DEV Community

Cover image for AWS Fargate Basics: A Crash Course
Sarva Bharan
Sarva Bharan

Posted on

1

AWS Fargate Basics: A Crash Course

AWS Fargate is like hiring a valet for your containers. You focus on the container (app), and Fargate handles the infrastructure for running it. Think of it as a serverless compute engine specifically for containerized workloads.


Image Fargate vs EC2

Key Fargate Concepts to Know

  1. Cluster: Logical grouping of tasks/services. You need a cluster for Fargate.
  2. Task: A single running container or a set of tightly coupled containers.
  3. Task Definition: The "recipe" for your task—what container to use, memory/CPU requirements, environment variables, etc.
  4. Service: Long-running tasks with scaling and load balancing (e.g., an API).
  5. Launch Type: For Fargate, use FARGATE as the type (instead of EC2).

Setting Up Fargate in AWS

Here’s a simple guide to get your Fargate task/service up and running:


1. Prepare Your Container Image

  • Dockerize your app: Ensure your application is packaged in a Docker image.
  # Example: Dockerfile for a Node.js app
  FROM node:16
  WORKDIR /usr/src/app
  COPY package*.json ./
  RUN npm install
  COPY . .
  CMD ["node", "app.js"]
  EXPOSE 3000
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Push to ECR (Elastic Container Registry):
  aws ecr create-repository --repository-name my-app
  docker tag my-app:latest <your-account-id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/my-app
  docker push <your-account-id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/my-app
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Define a Fargate Task

Go to ECS ConsoleTask Definitions → Create a new task.

  • Launch Type: Fargate.
  • Container Definition: Add your container. Specify the image URI from ECR.
    • CPU/Memory: Set based on your workload.
    • Port Mappings: Map exposed ports (e.g., 3000:3000 for a Node.js app).

3. Create a Cluster

Go to ECS ConsoleClusters → Create a new cluster.

  • Select Networking only (Fargate).
  • Name your cluster (e.g., my-fargate-cluster).

4. Deploy Your Service

Go to ECS ConsoleServices → Create.

  • Cluster: Select your cluster.
  • Task Definition: Choose the task you defined earlier.
  • Service Type:
    • Use Service for APIs or long-running workloads.
    • Use Task for one-time jobs.
  • Scaling: Set desired and max tasks for auto-scaling.

5. Networking Setup

  • Assign a VPC and subnets for your service.
  • Enable a security group for access (e.g., allow port 3000 for HTTP traffic).

6. Test Your Service

  • Once deployed, note the service’s public IP or load balancer endpoint.
  • Access it via your browser or curl.
  curl http://<public-ip>:3000
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Real-World Usage Examples

  • API Deployment: Host your containerized API without managing infrastructure.
  • Data Processing: Run batch jobs like image resizing or log analysis.
  • Event-Driven Tasks: Use with Lambda for asynchronous processing (e.g., Fargate processes incoming SNS messages).

Tips and Best Practices

  1. Right-Size Tasks: Avoid over-allocating memory/CPU for cost efficiency.
  2. Secure Networking: Restrict public access with VPC/private subnets.
  3. Monitoring: Use CloudWatch Logs to track task performance.
  4. Autoscaling: Set thresholds to scale up/down based on demand.

Cheers🥂

Top comments (0)

Postmark Image

Speedy emails, satisfied customers

Are delayed transactional emails costing you user satisfaction? Postmark delivers your emails almost instantly, keeping your customers happy and connected.

Sign up