DEV Community: DevOps Playground

Deploying a Java App to AWS with Multiple CI/CD Tools

DevOps Playground — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 12:06:11 +0000

DevOps Playground Project: Deploying a Java App to AWS with Multiple CI/CD Tools (Part 1 – Overview & Setup)

Welcome to Part 1 of our DevOps Playground series!

In this multi-part documentation, we’ll walk through deploying a real-world Java (Maven) Doctor Appointment Scheduler App to the cloud using various DevOps tools, CI/CD strategies, and cloud services.

This project is a collaborative volunteer effort, and we're intentionally exploring multiple DevOps stacks Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and more, so that our contributors gain experience with a wide range of tools used across different teams in the real world.

Project Goal

To build, test, secure, monitor, and deploy a Java-based application into AWS Cloud using modern DevOps practices. Volunteers will work in teams or independently using different CI/CD tools to complete similar deployment goals.

Key Goals:

Learn and apply real-world DevOps tools and workflows
Practice AWS deployment and cloud-native architecture
Implement security, monitoring, automation, notifications, and CI/CD pipelines
Work collaboratively across cross-functional DevOps roles

We’ll follow a complete DevOps lifecycle:

Source control & collaboration (Git/GitHub)
CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)
Security scanning (Dependency-Check, SBOM, Dependency-Track)
Code quality (SonarQube)
Artifact management (Nexus)
Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
Monitoring (Prometheus + Grafana)
Notifications (AWS SES, SNS)

Tech Stack & Tools Overview

Area	Tools
App Type	Java (Maven) Web Application
Version Control	Git, GitHub
CI/CD Tools	Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI
Build & Package	Maven, Docker
Artifact Repository	Nexus
Code Quality	SonarQube
Security & SBOM	OWASP Dependency-Check,CycloneDX, Dependency-Track
Cloud Provider	AWS (EC2, S3, IAM, SES, SNS ETC)
Monitoring & Alerting	Prometheus, Grafana, AWS SNS
IaC	Terraform

Project Repository

GitHub Repo: Doctor Appointment Scheduler

Fork the repo, clone locally, and explore the structure. This app is Maven-based and serves as the base of our deployment pipeline.

Project Structure

This project is split into multiple DevOps sub-teams to allow focused collaboration. Each team is tasked with solving the same DevOps challenges using different tools.

Team	Role
CI/CD Engineers	Create pipelines (Jenkins / GitHub Actions / GitLab CI)
Build & Artifacts	Maven build, Nexus upload
Security & Quality	Run OWASP scans, SonarQube, Dependency Track
Infra & Cloud	Use Terraform &/or Ansible to deploy EC2 and configure AWS resources
Monitoring & Notifications	Prometheus + Grafana setup, alerts via SNS & SES

Project Phases

Phase 1 – Setup & Planning

Fork & clone the repo, understand codebase
Understand application structure and dependencies

Phase 2 – Infrastructure Setup

Provision pipelines (Jenkins / GitHub Actions / GitLab CI)
Build Maven app, run tests, check quality (SonarQube), scan deps

Phase 3 – CI/CD Pipelines & Cloud Integration

Build app with Maven
Run unit tests
Code analysis
Package JAR
Scan for vulnerabilities
Store artifacts
Tag releases and maintain release history

Phase 4 – Application Deployment

Deploy to AWS
Send deployment notifications via email or Slack

Phase 5 Monitoring & Observability

Set up application and infra-level metrics
Configure alerts

Phase 5 – Security & Reporting

Run OWASP scans, create SBOM
Upload to Dependency-Track
Capture security + code quality reports
Schedule scans and produce vulnerability reports
Ensure pipeline breaks on critical vulnerabilities

Next up: Part 2A – Designing the End-to-End DevOps Architecture (coming soon)

We’ll compare approaches, issues, and what makes each tool unique.

Join Us

Final Note

This is more than a tutorial—it's a live DevOps project with real people, real challenges, and real learning.

Installing AWS CLI v2

DevOps Playground — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 16:18:08 +0000

The AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) is a unified tool to manage your AWS services. With just one tool to download and configure, you can control multiple AWS services from the command line and automate them through scripts.

Here’s a complete guide for installing the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) on major platforms:

For Windows

Download the installer:

64-bit Windows

Run the downloaded .msi file and follow the setup wizard.
Verify installation:

   aws --version

You should see something like:

   aws-cli/2.x.x Python/X.x.x Windows/x86_64

For macOS

Using the official installer:

Download the installer:

   curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.pkg" -o "AWSCLIV2.pkg"

Install it:

   sudo installer -pkg AWSCLIV2.pkg -target /

Verify installation:

   aws --version

Or, using Homebrew (if installed):

brew install awscli

For Linux

Download and unzip the installer:

   curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
   unzip awscliv2.zip

Install it:

   sudo ./aws/install

Verify:

   aws --version

Post-install: Configure AWS CLI

After installation, configure with your AWS credentials:

aws configure

You’ll be prompted for:

AWS Access Key ID
AWS Secret Access Key
Default region name (e.g., us-east-1)
Default output format (e.g., json, table, text)

Resources

Official AWS CLI docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/
AWS CLI GitHub: https://github.com/aws/aws-cli

Terraform Installation Guide

DevOps Playground — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 14:08:02 +0000

What is Terraform?

Terraform is an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool developed by HashiCorp. It allows you to define, provision, and manage infrastructure across various cloud providers using configuration files.

1. Installation Methods (by OS)

Windows

Method 1: Install via Chocolatey (Recommended)

Requires Chocolatey to be installed.

choco install terraform

Method 2: Manual Installation

Visit the official site: https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html
Download the Windows zip file.
Extract the zip and move terraform.exe to a directory of your choice (e.g., C:\terraform).
Add this directory to your System PATH:
- Search “Environment Variables” > Edit system environment variables
- Under System Variables, find Path → Edit → Add C:\terraform
Open a new Command Prompt and verify:

terraform -v

macOS

Method 1: Using Homebrew (Recommended)

brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform

Method 2: Manual Installation

Download the macOS zip from https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html
Extract and move terraform to /usr/local/bin:

sudo mv terraform /usr/local/bin/

Verify the installation:

terraform -v

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian-based)

Method 1: Official HashiCorp APT Repo

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y gnupg software-properties-common curl

curl -fsSL https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] \
https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install terraform

Method 2: Manual Installation

Download the Linux zip from https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html
Unzip and move binary:

unzip terraform_*.zip
sudo mv terraform /usr/local/bin/

Verify:

terraform -v

2. Verifying Installation

After installation, run:

terraform version

Output should be like:

Terraform v....
on linux_amd64

3. Updating Terraform

Using Homebrew (macOS)

brew upgrade terraform

Using Chocolatey (Windows)

choco upgrade terraform

Using APT (Linux)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install terraform

Common Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
`terraform: command not found`	Ensure `terraform` binary is in your PATH
Terraform version shows as outdated	Run update via package manager
Error downloading providers	Check internet connection or proxy issues
File permission denied (Linux/macOS)	Use `chmod +x terraform` and `sudo` if needed

Setting Up a DevOps Playground Server with Vagrant and VirtualBox

DevOps Playground — Thu, 22 May 2025 08:42:33 +0000

In today’s cloud-centric world, setting up servers across various platforms is easier than ever. Cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, Linode, and DigitalOcean etc offer powerful infrastructure suitable for production environments and large-scale applications. However, for local development and experimentation in a DevOps context, Vagrant provides a simple, free, and open-source tool for creating and managing virtual machines on your own system. In this guide, we’ll focus on setting up a DevOps playground ubuntu server using Vagrant and VirtualBox, ideal for learning and testing DevOps tools and methodologies.

Vagrant boxes

Vagrant boxes are pre-packaged, reusable base images that define the operating system and environment for your Vagrant virtual machines. They serve as the foundation for your development environment, allowing you to quickly spin up instances with consistent configurations. Vagrant boxes can be customized further through the Vagrantfile, where you can specify software installations, network settings, and other configurations.

Vagrant boxes are stored and shared on platforms like Vagrant Cloud, where you can find a variety of images for different operating systems and use cases.

Choosing a Vagrant Box

For this DevOps playground setup, we recommend using the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) box, known for its stability and wide community support. Alternatively, you can use Ubuntu 18.04 (Bionic Beaver) if preferred. Both versions are available on Vagrant Cloud.

Box Name: ubuntu/trusty64

Provider: VirtualBox (can be used with other providers as well)

Setting Up a Local Server on Windows with Vagrant and VirtualBox

Step 1: Install Prerequisites

Install VirtualBox: Download and install VirtualBox.

Install Vagrant: Download and install Vagrant.

Step 2: Initialize a Vagrant Project
Create a New Directory: This is where your Vagrant configuration and files will reside.

mkdir devops-playground-vms && cd devops-playground-vms

Create a directory specific to the vm type: This is where your Vagrant configuration and files will reside.

mkdir ubuntu-bionic && cd ubuntu-trusty64

Initialize Vagrant: This creates a Vagrantfile in your project directory, specifying the base box and settings for your virtual machine.

vagrant init ubuntu/trusty64

Start Your VM: Launch your VM with:

vagrant up

SSH into Your VM: Connect to your virtual machine using:

vagrant ssh

Install any additional tools as needed for your DevOps tasks

Once your VM is running, you can install DevOps tools such as Docker, Ansible, or any other software relevant to your environment.

Conclusion
You have now completed the setup for a DevOps playground server, either using AWS for cloud-based services or Vagrant and VirtualBox for a local environment. Both setups provide a flexible and powerful platform for exploring DevOps tools and methodologies.