Evolution 6: Cloud Deployment Strategies
Status: ✅ Complete
Focus: Cloud infrastructure and deployment strategies
Technologies: AWS, Terraform, Docker, ECS, Elastic Beanstalk, App Runner, EC2
Posts: 1 post
project: “Tenant Management”
evolution_number: 6
Evolution Overview
The sixth and final evolution focuses on cloud deployment strategies and infrastructure architecture. This evolution explores 5 different AWS deployment approaches, from low-cost development environments to enterprise-grade production deployments.
Learning Objectives
- Cloud Architecture: Understanding different AWS deployment patterns
- Cost Optimization: Analyzing cost structures and trade-offs
- Infrastructure as Code: Using Terraform for reproducible deployments
- Deployment Strategies: Comparing managed vs self-managed infrastructure
- Operational Excellence: Implementing monitoring, logging, and CI/CD
Posts
Technical Achievements
- ✅ Low-Cost EC2 + Spot Instances deployment (~$10-13/month)
- ✅ AWS Elastic Beanstalk deployment (~$100+/month)
- ✅ AWS App Runner serverless deployment (~$50-80/month)
- ✅ AWS ECS Fargate deployment (~$70-120/month)
- ✅ Standard EC2 + Auto Scaling deployment (~$80-100/month)
- ✅ Terraform infrastructure as code for all approaches
- ✅ CI/CD pipelines with CodePipeline and CodeBuild
- ✅ CloudWatch logging and monitoring
- ✅ Comprehensive cost analysis and comparison
Architecture Highlights
- Multi-Approach Deployment: 5 different AWS deployment strategies
- Cost Analysis: Detailed cost breakdown for each approach
- Infrastructure as Code: Terraform configurations for reproducibility
- CI/CD Automation: Automated build and deployment pipelines
- Monitoring & Logging: CloudWatch integration across all approaches
- Security Best Practices: VPC isolation, security groups, IAM roles
Deployment Approaches Comparison
| Approach | Monthly Cost | Complexity | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-Cost EC2 + Spot | ~$10-13 | Medium | Dev/Testing, Demos |
| Elastic Beanstalk | ~$100+ | Low | Quick Production Deploy |
| App Runner | ~$50-80 | Very Low | Serverless Containers |
| ECS Fargate | ~$70-120 | Medium-High | Production Microservices |
| Standard EC2 + ALB | ~$80-100 | High | Full Control, HA Setup |
Navigation
- ← Previous Evolution: Evolution 5 - Conversational Interface
- Project Overview
- → Next Evolution: N/A (Final Evolution)
Key Learnings
- No One-Size-Fits-All: Each deployment approach has distinct trade-offs based on cost, complexity, and control
- Cost Optimization: Understanding cost structures is essential—NAT Gateway is often the biggest expense
- Serverless Trade-offs: Serverless options (App Runner, Fargate) offer simplicity but may cost more than optimized EC2
- Infrastructure as Code: Terraform enables reproducible, version-controlled infrastructure
- Monitoring is Essential: CloudWatch logging and monitoring are non-negotiable for production deployments
- CI/CD Automation: Automated pipelines reduce errors and enable faster iteration
Evolution Goals
This evolution demonstrates how to deploy a full-stack application to AWS using multiple approaches, providing a comprehensive decision-making framework for choosing the right deployment strategy based on requirements, budget, and operational expertise.
The cloud deployment exploration completes the Tenant Management evolutionary project, taking it from a single-file Python application to a production-ready, cloud-deployed system with comprehensive deployment options.
Repository Resources
All code, Terraform configurations, and deployment scripts are available in separate branches:
- Low-Cost EC2:
feature/aws-lowcost-deployment - Elastic Beanstalk:
feature/aws-beanstalk-deployment - App Runner:
feature/aws-apprunner-deployment - ECS Fargate:
feature/aws-ecs-deployment - Standard EC2:
feature/aws-ec2-deployment
This evolution represents the culmination of the Tenant Management project, demonstrating comprehensive cloud deployment expertise and architectural decision-making.