It’s the fourth Thursday of November 2024 in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. The bell rang, signaling lunch break at The Valley School. Children streamed out of their classrooms, chatting and laughing as they gathered in the courtyard to eat.
Meenu, Rahul, Aditi and Rohan sat under the banyan tree, their usual spot. Meenu opened her lunchbox, revealing dosas and chutney. Rahul sighed, leaving his lunchbox unopened.
"What's wrong, Rahul?" Meenu asked.
Rahul opened his box to show vegetable sandwiches. "It’s sandwiches again. I’m so tired of this. Why can’t Amma pack something like your dosas or Rohan’s parathas?"
Meenu chuckled. "Sandwiches aren’t so bad. At least they don’t spill like chutney."
"Maybe," Rahul muttered, taking a reluctant bite. "But they’re boring."
Meenu leaned in with a smile. "If you’re bored with your lunch, why don’t you join us for dinner today evening? My dad’s been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner, and he said I could bring someone along."
"Thanksgiving? What’s that?" Rahul asked, frowning.
It’s a tradition mostly celebrated in the U.S., and my dad’s friend, who works at the U.S. Embassy, has invited our family to the dinner being hosted there. Dad says it’s going to be a grand affair with lots of guests, beautiful decorations, and a grand feast.
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Rahul’s face lit up. "It’s been a long time since I played with him. I just hope this place is pet friendly."
The bell rang again, and they headed back to class, Rahul excited for the new experience and Meenu beamed at the thought of sharing it with her friend.
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The table was a feast for the senses, adorned with golden runners and floral centerpieces.
Meenu’s parents were greeted by Uncle Ben, her dad’s friend, who kindly took a moment to introduce each dish on the table. At the center was the freshly roasted turkey, the highlight of the evening, drawing everyone’s attention. Alongside it were creamy mashed potatoes and a classic casserole of green bean and mushroom soup.
"You two must absolutely try the pumpkin pie," Aunt Catherine joined in. She glanced at Meenu’s parents and added:
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Meenu smiled as she surveyed the Thanksgiving table, mentally transforming it into a tableau of Amazon Web Services.
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Meenu added, “And just like AWS CloudFormation can scale to fit more services, this setup looks ready to host even more guests if needed!"
The same table layout can be used for different occasions:
Diwali Feast: Swap the turkey for samosas and laddus, replace the fall decor with lamps and rangoli, and you’re ready for a vibrant Diwali dinner.
Birthday Celebration: Retain the table’s core setup but add balloons, a centerpiece cake, and you get a joyful birthday atmosphere.
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Production Environment: Reuse the template with increased capacity, enhanced security groups, and a larger database instance to handle real-world traffic.
Meenu saw the table adorned not with platters, bowls or pitchers but with AWS Storage services.
As the turkey took center stage, she whispered to Rahul, “This is so Amazon S3 Standard! It's not just the centerpiece of the table, but also the most versatile, serving everyone's needs. Amazon S3 Standard is designed to handle diverse workloads – from high-throughput streaming to mission-critical databases. It’s always available, always reliable, and scales effortlessly to feed the hunger of massive applications."
When Aunt Catherine unveiled the pumpkin pie, Meenu inclined closer. “Rahul, doesn’t this remind you of Amazon S3 Glacier? It’s like a family heirloom—preserved for special occasions, stored securely, and brought out when it matters most. Glacier ensures your treasures, whether archival photos or a cherished recipe, are protected and ready when needed.”
When the green bean and mushroom casserole made its way around the table, Meenu gave a sly smile. “This is so much like Amazon EFS - everyone gets a share, and there’s enough for all of us to enjoy! Just as the casserole is perfect for family-style dining, EFS offers scalable, shared storage that multiple users can access at the same time. Whether you’re serving dinner to a large family or files to multiple systems, Amazon EFS ensures no one is left out."
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Rahul, impressed. "Wow, Meenu! That was fantastic. You’ve made this dinner even more exciting!"
Just then, he noticed a projector screen showing a live football game. "Hey Meenu, look! They’re streaming a game too."
Meenu glanced over. "Of course! That’s Amazon CloudFront at work – taking the responsibility to stream the game smoothly, no buffering, so everyone can enjoy the match without interruption."
Rahul laughed. "And you know, it’s like Amazon CloudFront is working for this table too—delivering warm rolls straight from the oven, distributed to every edge of the table as fast as possible."
As they spoke, a server approached Meenu’s father with a small device. Meenu couldn’t resist asking, "Papa, what’s that?"
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Her father smiled and placed the small device on the table. "It’s called a table call system. If you want anything, just press the button for your choice, and the server uncle will handle it for you."
Meenu’s eyes lit up as she turned to Rahul, lowering her voice as though sharing a great secret. "This is exactly like Amazon CloudWatch Metric Alarms! Each button is a key that triggers a specific action. Look, here are the keys: HeatGreenBean, GrilledSandwich, BurgerwithFries, BowlOfMashPotato. The moment a guest presses one, the whole system springs into action."
Rahul, intrigued. "What kind of action?"
Meenu gestured toward the servers, her excitement palpable. "It starts with the server uncle, just like AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS), sending messages to notify the right people at the right time. When someone presses a button, the server uncle receives the signal and immediately heads to the specific counter assigned for that task. Each counter specializes in one dish, just like an AWS Lambda function is designed to perform a single, precise operation.
Fig:Example of an alerting system in AWS
“Imagine this,” she began. “Someone presses the ‘BowlOfMashPotato’ button. The server immediately rushes to the mashed potato counter, which springs to life - just like an AWS Lambda function, activated only when needed to perform a specific task. The Lambda function consults an Amazon DynamoDB database - a journal of each guest’s dietary preferences - to find the perfect balance of butter and cream. It then prepares the ideal bowl of mashed potatoes. Finally, the SNS server delivers it to the table, piping hot and flawless. Once the task is complete, the Lambda function disappears, ready to be called again when needed.”
Rahul : "The servers are like magicians, just like AWS SNS - receiving a signal, conjuring up a Lambda cloud, and delivering the dish before vanishing into the background!"
Rahul looked around the table in awe. "This is like an entire cloud ecosystem running a dinner. And the SNS uncles - what’s their job beyond delivery?"
"They’re also monitoring," Meenu added. "If a dish starts running low, they alert the kitchen immediately by dialing up an AWS Lambda. When a new dish is ready, they let everyone know. Their coordination is incredible."
Rahul shook his head, amazed. "This is the most high-tech dinner I’ve ever seen. Who knew Thanksgiving could be so futuristic?"
Meenu : Shall we quietly peek into the kitchen? Am sure some magic is happening over there.
Rahul : Yes, am all for it!
Peeking inside, they found the heart of the operation.
Meenu started her narration.
Meenu : “At the center of the kitchen stood Amazon EventBridge, orchestrating everything like a master head chef.
Every request from SNS reaches the Lambda who in turn dials up this head chef. Whether it was a pumpkin pie, mozzarella sticks, or a fresh turkey, EventBridge juggled it all with flawless multitasking.
Fig: Example of an event-driven orchestration
The line cooks were none other than AWS CodePipeline, experts in their assigned dishes. Each CodePipeline followed precise steps to prepare the food:
Stage 1: Fetch the recipe from Amazon DynamoDB, where family secrets were stored, and the ingredients from Amazon S3, the pantry of this kitchen.
Stage 2: Use AWS Lambda for quick tasks like chopping vegetables or mixing ingredients.
Stage 3: Handle heavy-duty cooking with AWS Batch, roasting turkeys or baking pies to perfection.
Stage 4: Add final touches and notify SNS for delivery.
For example, the "Tortelloni Line Cook" worked like this:
Amazon DynamoDB fetched the recipe.
An AWS Lambda function mixed and kneaded the dough, then prepared the ricotta and spinach filling.
AWS Batch cooked the tortelloni in boiling water to perfection.
A second AWS Lambda drizzled the dish with warm sage butter sauce and garnished it with fresh Parmesan before notifying the Amazon SNS team to deliver it.
Each cook worked independently, yet all adhered to Amazon EventBridge’s master plan.”
Rahul : Meenu, your father has started looking for us. Its time to rush back.
Both the kids ran towards their seat, giggling as they settled back down. Meenu glanced around the table and suddenly noticed someone moving swiftly from one end of the room to the other, pausing at each guest and occasionally gesturing toward the Amazon SNS team. Her sharp observations and quick actions were impossible to ignore.
Meenu nudged Rahul. “Rahul, who is that? She keeps staring at the guests . And look — she’s giving instructions to the SNS team!”
Rahul’s curiosity rose. “She looks just like our school principal - super scary! Go on, ask her! You’re the principal’s favorite, after all. If I ask, she might growl at me!”
Unable to resist, Meenu cleared her throat and addressed the woman. “Excuse me, aunty. Are you the manager?”
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She turned towards Meenu with a warm smile. “Ah, young lady. I’m not the manager - I’m Amazon Rekognition. I have a unique ability: I can read people’s emotions and deduce their needs through advanced computer vision technology. For example, I noticed you especially enjoyed the mozzarella sticks. Would you like me to get you some more?”
Meenu’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Yesss, aunty! And could I also have some strawberry cheesecake? added Rahul”
“Consider it done,” Rekognition replied, nodding at an Amazon SNS person.
As she walked away, Meenu whispered excitedly to Rahul. “She’s unbelievable! Did you hear that? She’s Amazon’s image and video analysis service! She uses deep learning to analyze faces, detect emotions, and even interpret actions.”
Rahul, now his newfound interest. “Look, Meenu! See Sharon aunty over there? She just took a bite of the pumpkin pie, and a delighted "yummm" escaped her lips. Do you think Amazon Rekognition noticed this?”
“Of course,” Meenu replied confidently. “Look at that SNS heading her way. Aunt Amazon Rekognition flagged it right away: ‘This pie’s a hit - keep the slices coming!’”
The duo’s fascination grew as Amazon Rekognition effortlessly handled even subtle signals. When Uncle Cyrus leaned back, satisfied but clearly full, she informed the servers, “No need to offer more for this guest - he’s done for now.”
Just then, a cheerful man entered the room with a pitcher of apple cider punch. His movements were methodical, pouring precise amounts into each guest’s glass while maintaining perfect balance.
“Rahul,” Meenu whispered, her eyes sparkling, “he must be the load balancer!”
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Rahul nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! He’s definitely an AWS Application Load Balancer. See how he’s managing everyone’s needs - making sure no glass overflows or stays empty. And if someone finishes their drink faster, they’re prioritized for a refill. It’s like distributing traffic efficiently so no one is left waiting too long!”
As the man approached their table, both Meenu and Rahul eagerly extended their glasses. He poured their shares with precision and started to move on, but Meenu called out, “Wait, uncle! Can I have just a little more? I want to taste the cinnamon, please.”
Before the man could respond, another voice cut through the air - a familiar one, far less patient.
“Meenu! Get up! It’s 6:30 AM already,” her mother’s voice called from a distance. “You’re going to be late for school!”
Meenu blinked, her surroundings dissolving into the morning light of her bedroom. Still half-asleep, she mumbled, “Wait... just a little more... some more…. please...”
Realizing it had all been a dream, she sighed and smiled. But the scent of cinnamon and the memory of the Thanksgiving Day dinner lingered as she prepared for the day.
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