Containerization and Load Balancing with AWS

This project demonstrates how to build a containerized system for a simple Flask application that fetches NFL sports data.

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Tools Used

• Docker
• AWS ECS (Elastic Container Service)
• AWS ECR (Elastic Container Registry)
• Elastic Load Balancer (ALB)
• SerpAPI
• Python (Flask)

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Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

1. AWS User with Required Permissions
   • Allocate permissions for ECS, API Gateway, and ECR.
2. AWS CLI
   • Install and configure the AWS CLI with your user details.
3. SerpAPI Account
   • Register on SerpAPI and acquire an API Key.
4. Docker
   • Install and configure Docker on your local environment.

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Setup Instructions

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Clone the project repository to your local environment:

git clone https://github.com/ViolaSangut/Containerization-and-Load_balancing-with-AWS.git

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Step 2: Create an ECR Repository

Create an Elastic Container Registry (ECR) repository in AWS to store your Docker images:

aws ecr create-repository --repository-name sports-api --region us-east-1

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Step 3: Authenticate with ECR

Authenticate Docker with your ECR repository:

aws ecr get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin <AWS_ACCOUNT_ID>.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com

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Step 4: Build and Push the Image

Build the Docker image, tag it, and push it to the ECR repository:

docker build --platform linux/amd64 -t sports-api .
docker tag sports-api:latest <AWS_ACCOUNT_ID>.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sports-api:sports-api-latest
docker push <AWS_ACCOUNT_ID>.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sports-api:sports-api-latest

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Step 5: Create an ECS Cluster

Navigate to the AWS ECS Console and create a new cluster. Select Fargate as the launch type.

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Step 6: Create a Task Definition

Define a task in ECS with the following:

• Container image URI from ECR.
• Port configuration.
• Environment variables (e.g., API keys).

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Step 7: Deploy the Service

Deploy your task as a service within the ECS cluster:

• Configure the desired number of tasks.
• Set up networking (security groups, subnets).
• Attach an Application Load Balancer (ALB) for traffic routing.

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Step 8: Test the ALB

Retrieve the DNS name of the ALB from the AWS Console and test it by accessing the application in a browser.
Example:

http://sports-api-alb-<AWS_ACCOUNT_ID>.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com

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Step 9: Configure API Gateway

Expose your ECS service as a REST API using API Gateway:

• Create a new API.
• Configure resources and methods (e.g., GET for fetching data).
• Integrate the API Gateway with your ALB DNS.

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Step 10: Test the API

Test the API Gateway endpoint by accessing it in a browser or using curl:

curl https://<api-gateway-id>.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/prod/sports

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What We Learned

• Setting up a scalable, containerized application with ECS.
• Creating public APIs using API Gateway.

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Future Enhancements

• Add caching for frequent API requests using Amazon ElastiCache.
• Integrate DynamoDB to store user-specific queries and preferences.
• Secure the API Gateway using API Keys or IAM-based authentication.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines for automating container deployments.