Deploy an API to Cloud with CI/CD
Course Title: API Development: Design, Implementation, and Best Practices Section Title: Deploying APIs Topic: Deploy the API to a cloud platform and set up CI/CD.(Lab topic)
Objective: By the end of this lab topic, you will be able to deploy an API to a cloud platform and set up a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline to automate the testing and deployment process.
Overview
In this lab topic, we will guide you through the process of deploying an API to a cloud platform and setting up a CI/CD pipeline. We will use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as our cloud platform and GitHub Actions as our CI/CD tool.
Prerequisites
- You have an AWS account and are familiar with the AWS console.
- You have a GitHub account and are familiar with GitHub Actions.
- You have completed the previous lab topics in this course and have a working API project.
Step 1: Create an AWS Lambda Function
To deploy our API to AWS, we will use AWS Lambda, a serverless compute service that allows us to run code in response to events. Follow these steps to create an AWS Lambda function:
- Log in to the AWS console and navigate to the Lambda dashboard.
- Click "Create function" and choose "Author from scratch".
- Choose "Node.js" as the runtime and give your function a name.
- Set the handler to "index.handler" and the role to "Create a new role from AWS policy templates".
- Click "Create function" to create the Lambda function.
Step 2: Create an API Gateway
To expose our Lambda function to the outside world, we need to create an API Gateway. Follow these steps to create an API Gateway:
- Navigate to the API Gateway dashboard and click "Create API".
- Choose "REST API" and give your API a name.
- Click "Create API" to create the API Gateway.
Step 3: Deploy the API to AWS
To deploy our API to AWS, we need to create a ZIP file of our API code and upload it to the Lambda function. Follow these steps to deploy the API:
- Create a ZIP file of your API code and upload it to the Lambda function.
- Update the handler to point to the new ZIP file.
- Test the API by clicking the "Test" button.
Step 4: Set up a CI/CD Pipeline with GitHub Actions
To automate the testing and deployment process, we will use GitHub Actions. Follow these steps to set up a CI/CD pipeline:
- Create a new GitHub Actions workflow file in your repository.
- Define the workflow to test and deploy the API to AWS.
- Use the GitHub Actions AWS Lambda and API Gateway actions to deploy the API.
- Test the workflow by pushing changes to the repository.
Here is an example of a GitHub Actions workflow file:
name: Deploy API to AWS
on:
push:
branches:
- main
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v2
- name: Install dependencies
run: npm install
- name: Test API
run: npm test
- name: Deploy API to AWS
uses: aws-actions/aws-lambda@v1
with:
function-name: your-lambda-function-name
handler: index.handler
zip: index.zip
- name: Deploy API to API Gateway
uses: aws-actions/aws-api-gateway@v1
with:
api-id: your-api-id
stage-name: your-stage-name
Conclusion
In this lab topic, we deployed an API to a cloud platform (AWS) and set up a CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions. We automated the testing and deployment process, allowing us to quickly and easily deploy changes to our API.
What's Next?
In the next topic, we will introduce API gateways and management tools (Kong, Apigee).
Additional Resources
- AWS Lambda documentation: <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/welcome.html>
- AWS API Gateway documentation: <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/apigateway/latest/developerguide/welcome.html>
- GitHub Actions documentation: <https://docs.github.com/en/actions>
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