Deploying a NestJS Application to AWS EC2 using Docker

Overview

• Deploy a NestJS application to AWS EC2 using Docker.
• Example: Deploy a Blog API project built with NestJS.
• Steps: Create Dockerfile, Docker Compose YAML, create EC2 instance, deploy to server.

Preparation

1. Create Dockerfile & Docker Compose YAML
   • Essential for organizing and preparing for production.
   • Use multi-stage builds to optimize Docker image size.
   • Compile TypeScript to JavaScript and remove unnecessary files and dependencies.

Dockerfile Setup

• First Stage: Build

  • Use base image node:alpine.
  • Create work directory: usr/src/app.
  • Copy package.json and run npm install.
  • Copy source code and compile TypeScript to JavaScript.

• Second Stage: Production

  • Copy necessary files from build stage.
  • Run npm install with production flag to exclude dev-dependencies.
  • Remove package.json after installation to optimize image.
  • Expose port 3000 for application.
  • Set NODE_ENV to production for optimized performance.

Docker Compose YAML

• Setup Version & Services

  • Version 3 with backend and database services.
  • Backend build path set to root directory.
  • Define environment variables and port mappings.

• Database Configuration

  • Image: mongo.
  • Define ports and volumes for data persistence.
  • Set up network nestjs_network with bridge driver.

GitHub Setup

• Push Project to GitHub
  • Exclude sensitive files like Docker Compose YAML and .env from version control.
  • Initialize Git repository, add files, commit, and push to GitHub.

AWS EC2 Instance Creation

• Create and Setup EC2

  • Use Ubuntu image and configure instance type (t2.micro).
  • Set security rules to allow port 3000 access.

• Connect and Install Docker

  • Connect via SSH and install Docker using official instructions.

Deploy Application

• Set Up Application on EC2

  • Clone repository to EC2 instance.
  • Recreate Docker Compose YAML file on EC2.
  • Run sudo docker-compose up -d to start containers.

• Verify Deployment

  • Check container status and network configurations.
  • Use Postman to test API endpoints and verify connectivity.

Conclusion

• Successful deployment of NestJS application to AWS EC2 using Docker.
• Ensured optimized Docker image and secure environment variable management.
• Potential issues: Always ensure proper environment variable setup and Docker configurations.