Deploying a Web Server with AWS CDK

Overview

This lab guides you through deploying a fully functional web server using AWS CDK (Cloud Development Kit) and TypeScript or Python. By leveraging AWS CDK, you’ll create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), configure security groups, and launch an EC2 instance with an Apache web server running on it. This lab teaches key concepts of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and highlights the benefits of automated, repeatable cloud resource provisioning.

Inside this lab

You’ll learn to:

Configure AWS CLI credentials to interact with your AWS account.
Define a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with a public subnet using AWS CDK L2 constructs.
Create security groups to allow inbound HTTP traffic to your server.
Launch an EC2 instance in the public subnet and associate it with the security group.
Automate the installation of Apache web server using a user data script.
Deploy the infrastructure and test web server access from a browser.

At the end of this lab, you will have a publicly accessible web server hosted on AWS and learn how to implement IaC principles using AWS CDK.

Technologies used in this lab

AWS CDK: Enables Infrastructure as Code with TypeScript or Python.
EC2: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud for cloud-based virtual servers.
VPC: Virtual Private Cloud for network isolation and management.
IaC: Infrastructure as Code for automated provisioning and configuration.

Target audience

This lab is ideal for DevOps professionals, cloud engineers, and developers looking to streamline their cloud infrastructure provisioning and learn the basics of IaC with AWS CDK.

Difficulty Level

Medium – You should have basic familiarity with AWS, EC2, VPCs, and programming concepts (TypeScript or Python).

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lab, you’ll be able to:

Use AWS CDK to define and deploy cloud infrastructure.
Write scripts to automate server setup using user data.
Securely provision publicly accessible resources with proper security group rules.
Manage and view your deployed resources via the AWS Management Console or CLI.

Benefits of this lab

Learn real-world deployment practices with AWS.
Understand how IaC simplifies resource management and boosts productivity.
Automate setup processes for cloud environments using CDK constructs.
Strengthen concepts of networking, security, and server administration in a cloud-based ecosystem.

This lab is a valuable resource for anyone diving into IaC, as it emphasizes the advantages of automation and reproducibility in managing large-scale cloud environments like AWS.