About this NextJS Application

This documentation is intended to provide a comprehensive guide to deploying, managing, and understanding the NextJS application that powers our User Dashboard. The dashboard is designed to provide a seamless user interface, allowing users to interact with our core services efficiently. The application is hosted on AWS App Runner for high availability and scalable performance.

Architecture overview

The User Dashboard is a NextJS application, which is a React framework capable of server-side rendering. The application is containerized and deployed on AWS App Runner, a fully managed service that provides automatic scaling, security, and monitoring.

Key Components:

• NextJS Application: The core of the user interface, written in React with server-side rendering.
• AWS App Runner: Manages the deployment, scaling, and operations of the NextJS application.
• Data Sources: APIs or databases that the NextJS application interacts with.

Prerequisites

Before working with the User Dashboard, ensure that you have the following:

• AWS Account with appropriate permissions.
• Knowledge of NextJS and React.
• Basic understanding of containerization and AWS App Runner.

1. Clone the repo

git clone git@github.com:boyney123/eventcatalog.git
cd eventcatalog

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Run the application locally

npm run dev

Deployment Process

The application is containerized and deployed on AWS App Runner. Follow these steps to deploy or update the application:

1. Build the Docker Image:

   • Ensure you have a Dockerfile in your project root.
   • Build your container image:

     docker build -t user-dashboard .
     

2. Push the Image to a Registry (e.g., Amazon ECR):

   • Tag your image:

     docker tag user-dashboard:latest [aws_account_id].dkr.ecr.[region].amazonaws.com/user-dashboard:latest
     

   • Push your image:

     docker push [aws_account_id].dkr.ecr.[region].amazonaws.com/user-dashboard:latest
     

3. Deploy on AWS App Runner:

   • Navigate to the AWS App Runner console.
   • Create a new service or update an existing service.
   • Choose the container image you pushed as the source.
   • Configure the service (CPU, memory, environment variables).
   • Deploy the service.

Best Practices

• Environment Variables: Keep sensitive information and configuration settings in environment variables.
• Logging and Monitoring: Utilize AWS CloudWatch for logging and monitoring the application's performance and health.
• Security: Regularly update dependencies to the latest version to avoid vulnerabilities. Implement necessary security groups and access roles in AWS.

Troubleshooting

• Application Errors: Check the application logs in AWS CloudWatch for any runtime errors or warnings.
• Deployment Issues: Ensure that the Docker image is built and pushed correctly. Verify the configurations in AWS App Runner.
• Performance Problems: Monitor the metrics in AWS CloudWatch. Consider scaling policies and optimize your application code.

Conclusion

The User Dashboard is a critical component of our service architecture, providing a user-friendly interface for interacting with our services. By following the guidelines and processes outlined in this documentation, you can ensure a smooth operation and maintenance of the application on AWS App Runner.

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