AWS Launch Wizard
A wizard service that automatically deploys enterprise applications like SAP, SQL Server, and Active Directory on AWS following best practices
Overview
AWS Launch Wizard is a guided wizard service for easily deploying enterprise applications such as SAP, Microsoft SQL Server, and Active Directory on AWS. By entering application requirements (user count, data volume, availability requirements, etc.) through an interactive interface, it automatically designs and provisions infrastructure configurations based on AWS best practices. The generated CloudFormation templates include multi-AZ configurations, appropriate instance type selection, security group settings, and backup configurations, dramatically reducing deployment time compared to manual construction. Post-deployment resources are managed as standard AWS resources with full customization freedom. Available at no additional charge.
Supported Applications and Deployment Configuration Design
Launch Wizard supports multiple enterprise applications, providing deployment templates for each. For SAP HANA, it supports configurations from single-node to scale-out, recommending SAP-certified EC2 instances based on SAPS or vCPU and memory requirements. For SQL Server, it automatically builds multi-AZ configurations with Always On Availability Groups, including Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) setup in the provisioning. For Active Directory, you can choose between AWS Managed Microsoft AD or self-managed AD on EC2, with automated multi-AZ domain controller placement. Each application deployment displays a cost estimate beforehand, allowing budget alignment verification before starting deployment. The estimate is itemized for each resource, and the user guide describes it as based on On-Demand costs and for general comparisons only.
Deployment Process and Customization Points
Launch Wizard's deployment process proceeds through requirements input, configuration review, and deployment execution. Requirements input specifies application scale (concurrent users, database size), availability requirements (single AZ or multi-AZ), and network settings (use existing VPC or create new). Configuration review lets you confirm the wizard's recommended instance types, storage configuration, and network design, with the ability to modify as needed. Deployment execution creates a CloudFormation stack, enabling progress tracking with automatic rollback on failure. The product page describes the CloudFormation templates created by Launch Wizard as reusable baselines for subsequent deployments. One way to customize is to add organization-specific requirements (tag policies, encryption settings, monitoring agent installation) to the template and reuse it.
Operations Management and Troubleshooting
Resources deployed with Launch Wizard remain manageable from the Launch Wizard console post-deployment. Each deployment's status, list of created resources, and links to CloudFormation stacks are displayed, aiding change management during operations. However, post-deployment resource changes are made through the standard AWS console or CLI, not through Launch Wizard. Launch Wizard centers on automating the initial deployment, and Day 2 operations (patching, scaling, backup) are managed with operational services like Systems Manager and Backup. For troubleshooting, check CloudFormation event logs on deployment failure to identify which resource creation failed. Examples of failure causes include Service Quotas limits (especially vCPU counts), insufficient IAM permissions, and VPC subnet IP exhaustion. Before deployment, check the required resource limits in Service Quotas and request increases in advance for any shortfalls.
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.
- AWS CloudFormation official page
- Amazon EC2 official page
- AWS Systems Manager official page
- AWS Documentation (official)
If this page and the official documentation disagree, treat the official documentation as authoritative.