DrillDocs specializes in real-time data solutions for the drilling industry, offering CleanSight®, an innovative platform that uses high-resolution cameras and deep learning to monitor drilled cuttings for signs of wellbore instability or poor hole cleaning. By providing 24/7 insights into drilling operations, DrillDocs helps reduce non-productive time (NPT) and improve overall drilling performance.

With an eye on significantly growing its customer base and number of concurrent deployments, DrillDocs needed to scale their AWS environment and transition to a decoupled container architecture. Their initial setup, running multiple containers on a single EC2 instance, was insufficient for expansion and lacked the necessary flexibility for more advanced monitoring and resource management. DrillDocs aimed to achieve a scalable architecture that could separate application functions, improve operational efficiency, and lay the foundation for future compliance needs.

AWS’s extensive tools and services enabled DrillDocs to design a flexible, scalable environment. By leveraging multi-account setups and containerized application deployment, AWS allows for resource separation, advanced monitoring, and the automation capabilities needed for DrillDocs’ evolving business requirements.

SnapSoft deployed an experienced cloud architect to lead the design and deployment of a secure, multi-account AWS environment for DrillDocs. This solution provided a scalable infrastructure to support their application decoupling and included setting up dedicated monitoring and data services for real-time insights. Key aspects of SnapSoft’s approach included:

• Decoupled Container Architecture: Redesigned DrillDocs’ containerized application for scalable, modular deployment using EKS and IaC for consistent management.
• Multi-Account AWS Landing Zone: Established a multi-account structure to organize resources and enhance security.
• Enhanced Monitoring and Data Insights: Deployed monitoring and data services including Grafana, Databricks, TimescaleDB, Node-RED, VPN integration and Zabbix for real-time analytics, visualization, and system tracking.

• Amazon EKS: Facilitated container management and scalable deployment.
• Terraform: Enabled Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for repeatable, reliable deployments.
• AWS Organizations: Managed multiple accounts within a secure structure, providing separation and compliance readiness.
• Grafana: For advanced monitoring and visualizations of operational metrics.
• Databricks: Provided a unified analytics platform for deeper data insights.
• TimescaleDB: Optimized for handling time-series data, supporting data tracking and reporting.
• Node-RED: Supported automation workflows and integration with IoT data sources.
• Zabbix: Delivered comprehensive monitoring and alerting capabilities for improved system health insights.
• VPN: Integration of the clusters with DrillDocs’ selected VPN technology

• Scalable, Decoupled Environment: DrillDocs now operates a modular, container-based setup that is scalable and easily manageable.
• Advanced Monitoring Capabilities: The integration of services such as Grafana, Databricks, and Zabbix gives DrillDocs real-time visibility into their environment, enabling proactive management.
• Future-Ready for Compliance: While SOC2 compliance was not the immediate focus, the multi-account structure and security measures taken lay a strong foundation for future compliance.
• Operational Efficiency: By automating deployments and setting up Infrastructure as Code, DrillDocs reduced manual workload and improved consistency across environments.