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AWS Deployment

🔍🛠️ Overview

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a comprehensive cloud computing platform that offers services for computing, storage, deployment, and more. It's widely used for deploying containerized applications at scale using services like ECR, ECS, and Route 53.

💡 Key Features

  • Elastic Container Registry (ECR) for secure Docker image storage
  • Elastic Container Service (ECS) to manage and scale containers
  • Load Balancers for traffic routing
  • Route 53 for domain management and DNS
  • IAM for fine-grained access control

🚀 Use Cases

  • Hosting containerized applications via ECS
  • Managing domain names with Route 53
  • Deploying static sites with S3 + CloudFront
  • Automating deployments with GitLab CI/CD

⚙️ Setup & Configuration

AWS CLI Configuration

Install AWS CLI and run:

aws configure

Then input:

  • Access Key ID

  • Secret Access Key

  • Default Region

  • Default Output Format

Pushing Docker Images to ECR

  1. Create a repository in AWS ECR with AWS CLI
aws ecr create-repository --repository-name <your-repository-name> --region <your-region>
  1. Authenticate Docker to AWS ECR 
aws ecr get-login-password --region <your-region> | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<your-region>.amazonaws.com
  1. Tag Docker Image
docker tag <your-local-image-name>:<tag> <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<your-region>.amazonaws.com/<your-repository-name>:<tag>
  1. Push image
docker push <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<your-region>.amazon

💡 Tip: Make sure your IAM user has the AmazonEC2ContainerRegistryFullAccess policy attached. You can assign it via the IAM Console or CLI.

ECS & Load Balancer Setup

To deploy the container:

  • Create an ECS Cluster
  • Define a Task and a Service
  • Use an Application Load Balancer (ALB)
  • Configure a Target Group linked to the ALB
  • Ensure proper security groups:
  • One for the ALB (open on HTTP/S)
  • One for the service (allow inbound from ALB security group)

💡 Tip: Health checks are critical—set them up properly for your target group.

Route 53 Domain + Cognito

  • Use Route 53 to purchase/manage a domain
  • Attach custom domain to Cognito user pool
  • Ensure certificates are validated via ACM for HTTPS access

📚 Resources

🧠 Notes & Tips

  • Networking is key: security groups and VPC subnets must allow communication
  • ECS with Fargate simplifies setup but limits customizability
  • Test services locally with Docker before pushing
  • IAM permissions are often a blocker—grant exact rights needed for minimal privileges
  • Always monitor with CloudWatch for logs and performance insights