Defining Target AWS Configurations
Before jumping into the next steps, let’s take a moment to zoom out. So far, we’ve worked with a few key AWS services—you’ve already launched an EC2 instance, connected your app to S3 for file storage, and added CloudWatch to keep an eye on things.
Now we’re going to bring those pieces into a proper structure—something that’s closer to how things are done in production.
This isn’t a full reset. You’re not starting from scratch. Instead, you’ll take what you’ve built and place it inside a more complete, better-organized environment.
What you’re building
The goal here isn’t to use every AWS tool available. That would only complicate things. Instead, we’re aiming for a setup that gives your app a solid foundation—something reliable, secure, and flexible enough to handle more traffic, more features, and more users.
You’ll still use EC2 and S3—but now, they’ll live inside a setup that’s been intentionally designed to support them. Here’s how the pieces come together.
A private network with VPC
We’ll start by setting up a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)—basically your own private corner of the AWS network. Instead of putting everything directly on the internet, you’ll organize your infrastructure so that some parts are public and others are private.
- Public subnets will host components like your web server, which need to receive traffic from users online.
- Private subnets will hold sensitive services like your database, which shouldn’t be reachable from the internet.
We’ll also set up:
- An Internet Gateway, which allows resources in your public subnet (like the web server) to send and receive traffic over the internet.
- A Route Table, which defines how traffic is directed within your VPC—ensuring that each subnet knows how to reach other parts of your network or the internet when needed.
Note: In this guide, we won’t set up a NAT Gateway, mainly because it can add noticeable cost even in small test environments. But it’s worth knowing about. A NAT Gateway allows resources in a private subnet—like your database—to make outbound connections (for example, downloading updates) without being exposed to incoming traffic from the internet. In production environments, it’s commonly used to strike a balance between security and functionality.
Rebuilding EC2 and reconnecting S3
You’ve already worked with EC2 to run your app and used S3 to store image files. Now, it’s time to rebuild EC2 inside your VPC and make sure it still connects smoothly to S3.
This time, the EC2 instance will sit in a public subnet, secured by a security group that controls what traffic is allowed. Once everything’s set up, you’ll create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) so you can reuse the configuration later without repeating the setup from scratch.
With EC2 now inside your VPC, you’ll also reconnect it to S3. This involves checking that your app can still upload and access media files the same way it did before. The storage setup doesn’t change—S3 remains your place for static content—but making sure it works inside your new network is key.
Moving the database to RDS
Running a database on EC2 works, but it puts a lot on your shoulders: updates, backups, tuning, and troubleshooting. Now’s the time to shift that responsibility to Amazon RDS, a managed database service that does most of the heavy lifting for you.
The RDS instance will be placed in a private subnet, keeping it isolated and secure. Your EC2 server will be the only one with permission to talk to it. That’s exactly how production environments are structured.
Getting ready for growth with a Load Balancer
If your app starts getting more traffic—or if you just want to be prepared—it’s smart to spread the load across more than one server. We’ll add an Application Load Balancer (ALB) that automatically distributes incoming traffic. This helps with performance and ensures that your app stays available even if one of your servers goes down.
You don’t have to scale right away. But by including a load balancer now, you’re giving yourself room to grow when the time comes.
What comes next
Now that you know where you’re headed, it’s time to build the pieces, one step at a time. You’ll prep your app, set up the network, rebuild your EC2 server inside the VPC, reconnect it to S3, and connect to a new RDS database.
By the end of this process, you won’t just understand how AWS services work—you’ll have used them to create a working, scalable cloud environment. And when you see it all come together, you’ll realize how far you’ve come.