2.3.3. AWS CodeDeploy for Application Deployment

First Principle: AWS CodeDeploy automates the deployment of application code to various compute services, ensuring consistent, reliable, and versioned releases with minimal downtime.

AWS CodeDeploy is a fully managed deployment service that automates application deployments to diverse compute services such as Amazon EC2, AWS Fargate, AWS Lambda, and on-premises servers. It works with application artifacts produced by a build service (e.g., AWS CodeBuild).

Key Features of AWS CodeDeploy:

• Automated Deployment: Automates the process of copying application code and installing it on target resources.
• Compute Target Support: Deploys to EC2 instances, AWS Lambda functions, and Amazon ECS container services.
• Deployment Strategies: Supports various strategies to minimize downtime and risk, including In-place, Rolling, Blue/Green, and Canary deployments.
• appspec.yml File: Developers define the deployment lifecycle hooks (e.g., BeforeInstall, ApplicationStart) and specify which files to copy in this file, which is part of the application revision.
• Rollback: Provides automatic or manual rollback options if a deployment fails or issues are detected post-deployment.

Scenario: You've built your application and now need to deploy it to a fleet of EC2 instances or to a Lambda function. You want to automate this process and minimize downtime during updates.

Reflection Question: How does AWS CodeDeploy, with its support for various compute targets and deployment strategies, fundamentally automate the deployment of your application code and ensure consistent, reliable, and versioned releases?