Using aws ec2 with amplify

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To integrate AWS EC2 with AWS Amplify, you would typically use AWS Amplify to host a frontend application, and then configure an EC2 instance to run a backend service or API that the frontend can communicate with. Below is a guide that will walk you through creating an EC2 instance using Pulumi and then provide a high-level overview of how you could connect this with an Amplify app.

### Create an EC2 Instance using Pulumi

To create an EC2 instance, you need to specify details such as the Amazon Machine Image (AMI), instance type, key pair, and security groups. Here's how this can be done using Pulumi with TypeScript:

```typescript
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

// Create a new security group for the EC2 instance to specify how it can be accessed
const securityGroup = new aws.ec2.SecurityGroup("my-security-group", {
    description: "Allow HTTP and SSH inbound traffic",
    ingress: [
        { protocol: "tcp", fromPort: 22, toPort: 22, cidrBlocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"] },
        { protocol: "tcp", fromPort: 80, toPort: 80, cidrBlocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"] },
        // Here you may want to add the port your backend service is going to use
    ],
});

// Find the latest Amazon Linux 2 AMI
const ami = aws.ec2.getAmi({
    filters: [{ name: "name", values: ["amzn2-ami-hvm-*"] }],
    owners: ["137112412989"], // This is the AWS owner ID for Amazon Linux 2 AMI
    mostRecent: true,
});

// Create an EC2 instance
const server = new aws.ec2.Instance("my-instance", {
    instanceType: "t2.micro",
    securityGroups: [securityGroup.name], // Refer the security group
    ami: ami.then(ami => ami.id),
    keyName: "my-key-pair", // Replace with your key pair name
});

// Export the public IP to access the instance
export const publicIp = server.publicIp;
```

### Connecting an EC2 Backend to an Amplify Frontend

After setting up your EC2 instance, you'll deploy your backend API or service to that instance. You'll typically bind this service to a port (like 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS) and ensure that your security group allows traffic to that port.

Then, you'll integrate this backend with your frontend Amplify app in one of these ways:
- **Environment Variables:** Configure environment variables in your Amplify frontend to point to the backend's public IP address or domain name.
- **API Gateway:** Alternatively, you might set up an API Gateway to create a more robust and stable endpoint for your backend that you would then call from your Amplify app.
  
You can manage and deploy the Amplify frontend using the Amplify Console directly, which simplifies continuous integration and deployment pipelines for your web and mobile applications.

Remember, EC2 for backend services and Amplify for frontend applications are two separate AWS services. Pulumi currently has no direct components for deploying to Amplify Console, as Amplify deployments are commonly done through the Amplify CLI or from source control via the Amplify Console directly.

To ensure secure communication between your Amplify frontend and your EC2 backend, you may want to look into setting up domain names and SSL certificates (ACM) for your services, or even consider creating a virtual private cloud (VPC) for your EC2 instances and setting up VPC endpoints for private access.

I hope this helps you grasp the basic idea behind using AWS EC2 with AWS Amplify and implementing it with Pulumi! If you need further guidance on creating specific backend services or configuring your Amplify frontend, AWS has extensive documentation and tutorials available.