Workshop: Deploying a Fullstack Blog Website on AWS EC2 with DocumentDB, CloudFront & S3
Overview
In this workshop, you will learn how to deploy a Fullstack Blog Website on AWS using EC2, leverage DocumentDB as a NoSQL database, and optimize performance and costs with CloudFront.
Objectives:
- Understand how to create and configure EC2, DocumentDB, CloudFront, and IAM on AWS.
- Learn how to deploy a MERN fullstack blog application on EC2.
- Connect and interact with DocumentDB from EC2, including data migration from MongoDB to DocumentDB.
- Configure CloudFront to offload traffic from EC2 and enhance performance.
- Manage access control between AWS services using IAM.
Prerequisites:
- An AWS account with IAM access permissions.
- A computer with an SSH client (e.g., Terminal or PuTTY).
AWS Services and Costs
1. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) Purpose:
- Amazon EC2 is used to host the backend application, process data, and connect to Amazon DocumentDB for querying.
- The EC2 instance is placed in a Public Subnet to allow communication with the internet via an Internet Gateway.
Cost:
| Status | Instance Type | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | t2.micro (750 free hours) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Beyond Free Tier | t2.micro (~$0.30/day) | $0.30 | ~$9 |
2. Amazon DocumentDB Purpose:
- DocumentDB serves as a NoSQL database for storing and managing data.
- Two DocumentDB instances are placed in different Private Subnets for high availability and data replication.
Cost:
| Status | Instance Type | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | db.t3.medium (750 free hours) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Beyond Free Tier | db.t3.medium (~$0.66/day) | $0.66 | ~$20 |
3. Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) Purpose:
- Amazon S3 is used for storing static files, backend data, and media content such as images, videos, and documents for the application.
Cost:
| Status | Storage | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 5GB (free) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Beyond Free Tier | 5GB (~$0.03/day) | $0.03 | ~$1 |
4. Amazon CloudFront Purpose:
- CloudFront is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that distributes content from S3 and EC2.
- It enhances access performance and reduces direct bandwidth usage from S3 and EC2.
Cost:
| Status | Bandwidth | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 50GB free bandwidth | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Beyond Free Tier | 50GB (~$0.10 - $0.16/day) | $0.10 - $0.16 | ~$3 - $5 |
5. Internet Gateway (IGW) Purpose:
- The Internet Gateway connects the internal VPC network to the internet, enabling EC2 to send and receive data externally.
- IGW is a critical component of AWS networking.
Cost:
- Free of charge per AWS pricing.
6. IAM (Identity and Access Management) + VPC + Security Groups Purpose:
- IAM is used to manage access control for users and groups, ensuring security.
- VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) creates an isolated network environment for the system, ensuring security and resource management flexibility.
- Security Groups act as a firewall, controlling network access to resources.
Cost:
- Free of charge per AWS pricing.
7. Cost Summary
7.1. Cost Within Free Tier
| Service | Type | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon EC2 | t2.micro | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Amazon DocumentDB | db.t3.medium | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Amazon S3 | 5GB storage | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Amazon CloudFront | 50GB bandwidth | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IAM + VPC + Security Groups | Free | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $0.00 | $0.00 |
7.2. Cost Beyond Free Tier
| Service | Type | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon EC2 | t2.micro | ~$0.30 | ~$9 |
| Amazon DocumentDB | db.t3.medium | ~$0.66 | ~$20 |
| Amazon S3 | 5GB storage | ~$0.03 | ~$1 |
| Amazon CloudFront | 50GB bandwidth | ~$0.10 - $0.16 | ~$3 - $5 |
| IAM + VPC + Security Groups | Free | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | ~$1.10 - $1.15 | ~$33 - $35 |
8. Conclusion
- Within the Free Tier, the system operates at $0 cost.
- Once the Free Tier expires, the maintenance cost will be approximately $33 - $35 per month.
- If the system scales up, costs may increase, especially for DocumentDB, S3, and CloudFront usage.