DEV Community: Netra Rajendran

AWS 101 Workshop

Netra Rajendran — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:43:48 +0000

Setup Networking (VPC)

An Amazon VPC is a logically isolated virtual network you define, allowing you to launch AWS resources in a secure, isolated environment. We'll use the VPC wizard to quickly set up the entire virtual network for our web server, including subnets, routing, and other resources.

Resource Security (SGs)

Security groups control inbound and outbound traffic for associated resources, like servers. Your VPC comes with a default security group, but you can create additional groups with custom inbound and outbound rules.

Access Management (IAM)

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a service for securely controlling access to AWS services. With IAM, you can centrally manage users, security credentials such as access keys, and permissions that control which AWS resources users and applications can access.

Deploy Compute (EC2)

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) provides on-demand, scalable computing capacity in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud. Using Amazon EC2 reduces hardware costs so you can develop and deploy applications faster. You can use Amazon EC2 to launch as many or as few virtual servers as you need, configure security and networking, and manage storage.

Administer Web Server (SSM) Session Manager is a fully managed AWS Systems Manager capability. With Session Manager, you can manage your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, edge devices, on-premises servers, and virtual machines (VMs).

Load Balancing (ALB)

Create Target group

Application Load Balancer

Test Web Server

Storage (S3)

AWS THREE-TIER ARCHITECTURE

Netra Rajendran — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 18:29:29 +0000

AWS 3-Tier Architecture
The 3-tier architecture is a fundamental design pattern that divides an application into three layers: presentation, application, and database. This separation enhances scalability, security, and flexibility, making it a popular choice for modern cloud solutions.

In this blog, I’m excited to share the results of my implementation of the AWS 3-tier architecture through detailed screenshots. Each image reflects the output at key steps of the project—from design to deployment.

ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAM:

Part 1

1. Setting up the codebase

To implement the AWS 3-tier architecture effectively, I started by leveraging a pre-existing codebase from GitHub.
Clone the GitHub repository.

2. Create an S3 Bucket
Navigate to the S3 service and create a new S3 bucket.

3. IAM EC2 Instance Role Creation

Create a Role.
The Role is use to connect EC2 and S3.

Part 2 - Networking and Security

1. Create VPC

Go to VPC Dashboard and create VPC.
The VPC is created to provide an isolated network environment for hosting resources securely.

2. Create Subnet

Create 6 subnets (3 in each availability zone) to ensure high availability, with at least 2 public subnets for the web layer and 4 private subnets for the application and database layers.
A subnet is public when connected to an Internet Gateway; otherwise, it is private.

3. Internet Gateway
Create an Internet Gateway and attach it to VPC.

Internet gateway attached to VPC

4. NAT Gateway
A NAT Gateway is created to allow resources in private subnets to access the internet without exposing them to incoming internet traffic.

5. Routing Configuration

Create three route tables
one route table for the web layer public subnets and 2 more route tables, one for each app layer private subnet in each availability zone.

6. Security Groups
Security Groups define inbound (ingress) and outbound (egress) rules for EC2 instances, Load Balancers, and other AWS services, ensuring controlled access to resources.

Part 3 - Database Deployment

1. Subnet Groups
Create RDS Subnet groups.

2. Database Deployment
Create RDS Database(MySQL-Compatible Amazon Aurora).

Part - 4

1. App Instance Deployment
Create an EC2 instance for App Tier.

2. Connect to Instance

3. Configure Database

4. Configure App Instance

Upload the app-tier folder to the S3 bucket that you created in part 1.
Connect to the instance and install necessary components.

5. Test App Tier

Part 5 - Internal Load Balancing and Auto Scaling

1. App Tier AMI
Create AMI for App Tier instance.

2. Target Group
Create a Target Group for App Tier instance.

3. Internal Load Balancer
Create an Application Load Balancer for App Tier instance.

4. Launch Template
Create a Launch template with the AMI.

5. Auto Scaling
Create an Auto Scaling Group for the app instances.

Part 6 - Web Instance Deployment

1. Update Config File
Update the Internal Load Balancer's DNS name in the 'nginx.conf' file and upload it to S3.

2. Web Instance Deployment
Create an EC2 instance for Web Tier.

3. Connect and Configure Web Instance

Part 7 - External Load Balancer and Auto Scaling

1. Web Tier AMI
Create AMI for Web Tier instance.

2. Target Group
Create a Target Group for Web Tier instance.

3. Internet Facing Load Balancer
Create an Internet facing Application Load Balancer for Web Tier instance.

4. Launch Template

5. Auto Scaling

Output
The AWS 3-tier architecture has been successfully implemented, enhancing scalability, security, and performance for an efficient cloud-based infrastructure.

AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall)

Netra Rajendran — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 04:33:14 +0000

Service Name: AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall)

Tagline: AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) Protects Your Web Applications from Common Web Exploits and Vulnerabilities.
AWS WAF helps safeguard your web applications by filtering and monitoring HTTP and HTTPS requests. It shields your applications from threats like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and DDoS attacks, offering better security and reliability.

2. Key Features of Amazon WAF
Features:
Customizable Rules: AWS WAF allows you to create custom security rules tailored to your application’s specific needs.
Managed Rule Groups: For a faster setup, AWS WAF provides pre-configured managed rule groups that protect against common threats like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and malicious IP addresses.
Real-Time Monitoring and Logging: AWS WAF provides real-time monitoring and logging of web traffic.
DDoS Protection: AWS WAF integrates with AWS Shield, offering automatic protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
Cost-Effective and Scalable: AWS WAF scales dynamically based on your application’s traffic, ensuring optimal performance at a reasonable cost.

Technical Specifications:
• Availability: Offered in all AWS Regions.
• Firewall Layer: Operates at Layer 7 (Application Layer).
• Integration Options: Compatible with AWS Management Console, CLI, and SDKs.
•Scalability: Automatically adjusts based on traffic volume.

3. Use Cases of Amazon WAF

Real-Life Applications:

Web Application Security: Protect online stores from SQL injection attacks that could compromise sensitive customer data.
API Protection: Secure your APIs from malicious payloads and bot traffic to ensure smooth functionality.
Compliance: Meet industry security standards like PCI DSS with pre-configured managed rules.
DDoS Prevention: Use rate-limiting rules to block excessive requests and safeguard resources.

4. Pricing Model of Amazon WAF

AWS WAF offers a straightforward pay-as-you-go pricing model. Here are the key components:
Web ACLs: You are charged monthly for each Web ACL you create.
Rules: Each rule added to a Web ACL incurs an additional monthly fee.
Requests: Costs are based on the number of requests processed by AWS WAF.

5. Comparison with Similar Services
Competitors and Alternatives:
AWS WAF competes with notable services such as:

Palo Alto Networks: Known for its advanced threat detection and AI-driven analytics.
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway: Offers WAF capabilities tightly integrated with Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Azure Front Door: Provides global load balancing with built-in WAF.

6. Benefits and Challenges
Benefits:

Customizable Rules: Easily tailor rules to meet your unique application requirements.
Pre-Configured Managed Rules: AWS offers a collection of pre-built rules that are frequently updated to guard against known vulnerabilities.
Cost-Efficiency: Pay only for what you use without any long-term commitments.

Challenges:
Learning Curve: Creating custom rules can be complex for beginners.
Cost Monitoring: Mismanagement of configurations may lead to higher-than-expected costs.

7. CONCLUSION
AWS WAF is an essential tool for modern web application security. With its customizable rules, managed rule groups, and seamless integration with other AWS services, it provides robust protection against a wide range of threats, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and DDoS attacks. Its cost-effective, scalable design ensures that businesses of all sizes can maintain high security standards without overspending.