Earlier this year, Netflix announced that after seven long years, they had finally switched off their last physical data centre and completed their migration to the AWS Cloud. So, what were some of the key reasons behind this move from the world’s largest online movie rental service?
Netflix has long been a user of various AWS services, primarily in the customer-facing services side of the business. However, the completion of this full migration to the Cloud using Amazon Web Services has been a much lengthier process.
In February this year, Vice President of Cloud and Platform Engineering, Yury Izrailevsky, announced in a blog post that Netflix had finally completed the move. In this post, Izrailevsky sheds light on some of the key reasons why Netflix made the move to the AWS Cloud.
Historic major database corruption
Izrailevsky states that Netflix’s journey to this point started back in 2008 when they experienced a major database corruption. Back then, Netflix was still predominantly a DVD-by-mail service and this corruption hit them hard, causing a three-day disruption to DVD shipping.
At this point, the team recognised they needed to move away from relational databases in their data centre, away from vertically scaled single points of failure which could be so disruptive to their business.
A new approach was necessary, and this led the Netflix team to Amazon Web Services and the AWS Cloud. For them, it was the perfect fit for their business. The AWS Cloud not only offered the greatest ability to scale, – something which was critical for a business growing at their pace – but also the greatest portfolio of services.
Scaling to meet increasing data volumes
Like many other businesses these days, Netflix’s decision to move to the Cloud was largely down to the ever-increasing volumes of data they were handling.
As you can see from the figure below, Netflix witnessed an astonishing rise in streaming hours from 2008 onwards.
Netflix monthly streaming hours
Netflix now have eight times as many members as they had in 2008 and the data volumes resulting from this growth are incomparable.
With physical data warehousing, scalability can be a big issue. Izrailevsky admits that they ‘simply could not have racked the servers fast enough’ if they were to try and support this rapid growth.
With the AWS Cloud on the other hand, it’s possible to quickly and easily scale your data warehouse up or down to meet demand. In a few simple clicks you can provision thousands of virtual servers, equating to petabytes worth of additional storage.
Check out this video case study, in which Netflix’s Director of Big Data Platforms, Eva Tse highlights just how easy it has become to deliver billions of hours of content via the AWS Cloud.
Cost-saving benefits
Whilst Izrailevsky admits that the cost-saving benefits were not the main reason for moving to the AWS Cloud, it was still a massive factor in this success story.
Migrating to the Cloud means that the costs associated with physical infrastructure and its ongoing maintenance are massively reduced, if not wiped out altogether. Instead you pay for what you want, when you want it, and can scale up and down as you wish. This often works out to be much more economical, particularly for larger businesses that can exploit economies of scale as they scale up their data volumes.
When Netflix analysed the costs per stream on the AWS Cloud, they found them to be a fraction of the cost compared with what they were paying before.
Making the move to the Cloud
It might have taken Netflix seven years to complete their full migration to the Cloud, but it certainly doesn’t have to take that long.
The AWS Cloud offers a whole host of different Cloud services across categories such as storage, networking and data warehousing. Integrating these services into your existing processes can help ease your move to the Cloud.
One of AWS’s most popular services, and up until recently its fastest-growing, is Amazon Redshift.
Redshift has revolutionised data warehousing, allowing users to handle petabyte-scale data volumes, quickly, easily and more cost effectively.
To find out more about Amazon Redshift, and how to get the best out of it, download our free guide below.
FAQs
The union of Netflix and AWS stems from a strategic shift – moving away from vulnerable, vertically scaled systems in their data centers (like relational databases), Netflix decided to move towards the robust, horizontally scalable, and distributed systems offered by the Cloud.
Why did Netflix migrate to the AWS cloud? ›
It began its transition to the cloud back in 2008, shifting from traditional physical data centers to Amazon Web Services (AWS), a leading cloud services provider. By moving its vast infrastructure to the cloud, Netflix aimed to streamline its operations, improve scalability, and enhance the customer experience.
How Netflix benefited from AWS cloud streaming technology? ›
Netflix relies on AWS to help it innovate with speed and consistently deliver best-in-class entertainment. AWS provides Netflix with compute, storage, and infrastructure that allow the company to scale quickly, operate securely, and meet capacity needs anywhere in the world.
What led Netflix to shut their own data centers and migrate to AWS? ›
This was due to the elasticity factor of cloud computing, enabling Netflix to continuously optimize instances to grow and shrink as per requirement without the need to maintain large capacity machines. The benefits are very clear, but it still took seven years for Netflix to complete the migration.
When did Netflix shift to AWS? ›
In August 2008, Netflix experienced major database corruption for three days. This is when Netflix decided to go to Amazon Web Services (AWS), even though Amazon is its biggest competitor. At this time, AWS was just getting established.
What caused Netflix to move to cloud based computing? ›
Like many other businesses these days, Netflix's decision to move to the Cloud was largely down to the ever-increasing volumes of data they were handling. As you can see from the figure below, Netflix witnessed an astonishing rise in streaming hours from 2008 onwards.
When did Netflix start using cloud? ›
We are happy to report that in early January, 2016, after seven years of diligent effort, we have finally completed our cloud migration and shut down the last remaining data center bits used by our streaming service! Moving to the cloud has brought Netflix a number of benefits.
Why does Netflix stream better than Amazon? ›
Netflix is generally the better service for people who are less concerned with kid-friendly programming and more concerned about elite original content. There are more original shows and movies, new content is added faster, and it works on more devices. That said, Prime Video is catching up—fast.
What is the relationship between Netflix and AWS? ›
What AWS Services Does Netflix Pay For? Netflix uses AWS for almost everything cloud computing. That includes online storage, a recommendation engine, video transcoding, databases, and analytics. So most of the $1 billion Netflix plans to spend on cloud services will go into Amazon Cloud Services.
Why do you think Netflix is using this cloud service instead of constructing its own datacenter? ›
Netflix moved to AWS because it wanted a more reliable infrastructure. Netflix wanted to remove any single point of failure from its system. AWS offered highly reliable databases, storage and redundant datacenters. Netflix wanted cloud computing, so it wouldn't have to build big unreliable monoliths anymore.
It eliminates the necessity for on site servers and hardware. WHY EVERYONE IS MOVING TO AWS? A recent whitepaper by IDC, shows the customers that migrate to AWS can experience 51% reduced costs of operations, 62% increased IT staff productivity, and 94% reductions in downtime.
How does Netflix use AWS S3? ›
Netflix uses Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to store and distribute its media files. Amazon S3 provides scalable object storage with high availability, durability, and low latency. Netflix employs a multi-region deployment strategy to ensure reliable content delivery and disaster recovery.
Does Netflix use hybrid cloud? ›
Netflix Catalogs Objects Across Hybrid Cloud Storage Systems.
How does Amazon compete with Netflix? ›
Netflix is a streaming juggernaut due to its high-profile original programming, but Amazon Prime Video's add-on channels and live sports make it a strong competitor. We compare both services based on content, price, and more.
Why is everyone moving to AWS? ›
By moving to AWS, these organizations experienced reduced costs, increased performance, improved operational efficiency, faster time to value, and improved business agility.
What is chaos monkey and why is it important for Netflix and its use of AWS? ›
Chaos Monkey is a software tool Netflix engineers developed to test the resiliency and recoverability of its Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. In software engineering, building resilient systems that can withstand unexpected errors and recover quickly is essential.
