Name: Deploying a Custom Web Application with Docker & Docker Compose on AWS EC2
Rating: 1.3 (8622 reviews)
Author: teetoflame

Prerequisites

An AWS Account with an active EC2 instance (Ubuntu 22.04 recommended)
A security group that allows inbound traffic on ports 22 (SSH), 8080, 8081, 8082 (HTTP)
A Docker Hub Account (Sign up at Docker Hub)
An SSH key to connect to your EC2 instance

Step 1: Set Up an EC2 Instance & Install Docker

Launch an EC2 instance (Ubuntu 22.04 recommended).
Connect to the instance via SSH:

   ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@your-ec2-public-ip

Update the system:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install necessary dependencies:

   sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

Add Docker’s official GPG key:

   curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

Add Docker’s repository:

   echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install Docker:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

Verify Docker installation:

   docker --version

Enable Docker to run without sudo (optional):

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   newgrp docker

Note: If you enable this, log out and log back in for changes to take effect.

Step 2: Create a Web Application

Create a project directory:

   mkdir docker-project && cd docker-project

Create a folder for web files:

   mkdir web

Create an index.html file:

   nano web/index.html

Add the following content:

   <html>
   <head><title>My Docker App</title></head>
   <body><h1>Hello from Docker!</h1></body>
   </html>

Step 3: Create a Dockerfile

Create the Dockerfile:

   nano Dockerfile

Add the following:

   FROM nginx:latest
   COPY web /usr/share/nginx/html
   EXPOSE 80
   CMD ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]

Build the Docker image:

   docker build -t my-web-app .

Run the container:

   docker run -d -p 8080:80 my-web-app

Test in browser: Visit http://your-ec2-public-ip:8080 You should see: "Hello from Docker!"

Step 4: Install Docker Compose

Download the latest Docker Compose binary:

   sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Apply execute permissions:

   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Verify installation:

   docker-compose --version

Step 5: Create a Docker Compose File

Create docker-compose.yml:

   nano docker-compose.yml

Add the following content:

   version: '3.8'

   services:
     web:
       build: .
       ports:
         - "8081:80"
       depends_on:
         - db

     db:
       image: mysql:latest
       restart: always
       environment:
         MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpassword
         MYSQL_DATABASE: testdb
         MYSQL_USER: user
         MYSQL_PASSWORD: password
       ports:
         - "3307:3306"

Run Docker Compose:

   docker-compose up -d

Verify running containers:

   docker ps

Step 6: Push the Image to Docker Hub

Log in to Docker Hub:

   docker login

Tag the image:

   docker tag my-web-app your-dockerhub-username/my-web-app:latest

Push the image:

   docker push your-dockerhub-username/my-web-app:latest

Step 7: Deploy on a New EC2 Instance

Launch a new Ubuntu EC2 instance.
SSH into the new instance:

   ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@new-ec2-public-ip

Install Docker:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

Log in to Docker Hub:

   docker login

Pull the image:

   docker pull your-dockerhub-username/my-web-app:latest

Run the container:

   docker run -d -p 8082:80 your-dockerhub-username/my-web-app:latest

Test in browser: Visit http://new-ec2-public-ip:8082

Deliverables

Dockerfile
docker-compose.yml
Screenshot of the web app running inside the container

This guide ensures a complete hands-on learning experience, covering Docker installation, building images, running containers, Docker Compose, pushing to Docker Hub, and deploying on a new server.