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A comprehensive process of building a service using AWS and Docker, specifically focusing on setting up an AWS EC2 instance.
It can be broken down into several key steps and considerations. Here’s an overview of the process:
1. Questions to Ask Before Implementation:
Identify your target audience and their needs. (e.g. who are your users?…)
Determine if an authentication process is required, who can access it, and which ports (HTTP or HTTPS) should be opened…
Explore existing solutions that can be used independently or in combination(using volume stack).
Define the specific pain points your service aims to resolve, such as internal documentation or ticketing systems.
Consider the effort and resources required for deployment.
Assess scalability options, including load balancing, SSL certificates, and the need for components like NGINX.
2. Services to Connect To:
Explore services for load balancing, SSL certificate management (e.g. Traefik), and web server needs (e.g. NGINX) as part of the architecture planning.
3. Possible Stoppers:
Identify potential roadblocks, such as access tokens and pipeline configurations, that might hinder your implementation.
4. Implementation Timeline:
Create a realistic timeline by estimating the time required for each project phase. Also, how much effort is going to take?
5. AWS Resources and Services:
Determine the AWS resources and services that will be leveraged to build your service effectively. As well as the Traefik-forwarding-authentication process.
Research and build a small Prototype with some mock data
Setting Up the Server and Environment:
- Set up an Ubuntu instance on AWS.
AWS environment
Configure the necessary network settings, including opening ports as required.
Setting Up Security Group(in the instance).
Ensure your AWS security group is configured to open the necessary ports, such as port 80, for external access.
Install Docker.
Docker
Getting Started
Create an environment for your service on the Ubuntu instance(using ssh access the server).
This is how the structure could look like:
Docker Setup
Dive into Docker, a cornerstone of the AWS service.
Start by pulling a single Docker image or running a single container using a shell script(example):
To stop the service there is a docker command that we can run(in your stop.sh script):
Key Docker Concepts:
Understand Docker concepts like running images to create containers, volume mounting for data sharing, and access to local AWS files.
Verify and manage file access permissions.
Ensure Python and SSH are enabled on your EC2 instance.
Exposing Ports:
When launching a Docker container, expose specific ports (e.g., port 80 for HTTPS) to enhance accessibility.
Consider using AWS Route 53 to bind your service to a DNS entry for an elastic API address.
SSL and Certification: Traefik and Let’s Encrypt handshake 🤝
More:
Use Traefik to manage SSL and certification, connected to an authentication process (e.g. Microsoft’s environment).
This structure provides a step-by-step guide to building an AWS service using Docker on an EC2 instance while addressing key considerations and best practices to take into account. It gives a solid foundation for successful implementation and future scalability 🙌.