Case Study:
Setting up a Kubernetes Cluster on EC2 Instances using Ansible and Terraform

Introduction:
The client wanted to set up a highly available and scalable Kubernetes cluster in AWS EC2 instances for their production applications. The cluster was to include several components, such as etcd, Calico, Helm, Istio, NetApp NFS, Prometheus and Grafans for cluster monitoring, ElasticSearch, Logstash, and Kibana (ELK) for cluster logging. The client also wanted to secure the cluster through DEX and Gangway components and RBAC.

Solution:
To fulfill the client’s requirements, the following solution was implemented:

1. Terraform was used to set up the AWS infrastructure for the cluster. This ensured that the infrastructure was easily manageable, version controlled, and repeatable.
2. Ansible playbooks were created to automatically set up the Kubernetes cluster and install other components in the cluster. This allowed for easy and efficient management of the cluster components.
3. The cluster was set up with multiple master nodes to ensure high availability and scalability.
4. DEX and Gangway components and RBAC were used for cluster security, including authentication and authorization.
5. A CI/CD pipeline was implemented through Jenkins, allowing for efficient and streamlined deployment of applications.

Conclusion:
The Kubernetes cluster set up on EC2 instances using Ansible and Terraform met the client’s requirements and provided a highly available, scalable, and secure solution for their production applications. The use of Terraform and Ansible ensured that the infrastructure and components were easily manageable, and the CI/CD pipeline through Jenkins provided efficient deployment capabilities.

Case Study:
Modernizing Customer’s AWS Infrastructure with Eurus Consulting Services

Introduction:
Optimisers was engaged by a customer to modernize their AWS infrastructure. The initial phase of the project was focused on four key areas: integrating a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, evaluating and integrating a single-sign-on solution, moving from IAM users to IAM roles, and integrating OpenVPN with SSO if the chosen SSO solution had a LDAP/Active Directory endpoint.

Solution:
The following steps were taken to modernize the customer’s AWS infrastructure:
Integrating a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Solution:

The customer had two options to choose from: Option A) AWS Security Solutions (AWS GuardDuty, AWS Inspector, and AWS Security Hub) or Option B) AlertLogic SIEM Solution. The customer chose Option A and Optimisers integrated the AWS security solutions to provide comprehensive security visibility and protection for the customer’s AWS environment.

Evaluate and Integrate a Single-Sign On Solution:
Optimisers evaluated the customer’s requirements and recommended Okta or AWS SSO. The customer chose AWS SSO and Eurus integrated it with the customer’s AWS Console Login, providing a streamlined and secure login experience.

Move from IAM Users to IAM Roles:

1. Optimisers helped the customer move from IAM users to IAM roles for automated AWS API access. This provided enhanced security and management of AWS API access.
2. Integrating OpenVPN with SSO:
3. Optimisers integrated OpenVPN with SSO to provide secure access to the customer’s AWS resources.
4. After the initial phase, Optimisers worked with the customer to prioritize and plan other items from their DevOps backlog. This included advising on the current architecture and ongoing migration from EC2-based services to Lambda and helping with the adoption of App sync and Cognito.

We also carried out a Well-Architected Review on the customer’s AWS infrastructure, providing best practices and recommendations to improve the architecture, security, and reliability of the customer’s AWS environment.

Conclusion:
The modernizing project was a success and the customer was extremely satisfied with the results. The customer now had a secure and streamlined AWS infrastructure, with a comprehensive SIEM solution and single-sign-on solution, and was well on their way to adopting other AWS services to meet their business needs. Optimisers’ expertise and experience in AWS helped the customer achieve their goals and set the foundation for ongoing success.

The Customer would like to migrate their app to AWS. Currently the staging and prod environments are already containerized using Docker swarm. The Customer is currently using Jenkins for deployments. We will migrate the existing environment to AWS, setup a proper CI/CD pipeline with Gitlab, enable monitoring, and monitor the environment 24×7 for any issues. Customer will also like to migrate to Aurora as part of the migration

TEAMS & RESOURCES INVOLVED:

Sales Team = 1x
Project Management Team = 1x
DevOps Team = 3x
Client Team = 2x

We will be providing on-going and 24/7- support for the applications that Client currently has deployed on their AWS Account.

1) AWS Well-Architected Reviews

2) Review existing infrastructure for best practices

3) DevOps consulting services (10 Hours a Week)

4) 24×365 Tier-1 on Call Support Services

5) Production OS Patch Management with Systems Manager

TEAMS & RESOURCES INVOLVED:

Sales Team = 1x
Project Management Team = 1x
DevOps Team = 2x
Client Team = 2x

Customer is currently using Elastic beanstalk for the application, there is not deployment pipeline. Some of OperationsRx’s customers are requiring 24×7 support. Currently there are around 3 database servers, and six beanstalk severs. Aurora migration is in process, migration will be completed in two months. Customer is also looking to build infrastructure with best practices, and build a standby region using aurora.

TEAMS & RESOURCES INVOLVED:

Sales Team = 1x
Project Management Team = 1x
DevOps Team = 2x
Client Team = 2x
Layer 1 Team= 5x
Layer 2 team = 2

Client runs a personalized Sports Entertainment Platform. One of their products support automated creation of highlight reels. Client currently utilizes ECS (with Fargate) fort his. The response time required for ECS Task to come online was found to be unsatisfactory. We will help Client to implement a Customized Scaling mechanism on ECS which would bring down the response time and will also run in a cost-efficient manner. We will also provide 24×7 support for the current Production environment.

TEAMS & RESOURCES INVOLVED:

Sales Team = 1x
Project Management Team = 5x
DevOps Team = 1x

1.Setup Initial infrastructure assessment with Engineer using Well Architected Assessment

2.Carry out priorities in the Well Architected Assessment

3.Ongoing DevOps Support for timeline deliverables

4.24-hour on-call service and build runbooks

5.Standardize on build and deployment

6.Onboarding on nOps.io

7.Weekly reports delivered to your designated point of contact

TEAMS & RESOURCES INVOLVED:

Sales Team = 1x
Project Management Team = 1x
DevOps Team = 3x
Client Team = 3x
Layer 1 team = 5x