Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The October AWS NET+ Tech Share covered FinOps challenges, account provisioning strategies, and an upcoming AI chatbot workshop. Here's a summary of the key discussions:
Recent Community Updates
The Landing Zone Accelerator (LZA) Community of Practice continues to meet regularly. For those interested in catching up, recent blog posts are available, including a recap of the NET+ AWS Private Marketplace series and the September Tech Share summary.
Key Events
- NET+ AWS Town Hall (October 16): Focusing on multi-account governance in AWS (slides and recording)
- Are you leading a cloud-powered research project or tackling strategic cloud challenges on campus? Share your expertise! Submit your Cloud Forum proposal by December 20th
- Webinar on NET+ AWS, NET+ GCP, NET+ Kion, and CICP (October 31, 11am PT/2pm ET)
- R&E FinOps Virtual Conference - January 23, 2025 10am-2pm PST/ 1-5pm EST (tentative)
FinOps Challenges and Solutions
A significant portion of the discussion centered around FinOps challenges and potential solutions:
Account Provisioning Strategies
- Implementing Service Control Policies (SCPs) to require tagging.
- Using AWS Control Tower for budget alarms and sandbox account provisioning.
- Setting up cost anomaly detection in new accounts.
Tagging Practices
- Tagging per grant or payment source can be useful, especially in research contexts.
- Dividing resources based on logical isolation (grant, lab, project).
Cost Control Measures
Northwestern University recommended setting up cost anomaly detection in new accounts to help manage expenses proactively.
University of Wisconsin-Madison's Approach
The University of Wisconsin-Madison shared their strategies for managing cloud resources:
- Using separate accounts for different projects, sometimes multiple accounts per researcher.
- Employing Terraform to standardize cost alerts.
- Utilizing account boundaries as the primary method for cost tracking.
- Offering weekly office hours to assist researchers.
AI Chatbot Workshop Announcement
An exciting announcement was made regarding an upcoming "barn raising" hands on session to build an AI chatbot using Vanderbilt's GenAI Platform with guidance from developers and architects. Institutions are encouraged to identify appropriate team members to participate in this hands-on workshop, which is estimated to take about 4 hours with proper preparation. For those that need additional guidance, Bob is creating a document to assist institutions in choosing appropriate participants.
Conclusion
This Tech Share provided valuable insights into FinOps challenges and solutions, highlighting the importance of proper account management and cost control in academic cloud environments. The upcoming AI chatbot workshop presents an exciting opportunity for institutions to dive into practical AI application development.
Be sure to check out the other blog posts we've written. As always, feel free to send any feedback to tmanik[at]internet2[dot]edu.