UKCustomPapers | You work for a company that holds an annual capture the flag (CTF) competition

You work for a company that holds an annual capture the flag (CTF) competition

Scenario

You work for a company that holds an annual capture the flag (CTF) competition. In the past, competitions had at least 1,500 people competing against one another. There are 250 challenges in the system ranging from general IT to cybersecurity. There is no way to know exactly how long it takes participants to perform a challenge; however, on average, some investigations have determined between 30 seconds to 1 minute. The system must stay up during the competition. It is estimated that each year the number of participants will grow 15%. It has been decided that in the upcoming year, the system will be delivered to contestants from the Cloud as Software as a Service (SaaS) instead of an on-premise system. The main reason for this is that a power outage occurred last year, and the system was not operational for 4 hours during the 72-hour event. Management does not want that to happen again.

You work in a small IT team, and your director of IT asked your team to research Amazon and Microsoft for the CTF system. Facebook developed the CTF system, is open source, and runs on Ubuntu. You will also determine the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the two providers.

Research the two cloud providers Amazon and Microsoft and provide background information as to why you picked the two you did. The background information should be at least 500 words.

Sample Answer

Assessing Cloud Providers for CTF SaaS: Amazon vs. Microsoft

Understanding the Requirements

Before diving into the cloud provider selection, let’s recap the critical requirements:

Scalability: The system must handle a growing number of participants, potentially reaching 1,725 in the next year.
Reliability: The system must be highly available, especially during the 72-hour event.
Security: The system must be secure to protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access.
Performance: The system must be able to handle a large number of concurrent users and requests.

Full Answer Section

Cost-Effectiveness: The TCO of the solution should be reasonable.

Evaluating Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure

Amazon Web Services (AWS):

Why AWS?

AWS, a pioneer in the cloud computing industry, offers a comprehensive suite of services that can cater to the specific needs of a CTF event. Its global infrastructure, robust security features, and unparalleled scalability make it a top choice for demanding applications.

Scalability:
- Auto Scaling Groups (ASGs): Automatically adjust the number of instances based on demand.
- Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): Offers a wide range of instance types to accommodate varying workloads.
Reliability:
- Multiple Availability Zones (AZs): Distribute resources across multiple AZs to improve fault tolerance.
- Elastic Load Balancing (ELB): Distribute incoming traffic across multiple instances.
- Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3): Highly durable and scalable object storage for storing challenge files and user data.
Security:
- Identity and Access Management (IAM): Granular control over access to resources.
- Security Groups and Network ACLs: Network-level security to protect resources.
- AWS WAF: Web Application Firewall to protect against web attacks.
Performance:
- Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS): High-performance block storage for databases and other critical applications.
- Amazon CloudFront: Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve website performance and reduce latency.

Microsoft Azure:

Why Azure?

Microsoft Azure, a strong contender in the cloud market, offers a comprehensive set of cloud services that can be tailored to the specific needs of a CTF event. Its integration with Microsoft products, strong security features, and global infrastructure make it a compelling choice.

Scalability:
- Azure Virtual Machines (VMs): Offers a range of VM sizes to accommodate different workloads.
- Azure App Service: Fully managed platform for building and deploying web apps.
Reliability:
- Azure Availability Zones: Distribute resources across multiple AZs for high availability.
- Azure Load Balancer: Distributes incoming traffic across multiple instances.
- Azure Storage: Durable and scalable storage for storing challenge files and user data.
Security:
- Azure Active Directory: Comprehensive identity and access management.
- Azure Security Center: Unified security management and threat protection.
- Azure Firewall: Cloud-based network security service.
Performance:
- Azure Disk Storage: High-performance block storage for critical applications.
- Azure CDN: Content Delivery Network to improve website performance and reduce latency.

Key Considerations for CTF SaaS Deployment

When selecting a cloud provider, consider the following factors:

Scalability: The ability to handle increasing numbers of participants and challenges.
Performance: Low latency and high throughput to ensure a smooth user experience.
Security: Robust security measures to protect sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access.
Reliability: High availability and disaster recovery capabilities to minimize downtime.
Cost-Effectiveness: Careful cost management to optimize resource utilization and minimize expenses.

By carefully evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of AWS and Azure, you can select the best cloud provider to deliver a successful and scalable CTF SaaS solution.

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