AWS App2Container (A2C) I Overview.

AWS App2Container (A2C) Overview

AWS App2Container (A2C) is a command-line tool that helps enterprises modernize legacy applications by containerizing existing applications running on virtual machines (VMs...whether it's on-premises or an EC2 VM.) or bare metal servers without requiring code changes.

 Key Features

Feature	Description
Automated Containerization.	Automatically identifies application artifacts and dependencies.
Supports Multiple Platforms.	Works with Java and .NET (Windows/Linux) applications.
Generates Docker Artifacts.	Produces Dockerfiles and container images.
Infrastructure-as-Code Output.	Generates ECS, EKS, and App Runner deployment artifacts.
Integration with AWS Services.	Integrated with AWS CodeBuild, ECS, EKS, and App Runner.

 Supported Application Types

• Java Applications:
• Standalone JARs
• Spring Boot
• Tomcat-based applications
• .NET Applications:
• .NET Framework (Windows only)
• .NET Core (Windows/Linux)

 How AWS App2Container Works

1. Install A2C CLI on the VM or server hosting the application.
2. Inventory and Analyze the application.
3. Containerize:
• A2C creates a Dockerfile, container image, and ECS/EKS/App Runner artifacts.
4. Deploy:
• Deploy the container image to ECS, EKS, or App Runner using generated IaC templates.

Output Artifacts

• Dockerfile
• ECS Task Definition / EKS Kubernetes YAML / App Runner config
• CloudFormation templates
• Container image (built locally or with CodeBuild)

 Deployment Targets

Service	Use Case
Amazon ECS.	Simple container orchestration
Amazon EKS.	Kubernetes-based orchestration
App Runner.	Serverless container deployments

Benefits

• Speeds up container adoption.
• Reduces migration effort.
• Maintains application behavior.
• Simplifies deployment on AWS container services.

 Example Use Case

A company with a legacy Java app running on EC2:

• Installs A2C on the EC2 instance.
• Runs A2C to detect and containerize the app.
• Deploys it to ECS using generated CloudFormation templates.

Here is a step-by-step guide with commands to help use AWS App2Container (A2C) to containerize an existing application.

Step-by-Step Guide to Use AWS App2Container

Prerequisites:

·        EC2 instance or on-premise VM where twtech app is running.

·        AWS CLI configured (aws configure)

·        Admin privileges on the host

·        Docker installed

·        App2Container installed

Step 1: Install App2Container

Download and install A2C on the application server:

Linux:

# bash

curl -O https://d1.awsstatic.com/managed-files/AWS-App2Container-Installer.zip

unzip AWS-App2Container-Installer.zip

sudo ./install.sh

Windows (PowerShell):

# powershell

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://d1.awsstatic.com/managed-files/AWS-App2Container-Installer.zip -OutFile A2C.zip

Expand-Archive -Path A2C.zip -DestinationPath .

.\install.ps1

Step 2: Initialize A2C

Initialize A2C to set up the workspace:

# bash 

app2container init

twtech will be prompted to configure:

• Application artifact storage (e.g., S3 bucket)
• AWS Region
• Container registry (ECR)
• IAM roles or profiles

Step 3: Inventory the Running Applications

Scan for running apps on the instance:

# bash

app2container inventory

This returns a list of detected applications with an application-id.

Step 4: Analyze the Application

Choose an application ID from the inventory and analyze it:

# bash

app2container analyze --application-id app-id

This gathers dependencies, open ports, and startup processes.

Step 5: Containerize the Application

Generate Dockerfile, ECS/EKS/App Runner artifacts, and optionally build image:

# bash

app2container containerize --application-id app-id

twtech will get:

• Dockerfile
• Deployment YAML/JSON
• Image (if built locally)

Step 6: Deploy the Container (Optional)

twtech can deploy using one of the provided CloudFormation templates.

To ECS:

# bash

app2container generate app-deployment --application-id app-id --deploy ECS

To EKS:

#  bash

app2container generate app-deployment --application-id app-id --deploy EKS

To App Runner (only for web apps):

# bash

app2container generate app-deployment --application-id app-id --deploy apprunner

Then use the generated CloudFormation template to deploy:

# bash

aws cloudformation deploy --template-file twtech-a2c-template.yaml --stack-name twtech-app-stack

After Deployment

• twtech application is now running in a container.
• Logs, health checks, and scaling are managed by the target AWS service.