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Assigning a FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) to an EC2 Instance Using Route 53

#r53 #ec2 #aws #cloudformation

In this guide, we’ll explore how to assign a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) to an EC2 instance running a web server using AWS Route 53. This process includes deploying CloudFormation templates, configuring Route 53, and ensuring the FQDN resolves to the EC2 instance’s public IP.

Overview

We aim to assign a domain name to a web server hosted on an EC2 instance. Instead of accessing the server using a public IP, we’ll use a friendly FQDN (e.g., www.cmcloudlab1589.info).

Key Benefits

  1. User-Friendly Access
    • The FQDN makes it easier for users to access the web server instead of remembering an IP address.

  2. Scalability
    • The setup can easily accommodate additional domains and services under the same hosted zone.

  3. AWS Automation
    • Using CloudFormation ensures repeatability and simplifies deployment.

Key Objectives:

  1. Deploy an EC2 instance running a web application.
  2. Create a Route 53 RecordSet in the existing public hosted zone.
  3. Ensure the FQDN resolves to the EC2 instance’s public IP.

Architecture
The architecture consists of:

  1. An EC2 instance running a web server.
  2. A Route 53 public-hosted zone with a Type A RecordSet pointing to the instance’s public IP.

Diagram:

Image description

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create a CloudFormation Template for the EC2 Instance

The following ec2.yaml file sets up an EC2 instance, including:

• A web server with httpd installed and configured.

• Security groups to allow HTTP (port 80) and SSH (port 22) traffic.

• An IAM role with S3 access to retrieve the index.html file for the web server.

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: 2010-09-09 #Description: [CET-004] EC2 with user data from CloudFormation. Parameters: InstanceType: Description: WebServer EC2 instance type. Type: String Default: t2.micro AllowedValues: - t1.micro - t2.nano - t2.micro - t2.small - t2.medium - t2.large - m1.small - m1.medium - m1.large - m1.xlarge - m2.xlarge - m2.2xlarge - m2.4xlarge - m3.medium - m3.large - m3.xlarge - m3.2xlarge - m4.large - m4.xlarge - m4.2xlarge - m4.4xlarge - m4.10xlarge - c1.medium - c1.xlarge - c3.large - c3.xlarge - c3.2xlarge - c3.4xlarge - c3.8xlarge - c4.large - c4.xlarge - c4.2xlarge - c4.4xlarge - c4.8xlarge - g2.2xlarge - g2.8xlarge - r3.large - r3.xlarge - r3.2xlarge - r3.4xlarge - r3.8xlarge - i2.xlarge - i2.2xlarge - i2.4xlarge - i2.8xlarge - d2.xlarge - d2.2xlarge - d2.4xlarge - d2.8xlarge - hi1.4xlarge - hs1.8xlarge - cr1.8xlarge - cc2.8xlarge - cg1.4xlarge Ec2Name: Description: Ec2 Resource name. Type: String BucketName: Description: BucketName. Default: ahmedsalem-testbuckettt Type: String ObjectPrefix: Description: idex.html prefix,for ex / Type: String Default: / # KeyName: # Description: Name of an existing EC2 KeyPair to enable SSH access to the instance # Type: 'AWS::EC2::KeyPair::KeyName' # ConstraintDescription: must be the name of an existing EC2 KeyPair. # SubnetId: # Description: Subnet ID which will run the web server instanc into. # Type: 'AWS::EC2::Subnet::Id' LatestAmiId: Type: 'AWS::SSM::Parameter::Value<AWS::EC2::Image::Id>' Default: '/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2' SSHLocation: Description: The IP address range that can be used to SSH to the EC2 instance. Type: String MinLength: '9' MaxLength: '18' Default: 0.0.0.0/0 AllowedPattern: '(\d{1,3})\.(\d{1,3})\.(\d{1,3})\.(\d{1,3})/(\d{1,2})' ConstraintDescription: Must be a valid IP CIDR range of the form x.x.x.x/x Resources: WebServerInstance: Type: AWS::EC2::Instance Properties: InstanceType: !Ref InstanceType Tags: - Key: "Name" Value: !Ref Ec2Name - Key: "value" Value: "to be deleted" # KeyName: !Ref KeyName # NetworkInterfaces: # - AssociatePublicIpAddress: "true" # DeviceIndex: "0" # SubnetId: !Ref SubnetId ImageId: !Ref LatestAmiId SecurityGroupIds: - !GetAtt "WebServerSecurityGroup.GroupId" IamInstanceProfile: !Ref IAMInstanceProfile UserData: Fn::Base64: !Sub | #!/bin/bash -xe yum update -y aws-cfn-bootstrap yum install -y httpd systemctl start httpd systemctl enable httpd aws s3 cp s3://${BucketName}${ObjectPrefix}index.html /var/www/html/ WebServerSecurityGroup: Type: 'AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup' Properties: GroupDescription: Enable HTTP access via port 80 and SSH Access port 22. VpcId: vpc-0078f41e6b5568b6e SecurityGroupIngress: - IpProtocol: tcp FromPort: '80' ToPort: '80' CidrIp: 0.0.0.0/0 - IpProtocol: tcp FromPort: '22' ToPort: '22' CidrIp: !Ref SSHLocation IAMInstanceProfile: Type: AWS::IAM::InstanceProfile Properties: Roles: - !Ref IAMRole InstanceProfileName: ec2-access-s3 IAMRole: Type: AWS::IAM::Role Properties: RoleName: ec2-s3-access AssumeRolePolicyDocument: Version: '2012-10-17' Statement: - Effect: Allow Principal: Service: ec2.amazonaws.com Action: sts:AssumeRole Path: '/' Policies: - PolicyName: 'EC2Access' PolicyDocument: Version: '2012-10-17' Statement: - Effect: 'Allow' Action: - 's3:GetObject' Resource: !Sub 'arn:aws:s3:::${BucketName}/index.html' Outputs: WebsiteURL: Description: URL for newly apache webserver created. Value: !Join - '' - - 'http://' - !GetAtt - WebServerInstance - PublicDnsName PublicIp: Description: The publicIP of the webserver Value: !GetAtt WebServerInstance.PublicIp Export: Name: !Sub "${AWS::StackName}-PublicIp"
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2. Create the Route 53 CloudFormation Template

The following r53.yaml file creates a Route 53 RecordSet to associate the FQDN with the EC2 instance’s public IP:

Parameters: WebserverStackParameter: Type: String Default: Webserver HostedZoneId: #Type: AWS::Route53::HostedZone::Id Type: String Description: HostedZone ID ConstraintDescription: must be a valid HostedZone ID Default: Z0775680V6B0O09IGAKU WebserverFQDN: Type: String # ConstraintDescription: must be a valid HostedZone ID Resources: PublicDNSRecord: Type: AWS::Route53::RecordSet Properties: HostedZoneId: !Ref HostedZoneId Name: !Sub "${WebserverFQDN}.cmcloudlab1832.info" Type: A TTL: 900 ResourceRecords: - Fn::ImportValue: !Sub "${WebserverStackParameter}-PublicIp" Outputs: Hostname: Description: The Hostname attached to our Webserver Value: !Ref PublicDNSRecord
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3. Deploy the Infrastructure

  1. Launch the EC2 Stack
    • Deploy the ec2.yaml CloudFormation template to set up the EC2 instance.
    • Note the exported PublicIp value for use in the Route 53 stack.

  2. Launch the Route 53 Stack
    • Deploy the r53.yaml CloudFormation template to create the RecordSet in the Route 53 hosted zone.

4. Test the Configuration

After deploying both stacks, you can access your web server using the FQDN assigned in Route 53.

Example FQDN:
www.cmcloudlab1589.info

Conclusion
Assigning a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) to an EC2 instance using Route 53 is a straightforward yet powerful solution for enhancing accessibility and scalability of your applications. By leveraging AWS CloudFormation, we automated the deployment process, making it efficient, repeatable, and easy to manage.

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