Project Overview
This comprehensive case study details the development and deployment of a "Simple Configuration Service", a web API designed to efficiently manage key-value pairs. The core objective was to build a complete and functional CI/CD pipeline and a robust, scalable cloud infrastructure on AWS, transforming source code into a containerized application accessible via the web.
This project served as a foundational learning experience for junior DevOps professionals, providing hands-on exposure to a wide array of industry-standard tools and services.
The Challenge
The primary challenge was to create a web service capable of storing and retrieving simple key-value configurations, akin to parameters or small settings. This involved several key aspects:
API Development
Building a simple REST API using Python and Flask with defined endpoints for writing (POST /config) and reading (GET /config/{key}) data.
Data Persistence
Integrating a managed NoSQL database to reliably store the key-value pairs.
Containerization
Encapsulating the application within Docker containers to ensure consistent execution across different environments.
Automated CI/CD
Establishing a fully automated pipeline for building, testing, and deploying the application upon every code change.
Cloud Infrastructure Design
Architecting a resilient and scalable cloud environment on AWS, capable of hosting the containerized application.
Security
Ensuring secure management of AWS credentials and network access.
Solution & Implementation
Results & Performance Analysis
Load and stress tests were conducted using Locust to assess the Flask application's ability to handle expected traffic volumes and identify performance bottlenecks.
Stress Test Results
Load Test Results
Implemented Improvements
- Auto Scaling Group implementation improved resilience (300 users for ~2 min with 3 instances)
- CloudWatch monitoring with dashboards and alarms for proactive issue detection
- Multi-region disaster recovery with DynamoDB Global Tables
Conclusion & Future Directions
This project successfully built a fully functional "Simple Configuration Service" with a complete DevOps architecture, encompassing Flask application development, Docker containerization, Bitbucket Pipelines for CI/CD, and a robust AWS infrastructure.
Future Enhancements
AWS Lambda Automation
Automate multi-region failover and database restoration
Container Orchestration
Migrate to AWS ECS/Fargate for simplified deployment
Infrastructure as Code
Define infrastructure using Terraform or CloudFormation
Custom Domain
Integrate Route 53 for better accessibility and branding
This project served as an invaluable opportunity to apply fundamental DevOps concepts and gain hands-on experience with widely used tools and services in the industry.
Architecture Visualization
CI/CD Pipeline Flow
Tech Stack
Python/Flask
Backend
Docker
Container
AWS EC2
Machines
DynamoDB
Database
CloudFront
CDN
Bitbucket
CI/CD
Pytest
Testing
CloudWatch
Monitoring
Key Takeaways
Scalability Achieved
Auto Scaling Groups enabled handling 300 concurrent users with 3+ instances
Full Automation
Complete CI/CD pipeline from code commit to production deployment
High Availability
Multi-region DR setup using DynamoDB Global Tables