Jenkins in Cloud: AWS Setup

1. Introduction

Jenkins is a widely used open-source automation server that helps automate parts of software development related to building, testing, and deploying. When integrated with cloud computing, especially AWS, it offers enhanced scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

2. Key Concepts

• **Jenkins**: An automation server used to automate the software development process.
• **AWS (Amazon Web Services)**: A comprehensive cloud platform offering various services including computing, storage, and networking.
• **EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)**: A web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud.

3. AWS Setup Process

3.1 Creating an AWS Account

To get started, you need an AWS account. Go to AWS and create an account.

3.2 Launching an EC2 Instance

1. Log in to your AWS Management Console.
2. Navigate to the EC2 Dashboard.
3. Click on "Launch Instance".
4. Select an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), e.g., Ubuntu Server.
5. Choose an instance type, e.g., t2.micro.
6. Configure instance details as required.
7. Add storage as needed.
8. Configure security group to allow ports 8080 (Jenkins) and 22 (SSH).
9. Review and launch the instance.

3.3 Installing Jenkins

Once your EC2 instance is running, SSH into it using the following command:

ssh -i "your-key.pem" ubuntu@your-ec2-public-dns

Now, you can install Jenkins by executing the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk
wget -q -O - https://pkg.jenkins.io/debian/jenkins.io.key | sudo apt-key add -
echo deb http://pkg.jenkins.io/debian-stable binary/ | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jenkins.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install jenkins
sudo systemctl start jenkins

3.4 Accessing Jenkins

Open your web browser and navigate to http://your-ec2-public-dns:8080. You will be prompted to unlock Jenkins using the initial admin password found with:

sudo cat /var/lib/jenkins/secrets/initialAdminPassword

4. Best Practices

• Always secure your Jenkins instance with proper authentication and authorization.
• Regularly update Jenkins and its plugins to the latest versions.
• Use IAM roles for AWS services to restrict permissions as needed.
• Backup your Jenkins configuration regularly.

5. FAQ