AWS First Steps
LanguageEnglish
Cloud Comparison

AWS Edge Strategy - The Hybrid Future Shaped by Outposts, Local Zones, and Wavelength

We explain the hybrid and edge strategy AWS deploys through three edge services - Outposts, Local Zones, and Wavelength - comparing them with Azure Stack and GCP Distributed Cloud to highlight differences in breadth of options and design philosophy.

About 7 min read

Not All Workloads Can Move to the Cloud

The benefits of public cloud are widely recognized, but in reality, not all workloads can be migrated to public cloud regions. There are use cases that public cloud regions alone cannot address: data sovereignty regulations requiring data to be kept within specific facilities, real-time processing demanding ultra-low latency, edge processing at factories and retail locations, and mobile applications requiring 5G network integration. AWS addresses this challenge by offering three different edge services: Outposts, Local Zones, and Wavelength. Each is designed for different use cases, allowing users to select the appropriate service based on their requirements. This approach of providing multiple specialized edge services for different purposes is the design philosophy behind the AWS edge strategy.

Outposts - Bringing All of AWS On-Premises

AWS Outposts is a service that extends AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to the customer's on-premises environment. AWS racks are installed in the customer's data center, enabling the use of services like EC2, EBS, S3, RDS, ECS, and EKS through the same APIs as an AWS region. The core value of Outposts is consistency. Using the same APIs, same tools (CloudFormation, CDK), and same operational procedures across on-premises and cloud makes it easier to align operations in hybrid environments. Developers rarely need to be aware of whether the deployment target is a region or Outposts. Outposts hardware is owned and managed by AWS, and AWS operates, monitors, and manages this capacity. Customers provide power, network, and physical space. This operational model is suited for requirements where you want to be freed from on-premises hardware management but need to control the physical location of your data.

Design Philosophy Differences with Azure Stack

Azure's hybrid solution consists of three offerings: Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack HCI, and Azure Stack Edge. Like Outposts, Azure Stack Hub is a product that runs cloud services on premises, and the two differ in design philosophy. Azure Stack Hub runs Azure services on hardware that the customer purchases and owns. Hardware procurement, installation, and maintenance are the customer's (or partner's) responsibility, contrasting with Outposts' "AWS-owned and managed" model. Additionally, the services available on Azure Stack Hub are limited to a subset of Azure's full offering. API compatibility is also not complete, and there are cases where templates that work in Azure regions don't work as-is on Azure Stack Hub. Azure Stack HCI is a Windows Server-based hyperconverged infrastructure managed through Azure Arc. It is a product aimed at use in combination with existing Windows Server environments. Google Cloud offers Google Distributed Cloud Edge and Google Distributed Cloud Hosted.

Local Zones - Ultra-Low Latency Locations as Extensions of Regions

AWS Local Zones is a service that extends AWS regions to specific cities. Unlike a region's AZs, they are placed close to the center of major metropolitan areas, aiming to reduce latency with end users. Local Zones are suited for latency-sensitive workloads, such as real-time gaming, live video streaming, AR/VR, and financial trading. They complement latency requirements that cannot be met by a region's AZs due to physical distance constraints. A key feature of Local Zones is that they can be used by extending the parent region's VPC. There's no need to create a new VPC - you simply add a subnet to your existing VPC to start using Local Zones resources. Management services like IAM, CloudWatch, and CloudTrail are also integrated with the parent region, maintaining operational consistency. The form of services corresponding to Local Zones differs from cloud to cloud. Azure's Extended Zones (formerly Azure Edge Zones) is a service based on a similar concept.

Wavelength - Cloud Running Inside the 5G Network

AWS Wavelength is a service that places AWS computing and storage within telecom carriers' 5G networks. Mobile device traffic can access AWS services without leaving the carrier's network, reducing latency compared to routing through the internet. Wavelength use cases are applications that leverage 5G ultra-low latency: real-time decisions for autonomous vehicles, industrial IoT in factories, remote surgery support in telemedicine, and cloud gaming - areas where millisecond-level latency is required. AWS has partnered with telecom carriers including KDDI, Verizon, Vodafone, and SK Telecom to deploy Wavelength Zones. Wavelength Zones are deployed within the networks of partner carriers, and their locations vary by country and region. Wavelength takes the approach of placing cloud infrastructure directly within the carrier's network.

Choosing Among the Three Edge Services

Outposts, Local Zones, and Wavelength are each designed for different use cases. Choose Outposts when data sovereignty or compliance requirements mandate keeping data within a specific facility, or when low-latency connectivity with on-premises systems is needed. Choose Local Zones when you want to reduce latency for end users in a specific city - complementing latency requirements that a region's AZs can't meet due to distance. Choose Wavelength when you want to provide ultra-low latency to mobile devices on 5G networks, where processing completes within the carrier's network, without the latency of an internet transit. AWS offers these three options to match different purposes. Azure's lineup includes Azure Stack and Extended Zones.

Summary

AWS's edge strategy consists of three specialized services: Outposts (on-premises extension), Local Zones (metropolitan low latency), and Wavelength (5G edge). All can be used with the same APIs, same tools, and same operational model as AWS regions, a design that aligns operations across hybrid environments. Azure Stack uses a customer-owned hardware model. Google Cloud offers Distributed Cloud. As demand for edge computing grows, AWS's approach is to provide multiple edge services designed for different purposes under the same APIs.

References (Official AWS Resources)

The primary sources for this page are the official AWS website and documentation. Check the official pages below for the latest specifications and pricing.

If this page and the official documentation disagree, treat the official documentation as authoritative.

Share

Related Services

AWS Outposts SpecializedA hybrid cloud service that extends AWS infrastructure and services to on-premises locationsAWS Local Zones SpecializedInfrastructure that places computing resources in cities close to end users for low latencyAWS Wavelength SpecializedPlace compute resources at the edge of 5G networks for ultra-low-latency applicationsAmazon EC2 EssentialA compute service that provides virtual servers in the cloudAmazon CloudFront EssentialA CDN service that delivers content at high speed from edge locations around the world

Related Articles

AWS Regions and Edge Locations - The Physical Advantage of 33 Regions and 600+ PoPsWe lay out how AWS regions, Availability Zones, and edge locations are structured, and walk through DR design using the Tokyo and Osaka regions, meeting data sovereignty requirements, and running processing at the edge from a practical standpoint.AWS Global Network Backbone - How Private Submarine Cables and 600+ PoPs Deliver Superior ConnectivityExplore the advantages of AWS's global network built on private submarine cables, dedicated fiber, and 600+ edge locations, compared with GCP's Premium Tier and Azure's network design.AWS Nitro System Hardware Innovation - How Custom Chips Redefined Virtualization and SecurityThis article explains the design philosophy behind the AWS-developed Nitro System, analyzing how the elimination of virtualization overhead, hardware-level security isolation, and bare-metal performance create competitive advantages unavailable from other providers.

More on This Topic

Amazon.com Is AWS's Biggest Customer - How Internal Dogfooding Drives Service QualityStarting from the fact that Amazon.com's e-commerce site, Prime Video, and Alexa all run on AWS, this article explores how internal dogfooding elevates service quality and how Prime Day's traffic demands have shaped AWS's architecture.The Layered Architecture of AWS AI/ML Services - Flexibility Through the Three Tiers of SageMaker, Bedrock, and API ServicesThis article organizes AWS AI/ML services into three layers - SageMaker (full control), Bedrock (managed generative AI), and Rekognition/Comprehend/etc. (API-based) - and explains AWS's flexibility through comparisons with GCP Vertex AI and Azure OpenAI Service, including custom silicon integration.AWS Data Analytics and Data Lakes - The Integrated Ecosystem of Athena, Glue, Lake Formation, and RedshiftExplore how the integrated AWS data analytics stack of Athena, Glue, Lake Formation, Redshift, and Amazon Quick Sight (formerly Amazon QuickSight) is put together, along with the concrete differences from Azure Synapse Analytics / Microsoft Fabric and GCP BigQuery, to clarify the axes for choosing between them.AWS Backward Compatibility and API Stability - The Trust Built by Never Retiring Published APIsExamine AWS's track record of never retiring published APIs, compare it with Azure's rebranding history and GCP's service discontinuation cases, and explain why API stability matters for enterprises.AWS Availability Zone Design - How Physical Separation and Fault Isolation Create a Reliability AdvantageExamine the design philosophy behind AWS AZs as physically independent data center clusters, compare them with Azure and GCP availability zones, and look at them against the published design criteria and real-world incident examples.The Market Value of AWS Skills and the Salary Premium of CertificationsAnalyze the number of job postings requiring AWS skills, the salary premium for certification holders, and the impact on career paths, comparing with Azure and GCP to evaluate the return on investment of AWS certifications.AWS Technical Communities and Learning Resources - From re:Invent to JAWS-UGCompare the richness of AWS technical communities including re:Invent, AWS Summit, and JAWS-UG, along with localized documentation and training resources, against Azure and GCP to highlight AWS's learning ecosystem advantages.AWS Compliance - Over 143 Certifications from ISMAP to PCI DSS That Outpace the CompetitionExplore the breadth of AWS's 143+ compliance certifications, focusing on ISMAP, SOC, PCI DSS, and HIPAA, and compare the certification coverage with Azure and GCP.

Similar Articles and Services

Edge and 5G Computing - Achieving Ultra-Low Latency with AWS Wavelength and Local ZonesAn explanation of ultra-low latency computing with AWS Wavelength and Local Zones. It introduces processing at the 5G network edge, placement close to urban areas, use cases, and how to choose between these and standard Regions.AWS OutpostsA hybrid cloud service that physically installs AWS infrastructure and services in on-premises data centers, enabling operation with the same APIs and tools as the cloud5G Edge Computing with AWS Wavelength - Designing Ultra-Low Latency ApplicationsLearn about running applications at the 5G edge with Wavelength, Wavelength Zone design, and practical use cases.Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure - Integrating On-Premises and AWS with AWS OutpostsLearn how to extend AWS infrastructure to on-premises environments with AWS Outposts and build hybrid cloud architectures with EC2 integration. Covers design patterns for data residency and low-latency requirements.Extending AWS to On-Premises with AWS Outposts - Hybrid Cloud Design and OperationsExtend AWS to on-premises for data residency and low-latency requirements. Learn about Outposts deployment models and Local Gateway design.