How to optimize AWS with Looker
Dec 8, 2020
Why do data teams around the globe choose Looker to query their AWS data? To start, with Looker you can leverage the latest innovations from AWS to improve query performance and reduce per-query costs. Looker can also help you optimize how you use AWS databases (Redshift, Athena, and more) with intelligent queries and through tools to help you optimize your cloud consumption and spend. Customers who use Looker with AWS report exceptionally high satisfaction (think near-perfect reviews and a Net Promoter Score of 100 in the AWS Marketplace), and it’s our goal to keep it that way.
Faster, more responsive dashboards
Query performance and fast, responsive dashboards are key to successful analytics deployments. With Looker you can leverage the latest AWS features to get the best possible performance at the lowest costs. Looker’s JDBC connection to Redshift provides optimized SQL directly to the Redshift query engine — already making queries fast and efficient. But new improvements from AWS provide greater performance than ever at even lower costs. Some of the enhancements data teams tell us are most exciting include:
- Redshift deployment on new RA3 instances gives greater performance than ever, while helping Redshift customers control costs. These new instance types deliver greater separation between compute and storage and are a perfect fit from data teams tuning performance and optimizing spend.
- Redshift materialized views can also improve query efficiency and response times. Query results are automatically materialized in Redshift with little need for tuning. Once materialized, subsequent queries have extremely rapid response times.
- Redshift Aqua (Advanced Query Accelerator) is now available for preview. With Aqua, queries can be processed in-memory and Redshift queries can run up to 10x faster.
Because Looker supports the latest enhancements from AWS, you can now deliver the high performance experience your users demand, even with high concurrency, geospatial data, or massive data sets.
Optimize Redshift (and AWS) with Looker
Looker Blocks for AWS and Redshift help you monitor and optimize your AWS databases, track cloud consumption, improve efficiency, and reduce administrative burden. Continuously updated, these pre-built analytics models help data teams get the most out of AWS investments and are packaged into an AWS optimization suite. Looker Blocks for AWS/Redshift are available at no additional cost and include:
- Amazon Redshift Optimization: Isolate and analyze factors affecting query performance. Build faster, more efficient queries
- Amazon Redshift Administration: Gain insight into ETL cycles, table architectures, and more. Identify and operationalize Redshift insights.
- Cost and Usage Analysis: Understand and optimize your company’s spending on reserved computing power. Optimize coverage and utilization.
- Security and Monitoring: Track and monitor AWS usage, drilling into event level details.
Try Looker + AWS for yourself
Looker is available today through the AWS Marketplace. If you’re interested in trying it for yourself (at no cost), we have a free interactive trial environment where you can explore Looker running on Redshift and see for yourself — just fill out the form and we’ll get you started. If you’re interested in learning more about Looker’s Blocks for AWS optimization, or our multicloud approach and how it can work for you, please reach out for an in-person demo. We’d love to show you Looker!
