Required resources for Amazon ECS canary deployments
To use a canary deployment with managed traffic shifting, your service must use one of the following features:
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Elastic Load Balancing
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Service Connect
The following list provides a high-level overview of what you need to configure for Amazon ECS canary deployments:
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Your service uses an Application Load Balancer, Network Load Balancer, or Service Connect. Configure the appropriate resources.
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Application Load Balancer - For more information, see Application Load Balancer resources for blue/green, linear, and canary deployments.
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Network Load Balancer - For more information, see Network Load Balancer resources for Amazon ECS blue/green, linear and canary deployments.
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Service Connect - For more information, see Service Connect resources for Amazon ECS blue/green, linear, and canary deployments.
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Set the service deployment controller to
ECS. -
Configure the deployment strategy as
canaryin your service definition. -
Optionally, configure additional parameters such as:
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Bake time for the new deployment
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The percentage of traffic to route to the new service revision during the canary phase.
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The duration to wait during the canary phase before shifting the remaining traffic to the new service revision.
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CloudWatch alarms for automatic rollback
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Deployment lifecycle hooks (these are Lambda functions that run at specified deployment stages)
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Best practices
Follow these best practices for successful Amazon ECS lcanary deployments:
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Ensure your application can handle both service revisions running simultaneously.
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Plan for sufficient cluster capacity to handle both service revisions during deployment.
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Test your rollback procedures before implementing them in production.
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Configure appropriate health checks that accurately reflect your application's health.
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Set a bake time that allows sufficient testing of the green deployment.
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Implement CloudWatch alarms to automatically detect issues and trigger rollbacks.
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Use lifecycle hooks to perform automated testing at each deployment stage.
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Start with small canary percentages (5-10%) to minimize impact if issues occur.
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Set appropriate evaluation periods that allow sufficient time for meaningful performance data collection.
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Implement comprehensive monitoring with CloudWatch alarms for automated rollback triggers.
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Configure health checks that accurately reflect your application's readiness and functionality.
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Monitor both technical metrics (response time, error rate) and business metrics during evaluation.
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Ensure your application can handle traffic splitting without session or state issues.
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Plan rollback procedures and test them regularly to ensure they work when needed.
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Schedule canary deployments during business hours when teams can monitor and respond.
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Validate changes thoroughly in staging environments before canary deployment.
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Document clear procedures for manual intervention and rollback decisions.
