Multi-Container Application Deployment

A production-style multi-container backend application deployed on AWS EC2 using Docker Compose, with an automated CI/CD pipeline implemented via GitHub Actions.

This project focuses on containerization, cloud deployment, and deployment automation, rather than application complexity.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Architecture
• Tech Stack
• Features
• Project Structure
• Local Setup
• Cloud Deployment
• CI/CD Pipeline
• Verification
• Security Considerations
• Future Enhancements

Overview

This project demonstrates how to design, deploy, and automate a multi-container application in a production-like environment.

The application consists of:

• A Node.js REST API
• A MongoDB database
• Docker Compose for orchestration
• AWS EC2 for hosting
• GitHub Actions for CI/CD automation

The API functionality is intentionally simple to keep the focus on DevOps practices and infrastructure workflows.

Architecture

Internet
   |
   | (HTTP :3000)
   v
Node.js API (Docker Container)
   |
   v
MongoDB (Docker Container)

• Containers are orchestrated using Docker Compose
• MongoDB runs in a private container network
• API is exposed publicly via EC2 security groups
• Deployment is automated via GitHub Actions

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Database: MongoDB
• Containerization: Docker, Docker Compose
• Cloud Provider: AWS EC2
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions
• OS: Ubuntu Linux

Features

• Multi-container application using Docker Compose
• Persistent database storage using Docker volumes
• Cloud deployment on AWS EC2
• Secure SSH access and firewall configuration
• Automated CI/CD pipeline triggered on GitHub push
• Zero manual deployment after CI/CD setup

Project Structure

multi-container-application/
├── api/
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   ├── package.json
│   ├── server.js
│   └── models/
├── docker-compose.yml
└── .github/
    └── workflows/
        └── deploy.yml

Local Setup

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Docker Compose

Run locally

docker-compose up --build

API will be available at:

http://localhost:3000

Cloud Deployment (AWS EC2)

Steps

1. Provision an EC2 instance (Ubuntu)
2. Install Docker and Docker Compose
3. Clone the repository
4. Run Docker Compose

docker-compose up -d --build

API will be accessible via:

http://<EC2_PUBLIC_IP>:3000

CI/CD Pipeline

This project uses GitHub Actions to automate deployment.

Workflow behavior

• Triggered on every push to the main branch
• Connects to EC2 via SSH
• Pulls latest code
• Rebuilds and restarts containers using Docker Compose

Outcome

• No manual SSH required after setup
• Push-to-deploy workflow
• Consistent and repeatable deployments

Verification

To verify the deployment:

curl http://<EC2_PUBLIC_IP>:3000/todos

Expected response:

[]

This confirms the API is live and containers are running correctly.

Security Considerations

• SSH access restricted using AWS Security Groups
• Private SSH keys are never committed to the repository
• GitHub Secrets used for sensitive credentials
• Database container is not exposed publicly

Future Enhancements

• Nginx reverse proxy with domain-based access
• HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt
• Automated database backups
• Centralized logging and monitoring
• Health checks and container restart policies

Project Type

Category: DevOps / Cloud / CI/CD

Focus: Deployment automation and infrastructure workflows

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Final Note

This project emphasizes real-world DevOps practices such as container orchestration, cloud deployment, and CI/CD automation over application complexity.

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This Project follows the requirement defined by roadmap.sh