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Ahmed Adel
Ahmed Adel

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💡 Next-Level Deployments in AWS ECS: Step-by-Step Guide to Linear & Canary Releases 🚀

AWS ECS just dropped one of its most practical features for modern DevOps: built-in Linear and Canary deployments! 😲 No more stitching together custom scripts or relying on external tools for smooth traffic-shifting and safer releases.

Whether you’re all-in on microservices or just want to reduce the risk of production rollouts, this guide’s for you! Let’s get our hands dirty with a real ECS service so you can confidently say, “I did it!” ✌️

Why Linear & Canary Deployments? 🧐

  • Safer Updates: Gradually test new versions with real traffic.
  • Instant Rollbacks: Detect issues and revert 🚨 fast.
  • Automation: Support from AWS Console, CLI, CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform.
  • Works with ALB & Service Connect: Play nice with modern networking.

Hands-on: Update Your ECS Service with a Canary or Linear Deployment

🎨 We'll use plenty of screenshots and CLI output. You can grab icons or illustrations from AWS Console or use royalty-free image sites for ECS diagrams.

🛠️ Prerequisites

  • Existing ECS service using ALB or ECS Service Connect.
  • New Docker image version ready in ECR.
  • Permissions to update services.

1. Open the ECS Console & Select Your Service

  • Go to your ECS Cluster
  • Pick the Service to update

2. Hit “Deploy new revision” and Configure Deployment Settings

You’ll now see new options: Linear and Canary deployments! 🎉

3. Configure Deployment Params

  • Linear: Set the step percentage (e.g. 20%). ECS will shift 20% ➡️ 40% ➡️ 60%... of live traffic to the new revision in intervals you specify.
  • Canary: Route just a slice (e.g. 10%) of traffic to the new revision. Let it bake, then move all over if healthy.
  • Add CloudWatch alarms to trigger auto-rollbacks if things go wrong. 
CLI Example for Linear

aws ecs update-service
--cluster my-cluster
--service my-service
--deployment-controller type=ECS
--deployment-configuration
deploymentType=Linear,stepPercentage=20,stepBakeTimeInMinutes=10
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4. (Optional) Add Deployment Hooks 🪝

Pause for tests/validation between steps! Use AWS CLI or SDK to configure.

5. Watch the Magic Happen 🧙‍♂️

You’ll see tasks update, traffic shift, and alarms ready to catch issues. Instant rollback if trouble is detected.

Real-World Usage: When Should You Use What?

Strategy Best For Example
Linear Gradual releases, user testing Move 20% of traffic each step
Canary Quick prod validation Test 10%, then release to 100%

🎯 Pro-tips

  • Use deployment hooks for integration/health checks.
  • Monitor everything with CloudWatch.
  • Works great with both HTTP and gRPC APIs.
  • Combine with ECS Service Connect for simple, secure service-to-service comms.

🌟 Wrap-up

This feature is fresh, highly practical, and ready for you! Demos or code in this post won't be found in most tutorials (yet). Give it a try and tell your infra team you’re on the cutting edge! 🤓

📝 Try it, share your results, and let me know if you want an in-depth look at deployment hooks or ECS Service Connect next!

(Images: AWS product pages & console screenshots. Get creative with icons and emoji for your audience!)

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