Building a Secure and Managed AWS Environment for GAD Logistics’ ERP

GAD Logistics Private Limited required a secure, production-ready cloud environment to host its web-based ERP application and supporting Microsoft SQL Server database.

The organization needed an AWS infrastructure that could securely host its business-critical workloads while providing continuous monitoring, backup and recovery, patch management, database administration, security controls, and ongoing operational support.

Pentagon System & Services Pvt. Ltd. designed and implemented a dedicated AWS environment in the AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region, supported by a comprehensive 24x7 managed-services model.

Business Challenge

• GAD Logistics required a secure and operationally managed AWS platform capable of supporting its ERP application and Microsoft SQL Server database.
• The key requirements included hosting the application and database in private network segments while providing controlled internet access to authorized users.
• The organization also needed protection against web-based threats, automated application and database backups, infrastructure and database monitoring, audit logging, administrative access governance, operating-system patching, database maintenance, and ongoing incident and service management.
• In addition, the customer required better visibility into infrastructure costs, resource utilization, and operational performance through regular governance and reporting.

Goals & Objectives

• The primary objective was to establish a dedicated, secure, and production-ready AWS environment for the ERP workload while minimizing direct exposure of critical servers.
• The solution also aimed to provide continuous infrastructure monitoring, automated backup and recovery, proactive security management, database administration, patch management, cost optimization, and 24x7 operational support.

Solution Approach

• Pentagon System & Services created a dedicated AWS account and deployed a VPC-based architecture in the AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region.
• The architecture included public and private subnets, route tables, Internet Gateway, NAT Gateway, security groups, Network ACLs, and controlled administrative access.
• The ERP application was deployed on a Windows Server 2022 Amazon EC2 instance, while Microsoft SQL Server Standard 2022 was hosted on a separate Windows-based EC2 database server. Both workloads were deployed within private subnets.
• An internet-facing Application Load Balancer was implemented as the controlled entry point for the ERP application. Target groups, listener rules, health checks, and TLS certificate management through AWS Certificate Manager were configured to provide secure and reliable application access.
• AWS WAF was associated with the Application Load Balancer to protect the application against common web-based threats and malicious traffic.

Implementation Approach

• AWS Backup was configured to provide automated protection for the application servers, while Amazon S3 was used to store database backup data, including the defined differential database backup process.
• Amazon CloudWatch was implemented to monitor CPU, memory, disk, and network metrics, while AWS CloudTrail provided audit visibility into AWS account activities.
• AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager was used for operating-system patching and maintenance. IAM and MFA controls were implemented to strengthen administrative access governance.
• Resource tagging and budget alerts were configured to improve resource ownership, cost visibility, and financial governance.
• Beyond the infrastructure implementation, Pentagon provided a 24x7 managed-services framework covering infrastructure monitoring, incident management, service requests, approved changes, backup and restore operations, server administration, database support, patch management, network management, cost reviews, and recurring customer governance.