Deploying Full-Stack Apps on AWS

Deploying a full-stack application to production can be daunting. Here's what I learned deploying my Rental Management System on AWS.

Architecture Overview

The application stack consisted of:

• **Django** for the backend API and server-side rendering
• **MongoDB** for flexible document storage
• **AWS EC2** for compute
• **AWS S3** for static assets and media files

Step-by-Step Deployment

1. Setting Up EC2

I chose an Ubuntu-based EC2 instance and configured security groups to allow HTTP/HTTPS traffic.

2. Configuring the Application

Environment variables, database connections, and static file serving were configured for production use.

3. Setting Up a Reverse Proxy

Nginx was configured as a reverse proxy to handle incoming requests and serve static files efficiently.

4. Database Configuration

MongoDB Atlas was used for managed database hosting, providing automatic backups and scaling.

Lessons Learned

• **Always use environment variables** for sensitive configuration
• **Set up monitoring early** - CloudWatch alerts save debugging time
• **Automate deployments** - Manual deployments are error-prone
• **Security first** - Configure firewalls and SSL from day one

The experience of deploying to production taught me more about software engineering than any classroom lecture.