Project overview
Our client needed to streamline and automate deployments for over 30 productive multi-tenant environments. Each tenant operated in its own AWS account, creating complexity in deployment management. Manual processes were time-consuming and error-prone. They required a secure, scalable and automated one-click deployment system.
Challenges
- Complex deployment processes: Manual deployments across multiple AWS accounts led to inconsistencies and high error rates.
- Scalability issues: The infrastructure had to scale effectively to support growing tenants.
- Security and compliance: Needed secure deployments while maintaining isolation between client environments.
- Operational overhead: A small SRE team managed deployments, making efficiency critical.
Proposed solution & architecture
Proposed solution & architecture
- Unified Techs designed and implemented a CI/CD pipeline that automated and standardized deployments across all client environments. Using AWS services and the AWS Cloud Development Kit with TypeScript, we delivered a one-click deployment capability that minimized manual work and reduced errors.
Continuous Integration
- Source control: Bitbucket repository triggers the pipeline when code changes are committed.
- Testing: Bitbucket Pipelines runs unit tests, lint checks and SonarQube static analysis.
- Artifact creation: Packaged application code and AWS CDK resources are uploaded to a centralized S3 bucket.
Continuous Deployment
- One-click deployment: AWS CodePipeline deploys the artifact to target environments upon upload to S3.
- Cross-account deployment: Securely manages deployments across 30+ AWS accounts using IAM roles and AWS CodeBuild.
- Environment-specific builds: Tailored configurations per client account ensure flexibility and compliance.
- Blast radius management: Environment-specific IAM roles limit deployment impact in case of failure.
Event-Driven Deployment Process
- Central AWS account: S3 triggers EventBridge when a new artifact is uploaded. EventBridge forwards deployment events to the correct AWS account.
- Target AWS account: EventBridge triggers a Lambda function (assets_tracker_lambda) that starts AWS CodeBuild. CodeBuild retrieves, extracts and deploys the correct artifact version.
Architecture
Metrics for success
- Deployment time reduction: 75% faster deployments using the one-click deployment model.
- Error rate: 90% fewer configuration and deployment errors.
- Consistency: 100% uniform deployments across all environments via AWS CDK and centralized artifacts.
- Operational efficiency: A small SRE team now manages 30+ environments with minimal manual work.
Lessons learned
- Scalable automation is key: Automation across multiple AWS accounts reduces errors and overhead.
- Security through isolation: Distinct accounts and environment-specific IAM roles improve compliance and security.
- Centralized artifact management: Using S3 as a single source of truth ensures deployment consistency.
- One-click deployment improves agility: A fully automated, single-action deployment process increases delivery speed and reduces human error.
Technologies used
AWS CDKTypeScriptAWS CodePipelineAWS CodeBuildAmazon EventBridgeAWS LambdaAmazon S3Bitbucket PipelinesSonarQubeIAM