Does the AWS region in which I use Bedrock affect performance (for example, would selecting a different region reduce latency for my user base)?

Yes, the AWS region you select for Bedrock can significantly affect performance, particularly latency, for your user base. AWS regions are geographically distributed data centers, and the physical distance between users and the region hosting Bedrock directly impacts network latency. When a user interacts with Bedrock, their requests travel to the API endpoint in the selected region. If the region is far from the user’s location, each request and response must traverse longer network paths, introducing delays. For example, if your primary users are in Japan, hosting Bedrock in the Asia Pacific (Tokyo) region will likely result in lower latency compared to using a region in Europe or North America.

The AWS global network infrastructure is designed to minimize latency, but it cannot fully overcome the limitations of physics. For instance, a user in Germany connecting to the Europe (Frankfurt) region might experience latency of 20-50 milliseconds, while the same request to US East (N. Virginia) could take 100-150 milliseconds due to the transatlantic data transfer. This difference becomes more noticeable in real-time applications or services requiring frequent API calls, such as chatbots or interactive AI tools. AWS does offer features like edge-optimized API endpoints through services like Amazon CloudFront, but Bedrock’s API endpoints are region-specific, so the region choice remains critical. Testing with tools like ping or AWS’s own latency metrics can help quantify regional differences for your specific use case.

Beyond raw latency, region selection also affects compliance, cost, and integration with other services. If your application uses other AWS resources (e.g., S3 buckets or Lambda functions), colocating Bedrock in the same region reduces cross-region data transfer costs and latency. However, if your users are globally distributed, you might need to balance regional performance with operational complexity. For example, a company with users in both Europe and Australia might prioritize the Europe region for compliance reasons but deploy a caching layer or regional API gateways to mitigate latency for distant users. Always verify Bedrock’s regional availability, as not all regions support the service, and ensure your choice aligns with data residency requirements.