AWS Elastic Beanstalk & Support Platforms.

 

Concept: AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Elastic Beanstalk is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) by AWS that automates the deployment, management, and scaling of web applications and services.

It allows twtech to instantiate an application by uploading code, and Beanstalk handles:

• Provisioning resources (EC2, ELB, Auto Scaling)
• Deploying the application
• Monitoring its health

twtech can deploy apps in languages like Java, .NET, Python, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, Go, and Docker.

 Key Features

Feature	Description
Platform Support	Supports multiple languages and frameworks
Infrastructure Management	Auto provisions EC2, RDS, Load Balancers, etc.
Environment Tiers	Web server (HTTP-based) or worker (background jobs)
Auto Scaling	Automatically scales instances up/down
Managed Updates	Can auto-apply patches to the environment
Monitoring	Integrates with CloudWatch and Health Dashboard
CI/CD Ready	Works with CodePipeline, Git, Jenkins, etc.
Environment Cloning	Duplicate environments easily for testing or blue/green deployments

 Setup Process (How It Works)

1. Prepare Application
• Zip the application code or use a Git repo.
• Include a Dockerrun.aws.json or Procfile if needed.
2. Create Environment
• Choose environment tier: Web Server or Worker.
• Choose platform (e.g., Node.js, Python, Tomcat).
3. Upload & Deploy
• Upload the application via AWS Console, EB CLI, or CI/CD pipeline.
4. Beanstalk Handles:
• Launching EC2, configuring Load Balancer, setting up Auto Scaling
• Provisioning RDS (optional)
• Application deployment
5. Monitor & Manage
• Use the Beanstalk dashboard, EB CLI, or CloudWatch.

 Benefits

Benefit	Description
Fast Deployment	Focus on code, not infrastructure
Auto Management	Handles patching, monitoring, logging
Scalability	Auto scaling built-in
Flexibility	Full access to underlying AWS resources if needed
Cost Control	Pay-as-you-go for resources used (not Beanstalk itself)
Easy Rollback	Supports application versioning and rollback

 Limitations

Limitation	Description
Less Control	Not ideal for fine-grained infrastructure customizations
Limited Customization	Compared to raw EC2, ECS, or EKS deployments
Cold Starts	New environments can take time to provision
Tight Coupling	To AWS ecosystem (no multi-cloud support)
Harder for Stateful Apps	Best suited for stateless or loosely stateful apps

 Use Cases

Use Case	Description
Web App Deployment	Quickly deploy websites or APIs using Django, Flask, Spring, Express.js, etc.
Proof of Concepts (PoC)	Rapid prototyping and testing
CI/CD Workflows	With AWS CodePipeline, CodeBuild, GitHub Actions
Startups/SMBs	No need to hire full DevOps teams
Educational Projects	Ideal for learning full-stack or backend development

 Example: Instantiating a Node.js App

# bash

# Step 1: Initialize Beanstalk in the project

eb init -p node.js my-node-app

# Step 2: Create environment and deploy

eb create dev-env

eb deploy

Elastic Beanstalk provisions EC2, ELB, sets up deployment, logs, etc.

Elastic Beanstalk – Supported Platforms (Runtime Environments)

AWS Elastic Beanstalk supports a variety of platforms, enabling twtech to deploy applications in different programming languages and frameworks. These are grouped into platform families, each with versioned managed environments.

Supported Platform Families (as of 2025)

Platform	Description
Node.js	For JavaScript server-side apps (Express.js, NestJS, etc.)
Python	Django, Flask, FastAPI, etc.
Java (Tomcat)	Java apps using Apache Tomcat
Java SE	Raw Java applications without a servlet container
.NET on Windows Server	ASP.NET, .NET Framework (Windows-only)
.NET Core on Linux	ASP.NET Core and .NET Core apps
PHP	Laravel, Symfony, etc.
Ruby	Rails, Sinatra, etc.
Go	Native Go web applications
Docker	Single-container or multi-container Docker apps (customizable)
Packer/Custom Platform	Bring user;'s own platform (via custom AMIs using Packer)
Multicontainer Docker (via ECS)	Supports Dockerrun.aws.json for multiple containers
Preconfigured Docker	Docker environments with predefined base images

 Legacy/Deprecated Platforms (Less Maintained)

Platform	Notes
GlassFish	Previously supported but deprecated
Windows Server 2012/2016	Older .NET environments—replaced by newer .NET Core and .NET 6+
Some older Python/Ruby versions	Deprecated due to security or EOL

 Custom Platforms (Advanced)

If twtech platform isn’t directly supported, Elastic Beanstalk allows twtech to:

·        Create custom platforms using Packer

·        Package and manage your own AMIs

·        Install and configure software via .ebextensions or platform hooks

 Platform Updates & Versions

·        Each platform has multiple versions (e.g., Node.js 20, Python 3.11).

·        twtech can configure Managed Platform Updates to keep its environment up to date automatically.

 How twtech Checks Latest Platform Versions

You can use the CLI:

#  bash

eb platform list

For more insights:

Visit:

 https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/platforms/platforms-supported.html