How to create an AWS SNS (Simple Notification Service)

Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) is a flexible and scalable service provided by AWS that lets you send messages to a large number of recipients or systems. Whether you need to send notifications to users, monitor your application, or automate alerts, SNS can handle it all.

What is SNS?

Amazon SNS is a highly scalable and flexible messaging service. Here’s a quick overview.

1. Topics: A topic is where the messages are published. Think of it like a mailing list where you send messages.
2. Subscribers: These are the recipients of your messages. Subscribers can be email addresses, phone numbers, or even HTTP endpoints.
3. Messages: These are the actual notifications you send.

SNS can be used in different ways, such as sending out alerts, marketing messages, or system status updates. It supports various formats like SMS, email, and push notifications.

Creating an SNS Topic

The first thing you need to do in SNS is create a Topic. A topic is like a channel where messages are sent.

Here’s how you can create one,

1. Log in to the AWS Management Console.
2. In the search bar, type SNS and select Simple Notification Service.
3. On the SNS dashboard, click on Create topic.
   
4. Choose Standard as the type of topic and name your topic, for example, MyFirstTopic.
   
5. Now Click on Create topic.
   

Subscribing to an SNS Topic

Once the topic is created, you need to add subscribers who will receive the notifications. Here’s how you can add a subscriber.

1. On the topic page, click on Create Subscription.
   
2. Choose the protocol like Email for email notifications or SMS for text messages and enter the endpoint e.g., email address or phone number.
   
3. Click Create Subscription.
4. Once you create the subscription, the recipient will receive a confirmation message. They need to confirm the subscription by clicking a link in the message.
5. You will receive an email asking you to confirm the subscription. Open the email and click on the confirmation link to complete the process.
   

Test the Subscription

To make sure everything is working,

1. Go to your SNS topic and click on Publish message.
   
2. Enter a subject and messages and click on Publish message.
   
3. Check your email or SMS to ensure you received the notification.
   

Now, you have successfully subscribed to an SNS topic and received notifications! You can repeat the process to add more subscribers and send additional messages.

Conclusion

Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) is a versatile tool for sending notifications to a wide audience using email, SMS, or HTTP. By creating topics, adding subscribers, and publishing messages, you can streamline communication and automate alerts. SNS is scalable, easy to use, and perfect for diverse applications.