Multi-Tier Option

You will be taken to the Create Database page. The first choice you will have is between Standard Create, which allows you to set a full range of configuration parameters, or Easy Create, which sets most of these parameters to defaults. We recommend Easy Create in most cases.

The next section offers you a choice of several database types. Kill Bill can work with any database type that is mysql or postgres compatible. For robust production use, Amazon Aurora is probably a good choice. Here we will illustrate the simpler steps setting up a MariaDB database.

The next choice determines the instance size. We suggest the Production option as this will provide the most robust configuration.

The last section asks you to:

When the password is setup and confirmed, click Create Database in the lower right corner. You will return to the main Databases screen, which should now look like this:

This display shows that your database is starting. After a few minutes, the status will change to Available (You may need to reload the page to see this). At this time you can click on the database name to get more information, including the full name of the instance.

On the page that appears you should see a panel named Connectivity and Security. The left side of this panel shows the full name of the endpoint, which you will need shortly, and the port number, which is normally 3306.

Lastly, on the Connectivity and Security panel, locate and click on the link for the default VPC security group. You will need to add an inbound security rule, because the database by default does not allow external access. In the panel for this group, click on Inbound Rules and select Edit Inbound Rules. Next click on Add rule. In the Type column select MYSQL/Aurora. The port will be set to 3306 automatically. In the Source column, click on the search icon and select 0.0.0.0/0. Finally, click on Save Rules in the bottom right. Your database is ready to go.

To start the installation process, point your browser to the Kill Bill AMI at AWS Marketplace .

You should see the following image at the top of your screen:

Click Continue to Subscribe. The next page will give the AWS Terms and Conditions:

Accept the terms if asked. You will then see a new message confirming that you have subscribed. Next, click Continue to Configuration.

The next page will give several configuration options:

Be sure to select the region you plan to operate in. In most cases you should accept the other defaults. Then click Continue to Launch.

The next page will give you several options for the launch method. We recommend that you choose Launch through EC2.

All other options will disappear. Click Launch.

The next page is headed Launch an Instance. There ar several things you will need to do here.

First, at the top right, select the number of instances you will use. We recommend 2. You can add more later.

Next, scroll down to the middle of this page, to the box titled Key Pair (login) Here you are asked to choose or create a key pair.

The key pair provides the credentials you will need to login to your EC2 instance. For details about key pairs, see the AWS documentation. We recommend that you create a new key pair. Click Create Key Pair to display a pane to be used for the creation. Give the key pair a simple, easy to remember name such as My-Key-Pair. Do not change the other options on this pane. Then click Download Key Pair. Important: You must save the private key that will be generated in this step. If you lose this key, you will not be able to login to your instance.

Finally, scroll to the bottom and open the section labeled Advanced Details. You will see a long list of settings. At to the very bottom of this list is a box headed User Settings. Copy your configuration file into this box.

When the key pair is generated, click Launch Instances. You should see the screen below:

Your instances are finally launching! To follow what is happening on the EC2 Dashboard, scroll all the way down to the bottom, and click View Instance at the bottom right. This will take you to the Instances screen which is part of the EC2 Dashboard.

In a short time, the Instance State for each instance should indicate Running. You will need to scroll to the right to see all of the information available about your instances. In particular, make a note of the Availability Zone (such as us-east-1a) assigned to each instance. You will need this information later.

The next step is to scroll down in the menu on the left side to select Security Groups. You should see a list of two or more groups. Select the group whose name begins with Kill Bill on AWS, then scroll to the bottom and select the tab for Inbound Rules. You should see:

These rules enable the ports that must be open to access KAUI and Kill Bill from a browser. However, for access through the ELB these ports will be different. In addition, to enable direct login to your instance using SSH, you need to add one more port.

Click on Edit Inbound Rules. then do the following:

Your Inbound Rules should now look like this:

Now that your instances are set up, you need to ensure that you can login to them for configuration and maintenance when needed. To login, use the secure shell command:

ssh -i PRIVATE_KEY.pem ubuntu@INSTANCE_IP

Here PRIVATE_KEY is the pathname where you have stored the private key that was downloaded when you generated your key pair, and INSTANCE_IP is the IPV4 address for any one of your instances as described earlier. The private key will not work unless its access controls are set to readable by the owner only.

On Windows versions before Windows 10, you may need to download a program called PuTTY to enable ssh. On Windows 10 ssh is available but may need to be activated through the Settings screen.

The first time you login, you will see a warning message asking if you want to add this host to your list of hosts. You should answer yes.

You will now be able to explore your instance and perform various configuration and maintenance tasks. To exit from your login, type exit.

To begin, from the EC2 dashboard scroll down the left-hand menu and select Load Balancing / Load Balancers. Then click the Create Load Balancer button at the upper left.

You will be given a choice of several load balancer types. The type we will use is Application Load Balancer. Click on the Create button in the Application Load Balancer box. This will bring up the page titled Create Application Load Balancer. This is your master page for the load balancer creation.

In the section headed Basic Configuration, give your load balancer a name. Do not change the other settings.

In the Network Mappings section, select at least two availability zones. These must include the avail ability zones assigned to each of your EC2 instances (which you took note of earlier).

The next section is headed Security Groups. Click on create new security group. This will open a page headed Create security group.

Art this time you should decide whether you want to use the secure protocol HTTPS (based on TLS) or the unsecure protocol HTTP for users to access your system. The secure protocol is strongly recommended. However, this will require you to provide or create a certificate in a later step.

Enter a name and a brief description for your security group. The description cannot be empty. Then setup the Inboud Rules as follows:

These rules assume you are using HTTPS. If you are using HTTP, the port for the second rule should be 80 instead of 443.

When your security group is set, return to the master page and select this group from the dropdown list. You may need to use the refresh icon to make your mew group appear in the list. Delete any other group that remains selected.

The next section is titled Listeners and Routing. This is the last section you will have to deal with, but it is very important. This is where you will setup the Listeners that will receive requests for Kaui or Kill Bill and pass them on to the appropriate modules in your EC2 instances.

Initially you will see one listener, set with protocol HTTP and Port 80. If you are using HTTP this is correct. If you are using HTTPS, change the protocol to HTTPS and the port to 443. If you choose HTTPS, a new section will open up, headed Secure listener settings:

Here you will be required to create or provide an X.509 SSL Certificate. If you already have a certificate you can identify it or upload it here. Otherwise we recommend you click on Request a New Certificate from ACM. This will enable you to create a certificate using the Amazon Certificate Manager. Follow the steps described for the ACM in Using HTTPS, then return to this page and proceed to the next step. In any case the Security Policy should not be changed.

Next you will need to click on Add Listener to create a second Listener. No matter whether you are using HTTP or HTTPS, this listener witt use port 8443.

The next step is to identify the target instances for your load balancer, which are collected into a target group. Each listener will have a separate target group. Note that the display for each listener contain a link labeled Create target group. Click on this link for the first listener. This will setup the routing for messages directed to Kaui.

Your group will consist of all of the instances you have launched. First, create the group, give it a simple name, and set the port to 3000:

Now click on Next, to open a page titled Register Targets. The purpose of this step is to identify the target instances that will be part of your target group. Initially, all your instances will be listed at the top. To register them, select them all and click Include as pending below. The instances will now be listed in the bottom section Then proceed to Next: Review. If all looks well, click on Create Target Group. This will bring you to the Target groups page, and your new group should appear.

Now return to the master page where you created the listeners. Click on the refresh icon for the first listener, then select your new target group from the dropdown list.

Next, you need to perform the same steps for the second listener. This listener will handle messages directed to the Kill Bill server. Click the link on the second listener labeled Create target group. Follow the same steps, setting the port this time to 8080.

When both target groups are setup, you will have a chance to review your settings, then proceed to the next section.

Check all settings, then click Create. Your load balancer will be created. Close the final page to see the Load Balancer list. The initial status for your new ELB will be provisioning. After a few minutes this will change to active.