Q: An application successfully utilizes AWS EFS (Elastic File System) for shared WordPress storage. It performs beautifully for 3 months, then suddenly grinds to a catastrophic halt, dropping to 1 MB/s throughput daily. Why?
The application has exhausted its EFS Burst Credits.
#AWS #Cost & Architecture #L3 #Cloud #Infrastructure
🎙️ Candidate Opening & Architectural Context
""When an interviewer asks how I troubleshoot this in AWS, I frame it through my hands-on production experience. The interviewer is testing: EFS Burst Credits and Baseline Throughput.. I structure my answer around systematic triage first, root cause analysis second, and permanent remediation third.""
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🛠️ Production Runbook & Step-by-Step Resolution
1️⃣
Production Solution & Architecture
The application has exhausted its EFS Burst Credits. By default, EFS operates in "Bursting Throughput" mode. You are constantly awarded credits based purely on how much data you store. If you only store 10 GB of data, your baseline throughput is a microscopic 0.5 MB/s. The application was heavily utilizing accrued "Burst" credits (up to 100 MB/s) to mask the low baseline. After 3 months of heavy traffic, the credit bank hit absolute zero. *Fix:* Immediately switch the EFS configuration mode from "Bursting" to Provisioned Throughput (e.g., paying for a guaranteed 50 MB/s regardless of storage size) or "Elastic Throughput" mode to instantly restore performance.
💡 The Senior SRE Gold Nugget (Key Architectural Takeaway)
"Pro-Tip: The application has exhausted its EFS Burst Credits.."
⚡ 60-Second Elevator Pitch Talking Points
- Immediate Triage: The application has exhausted its EFS Burst Credits.
- Run targeted verification commands before modifying configuration.
- Automate permanent guardrails (CI check, alerts, IaC policy) to prevent recurrence.
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