Customers can choose options such as storage such as Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) gp2 volumes and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), compute options such as EC2 instance type configurations, or other services that might impact the physical configuration, such as Relational Database Services (RDS).
The payment options include fully upfront, partially upfront, and monthly – all of which include a 3-year commitment:
Figure 5.1 – The ordering process for AWS Outposts Rack
The process of provisioning an Outposts rack is unlike provisioning most other AWS services. First, customers work with AWS personnel to identify use cases and capacity requirements. Using these requirements, customers order specific SKUs to be delivered at defined customer locations. AWS personnel visit these locations to conduct site surveys. This is done to verify power availability, HVAC capacity, air quality, whether seismic tie-downs are needed, load capacity for raised floors, and other such considerations. Customers meet the AWS white-glove installation team at a designated time for delivery, installation, and instantiation of Outposts. Next, tests to verify the failover of redundant components and control plane checks are run. Only after everything is validated is management handed over to the customer. 24 hours later, billing begins.
Physical elements
The physical design of an AWS Outposts rack reflects a meticulous blend of cutting-edge technology and ergonomic engineering, encapsulating the essence of a compact, self-contained cloud infrastructure that seamlessly extends the AWS ecosystem to on-premises environments. Designed for optimal efficiency and scalability, an AWS Outposts rack is a refined integration of compute, storage, and networking components, elegantly packaged within a standard 19-inch rack form factor.
AC power requirements
Each AWS Outposts rack in a given site supports three power configurations – 5 kVA (4 kW), 10 kVA (9 kW), or 15 kVA (13 kW). This is because it is not uncommon that a given data center limits the amount of power available to a rack or cage. Single-phase and three-phase redundant AC options are available for all three options. Check the Requirements section of the User Guide for racks for more details: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/outposts/latest/userguide/outposts-requirements.html.