FormKiQ Platform Deployment Manager

Overview

The FormKiQ Deployment Manager is a CloudFormation-based solution that provisions an EC2 instance with the necessary permissions to deploy and manage FormKiQ resources in your AWS environment.

IAM Roles and Policies

EC2InstanceRole Purpose: This role enables the EC2 instance to function as a deployment manager. It allows the instance to interact with AWS services necessary for managing FormKiQ deployments.

DeploymentManagerPolicy Purpose: This policy is attached to the EC2InstanceRole and grants specific permissions for deployment management:

• CloudFormation permissions to create and manage stacks
• Logging permissions for operational monitoring
• Security group configuration for network access
• IAM permissions to create and manage service roles
• Resource tagging permissions for organization

Network Configuration

The deployment involves these network elements:

• Runs in your specified VPC (provided as parameter)
• Uses your specified Subnet (provided as parameter)
• Creates a Security Group (HttpSecurityGroup) that allows: Inbound HTTP traffic on port 80 from anywhere (0.0.0.0/0) Outbound HTTPS traffic on port 443 to anywhere (0.0.0.0/0)

Deployment Architecture

• The CloudFormation template deploys a single EC2 instance in your specified VPC/subnet
• The EC2 instance has the necessary IAM permissions to function as a deployment manager
• The EC2 instance exposes an HTTP interface on port 80 for management functions

Launch and Configuration Guide

Launch the CloudFormation Stack:

1. Navigate to CloudFormation in your AWS Console
2. Create new stack using the provided template
3. Specify the required parameters:
   • VpcId: Select an existing VPC where you want to deploy
   • SubnetId: Select a subnet within the VPC (must have internet access)
   • AmiId: Use the default or specify a custom AMI
   • InstanceType: Select your preferred instance size

Access the Deployment Manager:

• Once the stack deployment is complete, locate the PublicIP and InstanceId in the stack outputs
• Open a web browser and navigate to: http://[PublicIP]

Login to the Deployment Manager: Username: admin Password: [InstanceId] (the EC2 instance ID from the CloudFormation outputs)

Using the Deployment Manager:

• View existing FormKiQ instances deployed to this account
• Create new CloudFormation stacks to deploy new FormKiQ instances
• Monitor and manage your FormKiQ deployments from a central interface

AWS Resource Cost Breakdown

The CloudFormation template creates these billable resources:

• 1 EC2 instance (t3.small by default): $0.0208 per hour (~$15/month)
• 1 Security Group (no cost)
• IAM roles and policies (no cost)

Cost Optimization:

• You can select t3.micro ($0.0104/hour) for lower cost
• Or select t3.medium ($0.0416/hour) for higher performance
• All costs are based on US East (N. Virginia) region pricing

Service Limits Consideration

This deployment uses minimal AWS resources and should not approach any service limits:

• 1 EC2 instance
• 1 Security Group
• 1 IAM Role with attached policies

Data Encryption Configuration

The DeploymentManagerPolicy includes permissions that allow the EC2 instance to:

• Create KMS Keys for encryption purposes
• Configure S3 Encryption settings on buckets

These permissions enable the deployment manager to properly configure encrypted resources when needed.

Troubleshooting and Support

• Check CloudFormation stack events for detailed error messages
• For EC2 instance issues, check the system logs
• If you cannot log in, verify you are using the correct instance ID as the password
• For additional support, contact FormKiQ support

Clean-up Instructions

To remove all resources when no longer needed:

• Log in to the Deployment Manager and remove any FormKiQ deployments
• Delete the CloudFormation stack that deployed the FormKiQ Deployment Manager
• Verify all resources have been properly removed