Cloud Infrastructure for Modern Applications
Introduction
Modern applications require infrastructure that's scalable, reliable, and cost-effective. This guide covers essential cloud infrastructure patterns and best practices for deploying production-ready applications.
Cloud Architecture Patterns
1. Microservices Architecture
Break applications into independent services:
Benefits:
Challenges:
2. Serverless Architecture
Run code without managing servers:
Use Cases:
Popular Services:
3. Container-Based Architecture
Package applications with dependencies:
# Example Dockerfile
FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]
Containerization with Docker
Best Practices
1. Multi-Stage Builds
Reduce image size:
# Build stage
FROM node:18 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN npm ci && npm run build
# Production stage
FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]
2. Layer Optimization
Order commands for better caching:
3. Security
Kubernetes Orchestration
Core Concepts
**Pods**: Smallest deployable units
**Services**: Network access to Pods
**Deployments**: Manage Pod replicas
**ConfigMaps**: Configuration data
**Secrets**: Sensitive information
Deployment Example
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: web-app
spec:
replicas: 3
selector:
matchLabels:
app: web
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: web
spec:
containers:
- name: web
image: myapp:v1.0
ports:
- containerPort: 3000
resources:
limits:
cpu: "500m"
memory: "512Mi"
requests:
cpu: "250m"
memory: "256Mi"
Scaling Strategies
Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA)
apiVersion: autoscaling/v2
kind: HorizontalPodAutoscaler
metadata:
name: web-hpa
spec:
scaleTargetRef:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
name: web-app
minReplicas: 2
maxReplicas: 10
metrics:
- type: Resource
resource:
name: cpu
target:
type: Utilization
averageUtilization: 70
Cloud Provider Comparison
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Strengths:
Best For:
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Strengths:
Best For:
Microsoft Azure
Strengths:
Best For:
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Terraform Example
# Configure AWS provider
provider "aws" {
region = "us-east-1"
}
# Create VPC
resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
tags = {
Name = "production-vpc"
}
}
# Create Application Load Balancer
resource "aws_lb" "app" {
name = "app-lb"
internal = false
load_balancer_type = "application"
subnets = aws_subnet.public[*].id
}
Benefits of IaC
CI/CD Pipelines
GitHub Actions Example
name: Deploy to Production
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Build Docker image
run: docker build -t myapp:${{ github.sha }} .
- name: Push to registry
run: |
docker tag myapp:${{ github.sha }} registry/myapp:latest
docker push registry/myapp:latest
- name: Deploy to Kubernetes
run: |
kubectl set image deployment/web-app web=registry/myapp:latest
kubectl rollout status deployment/web-app
Monitoring and Observability
The Three Pillars
1. Metrics
2. Logs
3. Traces
Tools
Security Best Practices
1. Network Security
2. Access Control
3. Data Protection
Cost Optimization
Strategies
1. Right-Sizing
2. Reserved Instances
3. Spot Instances
4. Storage Optimization
Z&T Technologies Cloud Services
We provide end-to-end cloud solutions:
Infrastructure Design
Implementation
Managed Services
Conclusion
Modern cloud infrastructure enables applications to scale globally while maintaining reliability and cost-effectiveness. Success requires careful planning, proper tooling, and ongoing optimization.
Ready to modernize your infrastructure? Our team specializes in designing and implementing cloud-native architectures tailored to your needs.