2.1.4.4. Tools for Code Distribution (CodeDeploy, EC2 Image Builder)

First Principle: Code distribution tools ensure that the correct, validated application components reach their intended deployment targets reliably and securely.

Efficiently distributing code and application components to target environments is a critical aspect of deployment. AWS provides specialized tools to facilitate this, ensuring consistency and automation.

Key AWS Tools for Code Distribution:

• AWS CodeDeploy: (A service that automates application deployments to various compute services.)
  • Purpose: Automates application deployments to EC2, Lambda, ECS, on-premises servers.
  • Mechanism: CodeDeploy agents on EC2 instances pull deployment bundles from S3 or GitHub. For Lambda and ECS, CodeDeploy directly manages the deployment process.
  • Distribution: Handles the actual transfer and installation of application revisions to the target environment based on the chosen deployment strategy.
• AWS EC2 Image Builder: (A fully managed AWS service that automates the creation, management, and deployment of customized, secure, and up-to-date server images.)
  • Purpose: Automates the creation and distribution of customized, secure, and up-to-date EC2 AMIs and container images.
  • Mechanism: Builds new images with your application code pre-installed or configured.
  • Distribution: The resulting AMIs can then be used to launch new EC2 instances, effectively "distributing" your code as part of the base image. Container images are pushed to ECR.

Scenario: A DevOps team needs to distribute a new application version to an existing fleet of EC2 instances using a rolling update strategy. Separately, they also manage base AMIs for their EC2 fleet which include pre-installed application components, and these AMIs need to be updated and distributed regularly.

Reflection Question: How would you use AWS CodeDeploy for application distribution to existing instances, and AWS EC2 Image Builder for distributing updated base images, to ensure reliable and automated delivery of your code and infrastructure?

These tools streamline the process of getting your application from artifact repositories to running instances or containers, supporting various deployment patterns.

💡 Tip: For applications deployed on EC2, consider baking your application code directly into your AMIs using EC2 Image Builder for immutable deployments. Use CodeDeploy for orchestrating traffic shifts.