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Deploying serverless applications using ECS

Aman Awasthi's photo
Aman Awasthi
·

3 min read

Title: Deploying a Serverless Application using Amazon ECS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction: In this guide, we will walk through the process of deploying a Flask application stored on GitHub using Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service) and pushing it to Amazon ECR (Elastic Container Registry). By following these steps, you'll learn how to set up your ECS cluster, create an ECR repository, build and push Docker images, create a task definition, and ultimately run your serverless application. We'll also address some common challenges and errors that may arise during the deployment process.

Objective: Deploying a Flask Application using Amazon ECS and ECR

Step 1: Create an ECS Cluster

  1. Log in to your AWS Management Console.

  2. Navigate to the Amazon ECS dashboard.

  3. Click on "Create Cluster."

  4. Configure the cluster settings.

  5. Review and create the cluster.

Step 2: Create an ECR Repository

  1. In the Amazon ECR console, click "Create repository."

  2. Name your repository and configure repository settings if needed.

  3. Click "Create repository."

  4. Once created, click "View push commands." These commands will be used to build and push the Docker image to ECR.

Prerequisites to Run the Push Commands:

  1. Make sure Docker is installed on your local machine.

  2. Have a user with Docker permissions.

  3. Obtain an AWS access key by navigating to IAM -> My security credentials -> Create access key.

  4. Make sure AWS CLI is installed.

  5. Configure the AWS CLI using access key

Deployment Process:

  1. Clone the Flask application repository from GitHub onto your local machine.

  2. Navigate to the repository folder.

  3. Execute the push commands provided by ECR to build and push the Docker image to ECR.

  4. Once the image is pushed to ECR, make a note of the image URL.

Create a Task Definition and Run the Application:

  1. Go to the Amazon ECS console.

  2. Click on "Task Definitions" and then "Create new Task Definition."

  3. Configure the task definition settings.

  4. Under "Container Definitions," add a new container. Paste the ECR image URL and specify the required port.

  5. Configure task networking, IAM roles, and other settings.

  6. Review and create the task definition.

  7. Run a task using the created task definition.

Common Errors which I faced:

  1. Incorrect Port Configuration: If you can't access your application, check if the correct ports are open in the security group associated with your ECS instances.

  2. Insufficient User Privileges: Ensure that the user deploying the application has the necessary Docker permissions.

  3. CloudWatch Log Group Deletion: If your CloudWatch log group is being automatically deleted, investigate the cause and ensure necessary retention settings are configured.

Conclusion: Deploying serverless applications using Amazon ECS and ECR streamlines the process of containerizing and running applications at scale. This step-by-step guide has provided an overview of the process, from creating ECS clusters and ECR repositories to building and pushing Docker images, creating task definitions, and addressing common errors. By following these instructions, you can successfully deploy your Flask application and enjoy the benefits of serverless architecture in AWS.

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