage Service): Architecting a binary storage layer RDS (Relational Database Service): Managed SQL Server in the cloud DynamoDB Mastery: NoSQL for extreme scale ElastiCache: Boosting performance with Redis/Memcached
4. Networking & Content Delivery
Route 53: DNS management and health checks Application Load Balancer (ALB) vs Network Load Balancer (NLB) CloudFront: Accelerating frontend delivery via CDN API Gateway: Building a unified entry point for Microservices
5. Security & Compliance
AWS WAF: Protecting your APIs from common web attacks AWS Secrets Manager: Managing connection strings securely KMS (Key Management Service): Data encryption for .NET CloudTrail: Auditing your infrastructure changes
6. Messaging & Events
SQS (Simple Queue Service): Decoupling .NET services SNS (Simple Notification Service): Pub/Sub patterns in AWS EventBridge: Building an event-driven bus Step Functions: Orchestrating complex serverless workflows
7. Monitoring & DevOps
CloudWatch: Metrics, Logs, and Alarms for C# apps X-Ray: Distributed tracing for .NET Microservices AWS CodePipeline: CI/CD for .NET on AWS CloudFormation & CDK: Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with C#
8. Optimization & Scale
Cost Optimization (FinOps): Reducing your monthly AWS bill Case Study: Migrating a legacy Monolith to a Cloud-Native AWS stack