Why Routing policies (simple, weighted, latency) in AWS? - Purpose & Use Cases

The Big Idea

What if your website could send visitors to the fastest server automatically, without you lifting a finger?

The Scenario

Imagine you have a website that needs to send visitors to different servers based on simple rules, like sending everyone to one server or splitting traffic between servers manually.

You try to update DNS records by hand every time you want to change where users go.

The Problem

Manually changing DNS records is slow and risky.

It can cause downtime if you make mistakes.

Also, you can't easily split traffic or send users to the fastest server without complex workarounds.

The Solution

Routing policies let you automate how traffic is directed.

Simple routing sends all users to one place.

Weighted routing splits traffic by percentages.

Latency routing sends users to the fastest server.

This makes managing traffic easy and reliable.

Before vs After

✗ Before

Update DNS record A to 192.0.2.1 manually
Update DNS record A to 192.0.2.2 manually

✓ After

Use weighted routing: 70% to 192.0.2.1, 30% to 192.0.2.2
Use latency routing to send users to the lowest latency server

What It Enables

You can control traffic flow automatically to improve performance and reliability without manual errors.

Real Life Example

A global e-commerce site uses latency routing to send shoppers to the nearest data center, speeding up page loads and improving sales.

Key Takeaways

Manual DNS changes are slow and error-prone.

Routing policies automate traffic direction based on rules.

This improves user experience and system reliability.