EDULearnning - AWS Cloud-Native Deployment Guide

This guide provides a complete, step-by-step walkthrough for migrating and deploying the EDULearnning project to AWS using EC2, RDS, and Docker.

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🏗 Architecture Overview

User → Internet → EC2 (Frontend/Backend) → AWS RDS (PostgreSQL)

• EC2 Instance: Hosts our Docker containers (Frontend & Backend).
• AWS RDS: Managed PostgreSQL database for persistent storage.
• Docker Compose: Manages multi-container orchestration on EC2.

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🛠 Technology Stack

• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JS (Served via Nginx)
• Backend: Python Flask + SQLAlchemy
• Database: AWS RDS (PostgreSQL)
• Containerization: Docker & Docker Compose
• Cloud Provider: AWS (Free Tier Eligible)

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🚀 PHASE 1: AWS IAM & CLI SETUP

1. Create IAM User:

   • Go to IAM Console → Users → Create User (edulearn-admin).
   • Attach Policy: AdministratorAccess.
   • Create Access Key and download the .csv file.

2. Configure AWS CLI on Local Machine:

   aws configure
   # AWS Access Key ID: [Your Access Key]
   # AWS Secret Access Key: [Your Secret Key]
   # Default region name: us-east-1
   # Default output format: json

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💻 PHASE 2: EC2 INSTANCE SETUP

1. Launch EC2:

   • AMI: Amazon Linux 2023 (Free Tier).
   • Instance Type: t2.micro or t3.micro.
   • Key Pair: Create/Select edulearn-key.pem.
   • Security Group:
     • Port 22 (SSH) - Your IP
     • Port 80 (HTTP) - 0.0.0.0/0
     • Port 5000 (API) - 0.0.0.0/0

2. Connect to EC2:

   chmod 400 edulearn-key.pem
   ssh -i "edulearn-key.pem" ec2-user@<EC2_PUBLIC_IP>

3. Install Docker & Docker Compose on EC2:

   # Update System
   sudo yum update -y
   
   # Install Docker
   sudo yum install -y docker
   sudo service docker start
   sudo usermod -aG docker ec2-user
   
   # Install Docker Compose
   sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
   
   # Verify Installations
   docker --version
   docker-compose --version
   
   # Re-login to apply group changes
   exit
   ssh -i "edulearn-key.pem" ec2-user@<EC2_PUBLIC_IP>

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🗄 PHASE 3: AWS RDS (DATABASE) SETUP

1. Create RDS Instance:
   • Engine: PostgreSQL (Standard Create).
   • Tier: Free Tier.
   • DB Instance ID: edulearn-db.
   • Master Username: dbadmin.
   • Master Password: SecurePassword123.
2. Security Group Configuration:
   • In RDS Security Group, add Inbound Rule:
     • Type: PostgreSQL (Port 5432)
     • Source: Custom → Select your EC2 Security Group.

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📦 PHASE 4: DEPLOYMENT

1. Clone the Project:

   git clone <YOUR_REPOSITORY_URL>
   cd EDULearnning

2. Set Environment Variables:

   # Replace <RDS_ENDPOINT> with your actual RDS Endpoint from AWS Console
   export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://dbadmin:SecurePassword123@<RDS_ENDPOINT>:5432/edulearn"
   export JWT_SECRET_KEY="super-secret-key"

3. Run with Docker Compose:

   # Build and Start Containers in detached mode
   docker-compose up -d --build

4. Verify Running Containers:

   docker ps

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🔗 API REFERENCE

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/signup	Register a new user
POST	/api/auth/login	Login and get JWT Token
GET	/api/courses/	List all courses
POST	/api/courses/	Create a course (Instructor)
POST	/api/courses/<id>/enroll	Enroll in a course
POST	/api/courses/<id>/review	Rate and Review a course

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☸️ PHASE 5: EKS (KUBERNETES) DEPLOYMENT (OPTIONAL)

If you prefer using AWS EKS instead of Docker Compose:

1. Create Cluster:

   eksctl create cluster --name edulearn-cluster --region us-east-1 --nodegroup-name standard-nodes --node-type t3.micro --nodes 2 --managed

2. Create Secrets:

   kubectl create secret generic edulearn-secrets \
     --from-literal=database-url="postgresql://dbadmin:SecurePassword123@<RDS_ENDPOINT>:5432/edulearn" \
     --from-literal=jwt-secret="super-secret-key"

3. Deploy Manifests:

   kubectl apply -f k8s-backend.yaml
   kubectl apply -f k8s-frontend.yaml

4. Get LoadBalancer URL:

   kubectl get service edulearn-frontend

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🔄 PHASE 6: CI/CD WITH GITHUB ACTIONS

To automate your deployments, create .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

1. Build & Push: Automatically build Docker images and push to Docker Hub on every commit.
2. Deploy: SSH into EC2 and run docker-compose pull && docker-compose up -d.

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🧹 PHASE 7: CLEANUP (AVOID BILLING)

When you are finished testing, delete these resources to stay within Free Tier:

1. EC2: Terminate the instance.
2. RDS: Delete the database (deselect "Create final snapshot").
3. IAM: Delete the access keys.

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💡 Troubleshooting

• Cannot connect to DB: Ensure RDS Security Group allows port 5432 from EC2.
• Frontend can't find API: Check if EC2 Security Group allows port 5000.
• Permission Denied: Ensure you ran sudo usermod -aG docker ec2-user and re-logged in.