Introduction: Project Overview and Objectives
In today’s cloud-centric world, deploying a secure and scalable Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application is critical for success. AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) provides a powerful platform to achieve this by leveraging the power of Kubernetes for container orchestration. This comprehensive guide will walk you through deploying a SaaS application on AWS EKS, from setting up your environment to finalizing the deployment with secure access.
Preparing the AWS Environment
Installing Essential Tools
Before starting, ensure that your local development environment is equipped with the necessary tools:
- AWS CLI: For managing AWS services from the command line.
- kubectl: Kubernetes command-line tool for controlling Kubernetes clusters.
- eksctl: A CLI tool for creating and managing EKS clusters.
- Terraform: For infrastructure provisioning and management as code.
If you haven’t already, install these tools on your machine. Having the latest versions will help avoid compatibility issues.
Setting up IAM User and Permissions
Creating an IAM user with the necessary permissions is crucial for managing AWS services securely. Set up an IAM user with programmatic access and attach policies such as AdministratorAccess or create a custom policy with the specific permissions needed for EKS, S3, and DynamoDB.
- Navigate to the IAM console.
- Create a new user with programmatic access.
- Attach the AdministratorAccess policy or custom policy.
- Save the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key securely.
Provisioning S3 and DynamoDB with Terraform
Use Terraform to provision AWS resources like S3 and DynamoDB, ensuring consistency across environments. Here’s a basic setup:
- Create a Terraform configuration file for S3 and DynamoDB.
- Define resources like aws_s3_bucket and aws_dynamodb_table.
- Initialize Terraform and apply the configuration:
terraform init
terraform apply
Creating and Configuring the EKS Cluster
EKS Cluster Creation with eksctl
Creating an EKS cluster with eksctl is straightforward. Define your cluster configuration in a YAML file and run the following command:
eksctl create cluster -f cluster-config.yaml
This command provisions the EKS cluster, configures nodes, and sets up necessary networking components.
Verifying Cluster Connectivity
Once the EKS cluster is up and running, verify the connectivity using kubectl:
kubectl get nodes
This command should return a list of worker nodes, confirming the cluster is operational.
Implementing Ingress Control and Load Balancing
Installing the AWS Load Balancer Controller
The AWS Load Balancer Controller manages AWS Elastic Load Balancers for a Kubernetes cluster. Install it using Helm:
helm repo add eks https://aws.github.io/eks-charts
helm install aws-load-balancer-controller eks/aws-load-balancer-controller \
–set clusterName=<your-cluster-name> \
–set serviceAccount.create=false \
–set serviceAccount.name=aws-load-balancer-controller
Verifying Load Balancer Deployment
Ensure that the load balancer controller is deployed and functioning by checking the Kubernetes services:
kubectl get services
Enabling Secure Application Access
Creating IAM Roles and Service Accounts for Pod Execution
Create an IAM role and associate it with a Kubernetes service account to grant permissions to your pods:
- Create an IAM role with the necessary policies.
- Create a Kubernetes service account linked to this IAM role.
Containerizing the Application with Docker
Dockerize your application by creating a Dockerfile that defines the environment, dependencies, and commands to run your app. Build and test the image locally:
docker build -t <your-app-name> .
Pushing Docker Images to ECR
Push the Docker image to Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR):
- Authenticate Docker to ECR:
aws ecr get-login-password –region <region> | docker login –username AWS –password-stdin <your-account-id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com
- Tag and push the image:
docker tag <your-app-name>:latest <your-account-id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/<your-repo-name>:latest
docker push <your-account-id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/<your-repo-name>:latest
Deploying the Application and Configuring Ingress
Deploying the Application with Kubernetes Manifests
Create Kubernetes deployment and service manifests to deploy your application. Apply the manifests to your EKS cluster:
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f service.yaml
Setting up Route 53 Domain and SSL Certificate
To enable secure access, set up a domain in Route 53 and provision an SSL certificate using AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Ensure that your domain correctly points to the load balancer created by the AWS Load Balancer Controller.
Configuring Ingress Rules
Configure ingress rules to route traffic from your domain to the application:
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
name: app-ingress
spec:
rules:
– host: <your-domain-name>
http:
paths:
– path: /
pathType: Prefix
backend:
service:
name: <your-service-name>
port:
number: 80
tls:
– hosts:
– <your-domain-name>
secretName: <your-tls-secret>
Finalizing the Deployment
Creating Route 53 Alias Record
Create an alias record in Route 53 to point your domain to the load balancer:
- Go to Route 53 console.
- Create an alias record set for your domain pointing to the ALB.
Testing the Deployed Application
Finally, test your deployed application by visiting the domain in your browser. Verify that the application is accessible, secured with HTTPS, and functioning as expected.
Conclusion
Deploying a secure, scalable SaaS application on AWS EKS involves several steps, from setting up the AWS environment and configuring EKS to deploying and securing your application. With this guide, you can confidently build and deploy your SaaS application on AWS, leveraging the power of Kubernetes and AWS services.