Amazon Web Services (AWS) is URI’s primary cloud platform, underpinning most of ITS’s managed infrastructure — from virtual servers and storage to course tools and data services.

For most URI users, the right approach is to use one of ITS’s managed services built on AWS — such as Servers, Web Hosting, Databases, Cloud Storage (S3), Jupyter Hub, R Studio Server, or Virtual Computer Labs — rather than managing cloud resources directly. ITS handles the underlying account, security, and infrastructure so you don’t have to. For teams that need their own AWS environment, ITS can consult and help get started — contact its-citi@uri.edu.

Contact: its-citi@uri.edu (ITS Cloud & IT Infrastructure)

Amazon AWS Logo

Features

Base infrastructure

  • Compute — virtual servers and containers (EC2, ECS, EKS)
  • Storage — object, block, and file storage (S3, EBS, EFS)
  • Managed databases — relational and NoSQL (RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB)
  • Networking — virtual private clouds, DNS, load balancing, VPN (VPC, Route 53, ALB)
  • Serverless compute — event-driven functions without managing servers (Lambda)

AI & machine learning services

  • Foundation model access — run inference against Claude, Llama, Titan, and other models via Amazon Bedrock
  • Custom model training and deployment — Amazon SageMaker
  • Speech-to-text — Amazon Transcribe
  • Image and video analysis — Amazon Rekognition
  • Document extraction — Amazon Textract
  • Translation — Amazon Translate
  • Conversational AI — Amazon Lex

Access

Most users: consume ITS-managed services

Most URI faculty, staff, and departments do not need a direct AWS account. ITS operates a number of managed services built on AWS that are simpler to use and require no cloud expertise:

  • Web Hosting — Apache/PHP web hosting on a managed, highly available platform
  • Databases — MySQL-compatible (MariaDB) and Microsoft SQL Server databases
  • Servers — virtual machines provisioned in AWS or on-premises
  • Cloud Storage (S3) — scalable object storage for files, backups, and archives
  • Jupyter Hub — browser-based Python notebook environment for course instruction
  • R Studio Server — browser-based R and RStudio environment for course instruction
  • Virtual Computer Labs — uniform fleets of virtual desktops and specialized environments
  • Network File Shares — shared network drives for departments and groups (on-premises)

Independent AWS accounts

Faculty, staff, or departments with the technical expertise to manage their own AWS environment — including IAM, billing, and security configuration — are welcome to request an independent account under URI’s AWS organization. Departments are responsible for all usage costs. Contact its-citi@uri.edu to schedule a consultation.

Support and Training

ITS manages URI’s AWS organization and can help assess whether AWS — or one of ITS’s managed services built on top of it — is the right fit for your needs. For questions or to start a conversation, contact its-citi@uri.edu.

For self-directed learning, AWS offers free training resources: