Databricks on AWS Architecture - Technical Architecture Document

Key Technical Areas to Include in a TAD for ARB

1. Network Architecture

Explain how the platform is connected and secured at the network level.

Things to Include

• VPC architecture
• Subnets (public/private)
• Security groups
• Network ACLs
• Private endpoints
• Internet access controls
• Load balancers

AWS Components

• Amazon Virtual Private Cloud
• AWS PrivateLink
• AWS Transit Gateway
• Elastic Load Balancing

Example Explanation

• Databricks workspace deployed inside a private VPC
• Compute clusters run in private subnets
• Data access to Amazon S3 through VPC endpoints
• No direct internet exposure

2. Identity and Access Management

Define who can access what.

Include

• Authentication method (SSO)
• Role-based access control
• IAM roles for services
• Service accounts
• Principle of least privilege

Technologies

• AWS Identity and Access Management
• Azure Active Directory or Okta (for SSO)

Example

• Users authenticate via corporate SSO
• Databricks uses IAM roles to access S3

3. Data Security

One of the most important sections for ARB.

Encryption

• Encryption at rest
• Encryption in transit
• Key management

Data Protection

• Data masking
• PII protection
• Data classification

AWS Services

• AWS Key Management Service
• Amazon S3
• AWS Secrets Manager

Example

• S3 buckets encrypted with KMS
• TLS for all network communication
• Secrets stored in Secrets Manager

4. Compute Architecture

Explain how processing happens.

Include

• Cluster architecture
• Autoscaling
• Instance types
• Job orchestration

Technology

• Databricks clusters
• Apache Spark

Example

• Auto-scaling Spark clusters
• Separate clusters for ETL and analytics

5. Data Architecture

Explain how data is structured and stored.

Include

• Data ingestion pattern
• Storage layers
• Data formats
• Data lifecycle

Typical Architecture – Medallion Model

Layer	Description
Bronze	Raw data
Silver	Clean data
Gold	Aggregated data

Storage

• Amazon S3
• Delta tables in Databricks

6. Integration Architecture

Explain system communication.

Include

• APIs
• Messaging systems
• Streaming
• Batch integrations

Technologies

• Amazon Kinesis
• Apache Kafka
• REST APIs

7. DevOps and CI/CD

Explain how code is deployed.

Include

• Source control
• CI/CD pipeline
• Environment promotion strategy
• Infrastructure as Code

Technologies

• GitHub
• Terraform
• AWS CodePipeline

8. Monitoring and Observability

Explain how the platform is monitored.

Include

• Logging
• Metrics
• Alerts
• Audit logs

Tools

• Amazon CloudWatch
• AWS CloudTrail
• Databricks monitoring

9. High Availability and Disaster Recovery

Include

• Multi-AZ architecture
• Backup strategy
• Failover process
• Recovery objectives

Example Metrics

Metric	Example
RPO	15 minutes
RTO	1 hour

10. Performance and Scalability

Explain how the system handles growth.

• Auto scaling
• Load balancing
• Partitioning strategies
• Spark optimization

11. Compliance and Governance

Include

• Data governance policies
• Regulatory compliance
• Access auditing

Services

• AWS CloudTrail
• AWS Config

12. Cost Management

Explain cost control.

Include

• Cluster auto termination
• Spot instances
• Storage lifecycle rules

Service

• AWS Cost Explorer

Quick Summary: What ARB Wants to See Technically

Area	What to Explain
Network	VPC, subnets, private endpoints
Security	IAM, encryption, secrets
Data	Storage layers, governance
Compute	Databricks clusters
Integration	APIs, streaming
DevOps	CI/CD pipelines
Monitoring	Logging and alerts
Resilience	HA and DR
Performance	Scaling strategy
Compliance	Security policies

Simple rule: Your TAD should show how the system is secure, scalable, integrated, monitored, and compliant.