COMEM+ Architecture & Deployment course

In this course you will learn:

• How to deploy applications on a Linux server on an IaaS platform (Amazon Web Services).
• How to deploy applications on a PaaS platform (Heroku).

In pursuit of this goal, you will learn:

• How to use the command line and version control.
• The basics of Unix system administration and cloud computing architectures.
• Good security practices related to system administration and web applications.

This course is a COMEM+ web development course taught at HEIG-VD.

• Plan
• What you will need
• Exercises
• Useful links
• References

Plan

• Introduction
  • Command line
  • Secure Shell (SSH)
• Version control
  • Version control with Git
  • Git branching
  • Collaborating with Git
• Security
  • Open Web Application Security Project
  • OWASP Top 10 - The Ten Most Critical Web Application Security Risks
• Basic deployment
  • Cloud computing
  • Linux
  • Unix basics & administration
  • Unix processes
  • Unix networking
  • APT
• How to improve our basic deployment
• Advanced deployment
  • Twelve-factor app
  • Unix environment variables
  • Linux process management
  • Domain Name System (DNS)
  • Reverse proxying
  • TLS/SSL certificates
• Automated deployment
  • Shell scripting
  • Git hooks
• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
  • Heroku
• Software development (extra)
  • Continuous software development
  • Automated testing (2018)
  • Automated testing (2020)
    • YouTube: Expecting Profesionnalism – Robert C. Martin
    • YouTube: GOTO 2017 – The Scribe's Oath – Robert C. Martin
    • YouTube: The Future of Programming – Robert C. Martin

What you will need

• A Unix CLI (Git Bash is included with Git on Windows)
• Git
• A free GitHub account
• Google Chrome (recommended, any browser with developer tools will do)
• A free Heroku account
• The Heroku CLI

Exercises

• Version control
  • Collaborative exercise (graded)
  • Clone a repository from a server
  • Push a repository to a server
• Unix
  • Permissions
    • Solutions
  • Pipeline
• Basic deployment
  • Run your own virtual server on Microsoft Azure
  • Deploy a PHP application with SFTP
    • Diagram
• Advanced deployment
  • Deploy a PHP application with Git
    • Diagram
  • Configure a PHP application through environment variables
    • Diagram
  • Manage a PHP application with systemd as a Process Manager
    • Diagram
  • Configure a domain name
  • Deploy a static site with nginx
    • Diagram
  • Deploy a PHP application with nginx and the FastCGI process manager
    • Diagram
  • Provision a Let's Encrypt TLS certificate with Certbot
  • Set up an automated deployment with Git hooks
    • Diagram
  • Deploy a web application with a database (graded, not yet available)
• Platform-as-a-Service deployment
  • Deploy a PHP web page to Heroku
  • Deploy web applications with a database to Heroku
• Extra
  • Deploy the One Chat Room web application (Node.js & MongoDB)
    • Diagram
  • Deploy the Big Browser web application (Node.js & Redis)
  • Deploy the WOPR web application (Ruby & Redis)
  • Deploy the RPS web application (Node.js & PostgreSQL)
  • Configure nginx as a load balancer

Useful links

• Command line cheatsheet
• System administration cheatsheet
• Git cheatsheet
• Final Test Matter

References

These are the main references used throughout this course. More detailed and additional links to various online articles and documentation can be found at the end of each subject.

• The Linux Documentation Project
  • Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
• SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide - Daniel J. Barrett, Richard E. Silverman, Robert G. Byrnes
• The Git Book
  • Chapter 1 - Getting Started
  • Chapter 2 - Git Basics
  • Chapter 3 - Git Branching
  • Chapter 5 - Distributed Git
  • Chapter 8 - Customizing Git - Git Hooks
• Open Web Application Security Project
  • OWASP Top Ten
• Ops School Curriculum
  • Sysadmin 101
  • Unix Fundamentals 101
  • Unix Fundamentals 201
  • Networking 101
  • Networking 201
• The Internet Explained From First Principles
• The Twelve-Factor App
• Systemd Manual
  • Unit Configuration
  • Service Configuration
• nginx documentation
  • Beginner's Guide
  • Configuring HTTPS Servers
• Heroku Dev Center

Wikipedia is also often referenced, namely these and related articles:

• Secure Shell
• Cloud Computing
• Internet Protocol
  • IP Address
  • Port (Computer Networking)
• Domain Name System
• Environment Variable
• Reverse Proxy
• Public Key Certificate