Amazon ECS uses Docker images in task definitions to launch containers. Docker is a technology that provides the tools for you to build, run, test, and deploy distributed applications in containers.

In this hands-on we're diving deep into the world of AWS as we guide you through the process of pushing your Node.js Docker container to AWS Elastic Container Registry and deploying it to AWS Elastic Container Service.

Imagine you are developing a basic web application, and you want to deploy it using Amazon ECS. Example: Imagine a simple Node.j application that displays "Hello, World!" on a webpage. The Dockerfile could specify the Node.js base image and install any required dependencies. You'd then build and push the image to ECR. Finally, by creating an ECS service with your task definition, you'd deploy the application on Fargate, making it accessible on the internet.

The procedure for deploying this architecture on AWS consists of the following steps:

Step 1. Create WebApp Docker Image

Step 2. Create aws-cli user

Step 3. Create & push image to AWS ECR repository

Step 4. Create Security Groups

Step 5. Create AWS ECS Fargate Cluster

Step 6. Create Task Definition

Step 7. Create ECS Service with Application Load Balancer

Step 8 Update Application Load Balancer Security Group

Before you begin, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

• Ensure you have completed the Amazon ECR setup steps. For more information, see Setting up for Amazon ECR in the Amazon Elastic Container Registry User Guide.

• Your user has the required IAM permissions to access and use the Amazon ECR service. For more information, see Amazon ECR managed policies.

• You have Docker installed. For Docker installation steps for Amazon Linux 2, see Installing Docker on AL2023. For all other operating systems, see the Docker documentation at Docker Desktop overview.

• You have the AWS CLI installed and configured. For more information, see Installing the AWS Command Line Interface in the AWS Command Line Interface User Guide.

Amazon ECS uses Docker images in task definitions to launch containers. Docker is a technology that provides the tools for you to build, run, test, and deploy distributed applications in containers.

To create a Docker image of a simple web application:

1. Create a file called Dockerfile. A Dockerfile is a manifest that describes the base image to use for your Docker image and what you want installed and running on it. For more information about Dockerfiles.

touch Dockerfile

2. Edit the Dockerfile you just created and add the following content.

FROM node:alpine

WORKDIR /nodejs-docker-aws-ecs

COPY package.json .

RUN npm install

COPY . .

EXPOSE 3000

CMD [ "node", "app.js" ]

All services used are eligible for the AWS Free Tier. However, charges will incur at some point so it's recommended that you shut down resources after completing this tutorial.

In this blog post, we have provided a step-by-step guide on how to develop and deploy a basic web application on Amazon ECS using Fargate. By following these steps, you can learn the basics of ECS and Fargate and get started with deploying containerized applications on AWS. This approach offers scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness for managing containerized workloads in the cloud.