Module 8: Automation

Deploy your code, scale, and lower cloud costs using Elastic Beanstalk

The video addresses the challenge of managing infrastructure and optimizing costs while maintaining productivity for developers. AWS Elastic Beanstalk is presented as a solution that simplifies deployment, scaling, and management of applications by automating the infrastructure setup and offering managed services. Elastic Beanstalk supports various platforms and integrates with other AWS services to handle scaling, load balancing, and application updates, reducing the operational burden on developers and allowing them to focus on coding.

  • Introduction and Purpose of the Session (0:00-2:00) Watch Here
  • What is Productivity in Development (2:00-5:30) Watch Here
  • Overview of AWS Elastic Beanstalk (6:00-10:00) Watch Here
  • Demo: Migrating a .NET Application to Elastic Beanstalk (10:00-20:00) Watch Here
  • Using Docker Containers with Elastic Beanstalk (20:00-30:00) Watch Here
  • Advanced Deployment Scenarios (30:00-40:00) Watch Here
  • New Features and Cost Optimization with Spot Instances (40:00-50:00) Watch Here

GitHub Repositories:


Simplify Your Infrastructure Management Using AWS CloudFormation

The video discusses the complexities of managing infrastructure as code and presents AWS CloudFormation as a solution to simplify this process. CloudFormation enables users to define and provision AWS infrastructure using code templates, automating the setup, and ensuring consistency across environments. This reduces manual intervention, minimizes errors, and improves efficiency by allowing infrastructure to be versioned and maintained as code.

  • Introduction to Infrastructure Management Challenges (0:00-3:00) Watch Here
  • Overview of AWS CloudFormation (3:00-6:00) Watch Here
  • Creating CloudFormation Templates (6:00-15:00) Watch Here
  • Deploying Infrastructure with CloudFormation (15:00-25:00) Watch Here
  • Managing and Updating Stacks (25:00-35:00) Watch Here
  • Advanced Features and Integrations (35:00-45:00) Watch Here

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AWS Systems Manager: Gain Operational Insights and Take Action on AWS Resources

The video highlights the challenges of managing and maintaining operational insights across AWS resources. AWS Systems Manager is introduced as a solution to gain comprehensive visibility and control over AWS infrastructure. It centralizes operational data from multiple AWS services, enabling users to monitor, manage, and automate tasks efficiently, thus improving operational performance and reducing manual effort.

  • Introduction to Operational Challenges (0:00-2:30) Watch Here
  • Overview of AWS Systems Manager (2:30-5:00) Watch Here
  • Setting Up Systems Manager (5:00-12:00) Watch Here
  • Monitoring and Insights (12:00-20:00) Watch Here
  • Automating Operational Tasks (20:00-30:00) Watch Here
  • Case Studies and Best Practices (30:00-40:00) Watch Here

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AWS Container Day – Amazon EKS and AWS Fargate: Better Together

The video addresses the complexity of managing containerized applications and showcases how combining Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) with AWS Fargate simplifies container management. This integration allows users to run Kubernetes applications without managing the underlying infrastructure, enhancing scalability and reducing operational overhead.

  • Introduction to Container Management Challenges (0:00-2:30) Watch Here
  • Overview of Amazon EKS and AWS Fargate (2:30-6:00) Watch Here
  • Setting Up EKS with Fargate (6:00-15:00) Watch Here
  • Deploying and Managing Applications (15:00-25:00) Watch Here
  • Scaling and Operational Insights (25:00-35:00) Watch Here
  • Case Studies and Best Practices (35:00-45:00) Watch Here

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Best Practices for Authoring AWS CloudFormation

The video discusses best practices for authoring CloudFormation templates to manage AWS infrastructure efficiently. It covers techniques for writing reusable, maintainable, and scalable templates, helping users avoid common pitfalls and optimize their infrastructure-as-code deployments.

  • Introduction to CloudFormation Best Practices (0:00-2:30) Watch Here
  • Structuring Templates for Reusability (2:30-10:00) Watch Here
  • Parameterization and Modular Design (10:00-20:00) Watch Here
  • Advanced Features and Functions (20:00-30:00) Watch Here
  • Error Handling and Debugging (30:00-40:00) Watch Here
  • Deploying and Updating Stacks (40:00-50:00) Watch Here

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Automate Anything with AWS System Manager

The video explains the challenges of automating operational tasks and introduces AWS Systems Manager as a solution. Systems Manager allows users to automate a wide range of tasks, from patch management to resource configuration, providing a unified interface for managing AWS resources efficiently.

  • Introduction to Automation Challenges (0:00-3:00) Watch Here
  • Overview of AWS Systems Manager (3:00-6:00) Watch Here
  • Setting Up Systems Manager (6:00-12:00) Watch Here
  • Automating Tasks and Workflows (12:00-22:00) Watch Here
  • Monitoring and Reporting (22:00-30:00) Watch Here
  • Case Studies and Best Practices (30:00-40:00) Watch Here

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Optimizing the cost of running AWS Elastic Beanstalk Workload

The challenge addressed in this article is optimizing costs for running AWS Elastic Beanstalk workloads, especially for non-production environments like test or stage workloads that do not need constant operation. The solution involves using automation techniques such as converting environment types, adjusting the number of instances, and stopping environments during off-hours to reduce costs significantly.

Problem and Solution Breakdown:

  1. Converting Environment Types: For load-balanced test environments, convert to single instance after work hours and back to load-balanced in the morning using AWS CLI commands to reduce costs.

  2. Setting the Number of Instances: Minimize the number of instances during low-traffic periods. Automate this with a bash script and cron jobs.

  3. Stopping Environments: Terminate testing environments after work hours and restore them in the morning to save costs. This requires careful handling of Amazon RDS instances to avoid data loss.

For detailed steps and commands, see Optimizing the cost of running AWS Elastic Beanstalk Workloads.

AWS Systems Manager Operational Capabilities

The challenge addressed in the whitepaper is managing operational tasks efficiently across multiple AWS resources. AWS Systems Manager offers a unified interface to automate operational tasks, streamline patch management, and improve resource visibility, leading to reduced operational overhead and improved compliance.

Problem and Solution Breakdown:

  1. Unified Management: Centralize operational data and automate tasks across AWS resources using AWS Systems Manager.

  2. Patch Management: Automate patching of operating systems and applications to ensure compliance and security without manual intervention.

  3. Resource Visibility: Gain insights into resource configurations and compliance status, helping to identify and address issues promptly.

For a detailed understanding, refer to AWS Systems Manager Operational Capabilities.

Introducing a new generation of AWS Elastic Beanstalk platforms.

The problem tackled by this article is the need for more efficient and cost-effective AWS Elastic Beanstalk platforms. The new generation of Elastic Beanstalk platforms provides updated runtime environments, enhanced security, and better resource utilization, helping to optimize performance and reduce costs.

Problem and Solution Breakdown:

  1. Updated Runtime Environments: New platforms offer updated language runtimes, reducing vulnerabilities and improving performance.

  2. Enhanced Security: Security improvements include updated software components and better compliance with security standards.

  3. Resource Utilization: Optimized resource management leads to cost savings and improved application performance.

For more details, see Introducing a new generation of AWS Elastic Beanstalk platforms.

Manage instances using AWS Systems Manager Quick Setup.

The challenge discussed in this blog post is the efficient management of instances across an AWS organization. AWS Systems Manager Quick Setup simplifies the process by automating common setup tasks and ensuring consistency across multiple accounts and regions.

Problem and Solution Breakdown:

  1. Quick Setup: Automate and streamline the initial setup of AWS Systems Manager across multiple AWS accounts and regions.

  2. Consistency: Ensure consistent configuration and compliance across all managed instances using predefined or custom configurations.

  3. Operational Efficiency: Reduce the operational burden by automating tasks such as patching, inventory collection, and compliance reporting.

For more information, refer to Manage instances using AWS Systems Manager Quick Setup.