AWS - Dev Tools, CLI, CICD

Question 1

Key terms for the AWS CI/CD pipeline?

Answer 1

• CodeCommit = source control
• CodeBuild = manages builds and testing
• CodeDeploy = deploys to EC2, Fargate, Lambda, on-prem, etc
• CodePipeline = manages the CI/CD pipeline

Question 2

What is the CodeBuild config file called? 4 main stages? 2 other things you can define?

Answer 2

buildspec.yml
- Has to be located in the root of the source

Stages:
1. install - installing packages from the build env (frameworks)
2. pre_build - sign in to things or install dependencies
3. build - commands run during the build process
4. post_build - package things up, push Docker image, do explicit notifications, etc.

Other things you can define:
1. Environment variables, which can integrate with the Parameter Store or Secrets Manager
2. Artifacts - what stuff to put where

Question 3

What is the CodeDeploy config file called?

Answer 3

appspec.yml (or .json)

Question 4

What are the 8 possible deployment targets of CodePipeline?

Answer 4

• CodeDeploy
• EC2 / ECS (also can use Blue/Green deployment model)
• Elastic Beanstalk
• Service Catalog
• Alexa Skills Kit
• S3
• OpsWorks
• CloudFormation

Question 5

How do you set up authentication and authorization for CodeCommit, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline?

Answer 5

Authentication:
> Create one of the following in IAM:
- HTTPS Git Credentials (username / password)
- SSH Keys
Authorization:
> Configured using IAM Identity Policies. Very granular.

Question 6

What two things can be generated from Code* events?

Answer 6

• Notifications
  
  • Send to either SNS or Chatbot (Slack)
• Triggers
  
  • Invoke Lambda function or SNS notification

Question 7

What are the main components used by CodePipeline?

Answer 7

Pipelines are the main components, which are built from:
- Stages, which are built from sequential or parallel:
- Actions, which can consume or generate:
- Artifacts

Question 8

What system stores a record of CodePipeline events?
How to find events coming either from API calls or human interaction?

Answer 8

• Any state changes generate events that go to Event Bridge (Success, Failed, Cancelled)
• Use CloudTrail to monitor API calls
• Use the Console UI to monitor human interaction

Question 9

What service uses Appspec.yml? What 2 main components does it specify?

Answer 9

• CodeDeploy. Can also be called Appspec.json.
• Contains both configs and lifecycle event hooks.

Question 10

What 3 main components can the configs section define in the CodeDeploy Appspec.yml / json file?

Answer 10

• Files: applies to EC2 & on-prem servers. Determines which things to be installed.
• Permissions: details any special permissions that should be applied to be files, directories, etc. in the Files section.
  
  • ONLY applies to EC2 or on-prem servers.
• Resources -> applies to ECS & Lambda
  
  • ECS: contains task definition, or container and port details = configs for the thing running your application
  • Lambda: contains name, alias, current version, target version of a Lambda function

Question 11

How do Lifecycle Event Hooks work in the CodeDeploy Appspec.yml / json file?

Answer 11

• If you’re using EC2 or on-prem servers, these hooks each run 1 script
• For Lambda or ECS, these hooks specify Lambda functions to run at each step.
• Examples:
  
  • ApplicationStop: used to prepare for the deployment
  • DownloadBundle: before copying files to a local location
  • BeforeInstall
  • Install
  • AfterInstall
  • ApplicationStart
  • ValidateService: Enables CodeDeploy to validate whether the deployment worked as expected. You can run whatever checks or query logs, etc.