AWS S3 WITH GITLAB CI/CD: SYNC DEPLOYMENT FILES

After optimizing how we build and run Docker containers, I ran into another bottleneck in the CI/CD process: managing deployment configuration files.

Why Use S3 in CI/CD?

1. Current Challenges:

• ❌ EC2 must be online → If the instance is stopped or unreachable, deployment fails.
• ❌ Security risk → Requires storing SSH private keys in CI/CD pipeline.

1. Benefits of S3 Integration:

• ✅ S3 is always available → EC2 can fetch the file at startup, even if it was offline during deployment.
• ✅ No SSH required → This removes the need to store private SSH keys in GitLab CI/CD.

Implementation Steps

1. Create S3 Bucket

2. Update GitLab CI/CD Variables

4. Create Parameter for S3 Bucket

5. Update IAM Role with custom policy

Benefits Achieved

1. Centralized Storage:

• All configs in one place
• Easy to manage multiple environments
• Version control for configurations

1. Rollback Capability:

• Each config version preserved
• Quick recovery from issues
• Full audit trail

1. Security:

• No public access
• IAM role-based access
• Encrypted storage

Resources

• AWS S3
• AWS IAM Roles

Next Steps: Implementing CloudWatch Monitoring

• Setting up CloudWatch