The delivery of cloud-native applications demands special skills. Especially creating a balance between speed, scalability, and reliability is crucial to be successful in the category. This white paper outlines how a three-tier Java application can be deployed using Terraform (infrastructure automation), Jenkins (CI/CD), and Kubernetes (container orchestration). The model demonstrates how Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), DevOps pipelines, and Kubernetes can come together to power the deployment of such applications.
1) Solution Architecture (SA): Based on the three-tier architecture, the proposed solution consists of three layers: presentation, application, and data. The entire architecture is containerised and orchestrated by Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). For provisioning, the process makes use the Terraform while automation of the CI/CD pipeline is achieved by putting Jenkins to work. Kubernetes accomplishes pod scheduling and horizontal scaling using a combination of a scheduler and an autoscaler. In the next step, Jenkins builds Docker images and deploys them to EKS for customising the process as well as improving the pipeline. The entire system is designed in a declarative manner while keeping in mind its ability to reproduce the results. This ensures that the architecture remains suitable for both ground-up, new development and modernising efforts directed at legacy enterprises.
2) Detailed Implementation
a) Infrastructure Provisioning: The process starts with the use of Terraform, which is specifically directed at automating the infrastructure layer. It involves codifying and provisioning the resources to create a secure virtual private cloud (VPC). Subsequently, gateways are configured and access to the internet is offered to select users only. The next step involves managing access to the Kubernetes API, which mandates the creation of Node IAM roles and security groups. The provisioning of the MySQL database in this regard ensures that within EKS, access is only offered to security groups. As a last step in the infrastructure provisioning, an ECR depository for storing Docker images is created, and configuration values as output are generated by Terraform.
b) Application Design and Containerization: The process involves layering of frontend and backend processes that are then configured specifically to their application domains. The code for the frontend is built into a static bundle, and the backend Java application is packaged using Gradle. A Docker image is built, and then all images are pushed into the container registry. This is done to smooth the deployment process as images can be pulled at any time when needed.
c) Kubernetes Resource: To deploy applications to Kubernetes, manifest files are required. These files contain the deployment definitions, service details and ingress routes. Further, the information related to storage clusters is also contained within these files. It’s important to highlight that manifest files are created using helm charts and version-controlled in a Git Repository to enable the deployment process in a smooth and streamlined manner.
3) CI/CD Pipeline Flow: The build, test, and deploy lifecycle of applications is automated through the CI/CD pipeline using Jenkins. The process follows the logical sequence and starts with committing codes by the developers. The change is detected by Jenkins, and compilation through build agents follows the code committing exercise. The unique identifiers are assigned to images as they help not only in maintaining immutability but also traceability. These images are then pushed to ECR, and as a result, the updated application is deployed by Jenkins. The quality testing follows, wherein applications are subjected to a hostile environment to ensure their stability. Once done, the approval gates are included, notifications are sent, and audit trails are retained by Jenkins.
Key Benefits
From automation to repeatability and scalable operations, the CI/CD pipeline offers multiple benefits to the stakeholders. “Terraform and Jenkins ensure that the pipelines for the infrastructure and deployment are fully automated and reproducible across different environments”, says Yashavantha, “The EKS feature of dynamic scaling helps systems by keeping the operations running even during peak traffic.” Faster time to market is another significant benefit that the CI/CD framework offers to firms and developers. This also enables developers to release new features in the market without facing substantial financial risk. “The vault-like security enabled by the combination of Kubernetes and VPC inspires confidence, with tightly controlled access across both application and infrastructure layers.,” explains Azgar while elaborating on the benefits of the architecture. Summarily, the productivity can be enhanced significantly through a three-tier architecture as firms save resources through multiple avenues.
Future Scope
There is a vast scope of improvement for a three-tier Java application deployment “Enhancing traceability and streamline deployments through GitOps tools like Argo CD, while embedding robust security early in the CI/CD pipeline using SAST, DAST, and container security—ensuring enterprise-grade protection from development to production. while the integration of a service mesh can enable finer traffic control.” The upgrade errors in the production can be reduced through the adoption of progressive strategies using themes like blue-green deployment can be adopted to reduce the downtime using tools like Argo rollout. The auto-scaling of Kubernetes in combination with the leverage of spot instances can also help to reduce the operational costs ” Reveals Raghavendra. “The support of the hybrid cloud or multicloud system can be taken, and by maintaining the highest security compliance levels through various security scanners, the safety aspect of the development and deployment can be taken to the next level”, explains Karunakaran.
Conclusion
This white paper outlines an approach to deploying a three-tier Java application. Based on Terraform, Jenkins, ArgoCD, Security tools and Kubernetes on EKS, this perspective leverages Infrastructure-as-Code, container orchestration, and continuous delivery automation. The criteria outlined should enable the deployment of a scalable, secure, and efficient application delivery. The future scope in terms of encompassing all possible evolutions has also been discussed in a detailed manner. For enterprises aiming to modernise and accelerate their DevOps journey, this model could very well serve as a strategic blueprint for success.
Authored by: Yashavantha P., Azgar A., Raghavendra B V., and Karunakaran P. of Aziro [formerly MSys Technologies]