Running Nuxeo on AWS Fargate: decisions before the first deployment

Define what the first deployment must prove

A running container is a useful milestone. For a content platform, the more meaningful question is whether the application can restart, reconnect to its dependencies, and retain the content it is meant to manage.

Treat the first Fargate deployment as a proof of concept with an explicit boundary. Record the Nuxeo release, container image, required add-ons, and the dependency architecture you intend to evaluate. Do not describe an untested task definition as a production reference architecture.

Separate application access from container startup permissions

Amazon ECS uses a task execution role for work performed by its container and Fargate agents, such as supported image-pull and logging operations. Application code uses the task IAM role when it needs AWS permissions. Review those roles separately rather than granting one broad permission set to cover both concerns. Execution role, task role

For the proof of concept, document each required service interaction and which role is responsible. Verify access using the running workload, not just an administrator's successful console operation.

Plan persistence before importing content

Fargate's local task storage is ephemeral. It is not a substitute for a durable content-storage design. AWS documents that the container image also consumes part of that ephemeral capacity. Account for temporary processing space as well as the image itself. Fargate task storage

Create an explicit inventory of the state your chosen Nuxeo deployment requires. Identify what lives outside the task, how it is backed up, and how a replacement task reconnects to it. Review that inventory against the Nuxeo release's supported architecture before deciding that the deployment is suitable for business use.

Test the network paths you intend to operate

List the paths needed for startup and normal operation: retrieving the image, obtaining configuration, connecting to platform dependencies, emitting logs, and serving requests. Verify name resolution, routes, and access controls for those paths in the intended network configuration.

A task that works only after opening broad network access has not yet proved the intended design.

Use a restart as the first acceptance test

Create a small representative content sample, stop the task, and bring up a replacement. Verify that the application can retrieve the expected documents and binaries, that permissions behave as intended, and that logs explain any startup failure.

Then test representative file sizes and processing workloads. Use the observed CPU, memory, temporary-storage use, and response behavior to inform sizing. Keep the results tied to the tested configuration.

Discuss platform architecture and operating requirements with Maretha's implementation team.