Containers and orchestration
Amazon ECS
AWS's managed container service, simpler than Kubernetes. Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) is AWS's own container orchestration service. It runs containers either on EC2 instances you manage or on AWS Fargate, where AWS runs the servers. It integrates directly with AWS load balancers, IAM, CloudWatch and Secrets Manager.
When it is the right choice
- You are on AWS and want containers without operating Kubernetes
- You run a moderate number of services with straightforward needs
- You prefer Fargate so there are no servers to patch
- Not portable to other clouds, and less flexible than Kubernetes for complex platforms
How we use it
- Define clusters, services and task definitions in Terraform
- Build blue/green or rolling deployments from GitHub Actions or GitLab CI
- Send logs and metrics to CloudWatch, Prometheus or Datadog with alerts on service health
- Right-size task CPU and memory from real usage to control Fargate costs
AWS
Docker
Terraform
GitHub ActionsServices
Where it fits in our work
From the blog
Critical Cloud System AlertsIs your cloud slow, costly, or insecure? Discover 5 critical cloud system alerts and see how DoneDeploy’s experts can fix issues and cut your costs.
Resource Optimization with Machine LearningLearn how machine learning optimizes cloud resources, balances performance and cost, and reduces expenses with DoneDeploy’s expert solutions.
Serverless MonitoringLearn the key metrics and tools for serverless monitoring and observability, including AWS CloudWatch and Datadog, to ensure optimal performance
Related articles
Critical Cloud System AlertsIs your cloud slow, costly, or insecure? Discover 5 critical cloud system alerts and see how DoneDeploy’s experts can fix issues and cut your costs.Resource Optimization with Machine LearningLearn how machine learning optimizes cloud resources, balances performance and cost, and reduces expenses with DoneDeploy’s expert solutions.Serverless MonitoringLearn the key metrics and tools for serverless monitoring and observability, including AWS CloudWatch and Datadog, to ensure optimal performanceQuestions
Amazon ECS: frequently asked
ECS or EKS?
ECS is simpler and fully AWS-managed, which suits most small and medium platforms. EKS makes sense when you need the Kubernetes ecosystem or portability.
Fargate or EC2 capacity?
Fargate removes server management. EC2 can be cheaper for steady, large workloads and is needed for GPUs.
Running Amazon ECS, or deciding whether to? Tell us what you have; the first consultation is free.
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