AWS Lift and Shift Project

Overview

This project involves migrating a multi-tier web application stack (vProfile) from a local data center to the AWS cloud using a lift-and-shift strategy. The key AWS services used include EC2 instances, Elastic Load Balancer, Auto Scaling, S3, Route 53, IAM, ACM, and EBS.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Project Setup
   • 1. Launch EC2 Instances
   • 2. Build and Deploy Artifacts
   • 3. Set Up Load Balancer and DNS
   • 4. Set Up Auto Scaling Group
3. Validation and Summary
4. Future Improvements

Architecture Diagram

Prerequisites

• An AWS account
• Basic knowledge of AWS services
• AWS CLI installed and configured
• SSH client (e.g., Git Bash (used git bash and recommended) , or PuTTY for Windows or Terminal for macOS/Linux)

Project Setup

1. Launch EC2 Instances

1. Launch EC2 Instances:

   • Via AWS Console:
     1. Open the EC2 Management Console.
     2. Click Launch Instance.
     3. Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI).
     4. Select t2.micro (free tier) as the instance type.
     5. Configure instance details (number of instances, network settings).
     6. Add storage and tags.
     7. Configure a security group (e.g., vprofile app security group).
     8. Review and launch the instance.
     9. Select or create a key pair (e.g., vprofile-prod-key).
     10. Click Launch.

   

2. Connect to EC2 Instance via SSH:

   • Command:

     ssh -i "vprofile-prod-key.pem" ec2-user@<instance-public-dns>

   • Explanation:
     • ssh: Secure Shell command to connect to remote servers.
     • -i "vprofile-prod-key.pem": Specifies the private key file for authentication.
     • ec2-user@<instance-public-dns>: The default user and public DNS of the EC2 instance.

3. Configure Instances:

   • Update Package List:

     sudo yum update -y

   • Install Software (e.g., Tomcat, RabbitMQ, Memcached, MySQL):

     sudo yum install -y tomcat rabbitmq-server memcached mysql-server

   • Start and Enable Services:

     sudo systemctl start tomcat
     sudo systemctl enable tomcat
     sudo systemctl start rabbitmq-server
     sudo systemctl enable rabbitmq-server
     sudo systemctl start memcached
     sudo systemctl enable memcached
     sudo systemctl start mysqld
     sudo systemctl enable mysqld

   • Check Status of Services:

     sudo systemctl status tomcat
     sudo systemctl status rabbitmq-server
     sudo systemctl status memcached
     sudo systemctl status mysqld

   • Explanation:
     • sudo yum update -y: Updates all installed packages to the latest version.
     • sudo yum install -y <package>: Installs specified packages.
     • sudo systemctl start <service>: Starts the specified service.
     • sudo systemctl enable <service>: Enables the service to start on boot.
     • sudo systemctl status <service>: Checks the status of the service.

4. Verify Security Group Rules:

   • Command:

     aws ec2 describe-security-groups --group-ids <security-group-id>

   • Explanation:
     • aws ec2 describe-security-groups: Describes the security group settings.
     • --group-ids <security-group-id>: Specifies the security group ID.

2. Build and Deploy Artifacts

1. Create S3 Bucket and IAM User:

   • Create S3 Bucket:
     • Command:

       aws s3 mb s3://<bucket-name>

     • Explanation:
       • aws s3 mb: Creates a new bucket.
       • s3://<bucket-name>: Specifies the bucket name. )
   • Create IAM User:
     • Command:

       aws iam create-user --user-name <user-name>
       aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name <user-name> --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonS3FullAccess

     • Explanation:
       • aws iam create-user: Creates a new IAM user.
       • aws iam attach-user-policy: Attaches a policy to the IAM user.

2. Configure AWS CLI:

   • Command:

     aws configure

   • Explanation:
     • Prompts for AWS Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, default region name, and output format.

3. Build Application Artifact:

   • Command:

     mvn clean package

   • Explanation:
     • mvn clean package: Uses Maven to build the application artifact.

4. Deploy Artifact to EC2:

   • Upload Artifact:

     aws s3 cp <artifact-file> s3://<bucket-name>/

   • Download and Deploy on EC2:

     aws s3 cp s3://<bucket-name>/<artifact-file> /path/to/deploy/
     cd /path/to/deploy/
     sudo tar -xzvf <artifact-file>

   • Explanation:
     • aws s3 cp: Copies files to/from S3.
     • tar -xzvf: Extracts a tarball file.

3. Set Up Load Balancer and DNS

1. Create Application Load Balancer:

   • Via AWS Console:
     1. Open the EC2 Management Console.
     2. Navigate to Load Balancers and click Create Load Balancer.
     3. Choose Application Load Balancer.
     4. Configure listeners (HTTP/HTTPS) and security groups.
     5. Define target groups and health checks.

2. Configure Route 53:

   • Create Private DNS Zone:
     • Via AWS Console:
       1. Open the Route 53 Management Console.
       2. Click Create Hosted Zone.
       3. Choose Private Hosted Zone and specify domain details.
   • Add CNAME Record:
     • Via AWS Console:
       1. Navigate to the Hosted Zone.
       2. Click Create Record Set.
       3. Select CNAME and enter the load balancer endpoint.

3. Verify Load Balancer:

   • Command:

     curl -I https://<load-balancer-url>

   • Explanation:
     • curl -I: Fetches HTTP headers to verify the response from the load balancer.

4. Set Up Auto Scaling Group

1. Create AMI:

   • Command:

     aws ec2 create-image --instance-id <instance-id> --name "vprofile-app-image" --no-reboot

   • Explanation:
     • aws ec2 create-image: Creates an AMI from the instance.
     • --instance-id <instance-id>: Specifies the instance ID.
     • --name "vprofile-app-image": Names the AMI.
     • --no-reboot: Creates the AMI without rebooting the instance.

2. Create Launch Template:

   • Via AWS Console:
     1. Open the EC2 Management Console.
     2. Navigate to Launch Templates and click Create Launch Template.
     3. Specify template details including AMI ID, instance type, security group, and IAM role.

3. Create Auto Scaling Group:

   • Via AWS Console:
     1. Open the EC2 Management Console.
     2. Navigate to Auto Scaling Groups and click Create Auto Scaling Group.
     3. Specify the name, launch template, VPC, and target group.
     4. Configure health checks, scaling policies, and notifications.

4. Validate Auto Scaling:

• Command:

  aws autoscaling describe-auto-scaling-groups --auto-scaling-group-names <auto-scaling-group-name>

• Explanation:
  • aws autoscaling describe-auto-scaling-groups: Describes the auto-scaling group settings.

Validation and Summary

1. Validate Setup:

   • Access the application URL through the load balancer to ensure that the application is functional.
   • Command:

     curl -I https://<load-balancer-url>

   • Explanation:
     • curl -I: Fetches HTTP headers to verify the response from the load balancer.

2. Summary:

   • The application is accessible through an HTTPS load balancer.
   • The load balancer forwards requests to Tomcat EC2 instances.
   • EC2 instances are automatically scaled based on load.

Future Improvements

• CI/CD Integration: Implement a CI/CD pipeline for automated artifact deployment.
• Managed Services: Consider migrating to AWS managed services like RDS for MySQL, ElastiCache for Memcached, and Amazon MQ for RabbitMQ.

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