DEV Community

Cover image for From Zero to Team Development: Building Your Own Cloud Container Playground
pronab pal
pronab pal Subscriber

Posted on

From Zero to Team Development: Building Your Own Cloud Container Playground

#devops #collaboration #containers #cloud

Want a cloud playground that's perfect for both solo hacking and team collaboration? Let's build one together - no local Docker needed, just pure cloud-powered creativity.

What We're Building

  • Your own cloud container environment (AWS/GCP/Azure)
  • SSH access from anywhere
  • Persistent storage for your work
  • Team collaboration features

Part 1: Basic Infrastructure Setup

Project Structure 

cloud-container/ ├── main.tf ├── variables.tf ├── outputs.tf ├── providers.tf ├── versions.tf ├── terraform.tfvars ├── scripts/ │ └── setup-container.sh └── modules/ ├── aws/ │ ├── main.tf │ ├── variables.tf │ └── outputs.tf ├── gcp/ │ ├── main.tf │ ├── variables.tf │ └── outputs.tf └── azure/ ├── main.tf ├── variables.tf └── outputs.tf
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Core Files

  1. versions.tf - Define provider versions 
terraform { required_version = ">= 1.0.0" required_providers { aws = { source = "hashicorp/aws" version = "~> 5.0" } google = { source = "hashicorp/google" version = "~> 5.0" } azurerm = { source = "hashicorp/azurerm" version = "~> 3.0" } } }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. variables.tf - Configuration variables 
variable "cloud_provider" { description = "Pick your cloud (aws/gcp/azure)" type = string default = "aws" } variable "project_name" { description = "Name your playground" type = string default = "dev-playground" } variable "region" { description = "Where in the world?" type = map(string) default = { aws = "us-west-2" gcp = "us-central1" azure = "eastus" } }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. providers.tf - Cloud provider configurations 
provider "aws" { region = var.region["aws"] } provider "google" { project = "your-project-id" # Change this region = var.region["gcp"] } provider "azurerm" { features {} }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. main.tf - Main configuration 
module "aws_container" { source = "./modules/aws" count = var.cloud_provider == "aws" ? 1 : 0 project_name = var.project_name region = var.region["aws"] } module "gcp_container" { source = "./modules/gcp" count = var.cloud_provider == "gcp" ? 1 : 0 project_name = var.project_name region = var.region["gcp"] } module "azure_container" { source = "./modules/azure" count = var.cloud_provider == "azure" ? 1 : 0 project_name = var.project_name region = var.region["azure"] }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Part 2: Cloud Provider Modules

AWS Module (modules/aws/main.tf) 

resource "aws_security_group" "dev_container" { name = "${var.project_name}-security-group" description = "Security group for our playground" ingress { from_port = 22 to_port = 22 protocol = "tcp" cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"] } ingress { from_port = 3000 to_port = 3000 protocol = "tcp" cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"] } egress { from_port = 0 to_port = 0 protocol = "-1" cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"] } } # EBS volume for persistent storage resource "aws_ebs_volume" "dev_storage" { availability_zone = aws_instance.dev_container.availability_zone size = 20 type = "gp2" tags = { Name = "${var.project_name}-storage" } } resource "aws_instance" "dev_container" { ami = "ami-0735c191cf914754d" # Ubuntu 22.04 instance_type = "t2.micro" key_name = "your-key-pair-name" # Change this security_groups = [aws_security_group.dev_container.name] user_data = file("${path.root}/scripts/setup-container.sh") tags = { Name = var.project_name } } resource "aws_volume_attachment" "dev_storage_att" { device_name = "/dev/sdh" volume_id = aws_ebs_volume.dev_storage.id instance_id = aws_instance.dev_container.id } resource "aws_eip" "dev_container" { instance = aws_instance.dev_container.id }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

GCP Module (modules/gcp/main.tf) 

resource "google_compute_firewall" "dev_container" { name = "${var.project_name}-firewall" network = "default" allow { protocol = "tcp" ports = ["22", "3000"] } source_ranges = ["0.0.0.0/0"] } # Persistent disk resource "google_compute_disk" "dev_storage" { name = "${var.project_name}-disk" type = "pd-standard" zone = "${var.region}-a" size = 20 } resource "google_compute_instance" "dev_container" { name = var.project_name machine_type = "e2-micro" zone = "${var.region}-a" boot_disk { initialize_params { image = "ubuntu-os-cloud/ubuntu-2204-lts" } } network_interface { network = "default" access_config {} } metadata_startup_script = file("${path.root}/scripts/setup-container.sh") } resource "google_compute_attached_disk" "dev_storage" { disk = google_compute_disk.dev_storage.id instance = google_compute_instance.dev_container.id }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Azure Module (modules/azure/main.tf) 

[Previous Azure module code with managed disk configuration]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Part 3: Enhanced Container Setup

The Ultimate Setup Script (scripts/setup-container.sh) 

#!/bin/bash # System updates and utilities apt-get update apt-get install -y docker.io git nfs-common # Start Docker systemctl start docker systemctl enable docker # Create shared workspace with proper permissions mkdir -p /home/ubuntu/shared_workspace chmod 775 /home/ubuntu/shared_workspace # Create developer group groupadd developers usermod -aG developers ubuntu # Set up shared workspace ownership chown -R ubuntu:developers /home/ubuntu/shared_workspace # Create SSH key management directory mkdir -p /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys.d chmod 755 /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys.d # Set up SSH key aggregation cat > /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys_script.sh <<'EOF' #!/bin/bash cat /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys.d/* > /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys chmod 600 /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys EOF chmod +x /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys_script.sh (crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "*/5 * * * * /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys_script.sh") | crontab - # Run development container with persistent storage docker run -d \ --name dev-environment \ --restart unless-stopped \ -p 3000:3000 \ -p 8080:8080 \ -p 5432:5432 \ -v /home/ubuntu/shared_workspace:/workspace \ -v dev_dependencies:/usr/local/lib \ -v dev_config:/etc/dev \ node:16 # Install common development tools docker exec dev-environment bash -c ' apt-get update && \ apt-get install -y git curl postgresql sqlite3 python3 python3-pip' # Create welcome message cat > /home/ubuntu/shared_workspace/README.md <<EOF # Welcome to the Shared Development Environment! ## Quick Start 1. Your work directory is /workspace inside the container 2. Development server runs on port 3000 3. Add your SSH key to /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys.d/ 4. Docker container name is 'dev-environment' ## Useful Commands - Enter container: docker exec -it dev-environment bash - View logs: docker logs dev-environment - Check disk usage: df -h /workspace ## Team Guidelines 1. Keep your work in your own directory 2. Use git for version control 3. Clean up temporary files 4. Update the team when installing new tools Happy coding! 🚀 EOF # Keep container running docker exec dev-environment tail -f /dev/null
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Part 4: Developer Management

Add Developer Script (add_developer.sh) 

#!/bin/bash if [ "$#" -ne 2 ]; then echo "Usage: $0 <developer_name> <public_key>" exit 1 fi DEVELOPER_NAME=$1 PUBLIC_KEY=$2 INSTANCE_IP=$(terraform output -raw instance_ip) # Add SSH key to instance ssh ubuntu@$INSTANCE_IP "echo '$PUBLIC_KEY' > ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.d/$DEVELOPER_NAME" echo "Developer $DEVELOPER_NAME added successfully!"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

How to Use

1. Initial Setup 

# Initialize Terraform terraform init # Deploy your environment terraform apply
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Solo Development 

# SSH into your instance ssh ubuntu@<instance_ip> # Enter the container docker exec -it dev-environment bash # Start coding! cd /workspace
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. Team Development 

# Add team members ./add_developer.sh alice "ssh-rsa AAAA..." # Create project structure mkdir -p /workspace/projects/awesome-app
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

4. Directory Structure 

/workspace/ ├── projects/ # Shared projects ├── developers/ # Personal workspaces └── shared/ # Common utilities
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Pro Tips

  1. Money Saving 
# Destroy when not in use terraform destroy
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Permissions Fix 
sudo chmod -R 775 /home/ubuntu/shared_workspace
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Container Management 
# Restart container docker restart dev-environment # Check logs docker logs dev-environment
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Development Environment Options & Costs

1. Minimal Development Setup

Cost: ~$30-40/month

# AWS instance_type = "t2.medium" # 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM # GCP instance_type = "e2-medium" # 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM # Azure instance_type = "Standard_B2s" # 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Suitable for:
    • Single developer
    • Basic React + Node.js development
    • Small MongoDB datasets
  • Limitations:
    • NPM installs take time
    • Build processes are slower
    • Limited concurrent operations

2. Standard Development Setup

Cost: ~$60-70/month

# AWS instance_type = "t2.large" # 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM # GCP instance_type = "e2-standard-2" # 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM # Azure instance_type = "Standard_B2ms" # 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Suitable for:
    • 2-3 developers
    • Comfortable React + Node.js development
    • Moderate MongoDB usage
    • Running tests alongside development
  • Benefits:
    • Faster build times
    • Smooth hot reloading
    • Better concurrent operations

3. Team Development Setup

Cost: ~$120-150/month

# AWS instance_type = "t2.xlarge" # 4 vCPU, 16GB RAM # GCP instance_type = "e2-standard-4" # 4 vCPU, 16GB RAM # Azure instance_type = "Standard_B4ms" # 4 vCPU, 16GB RAM
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Suitable for:
    • 4+ developers
    • Full development stack
    • CI/CD pipelines
    • Multiple service instances

Cost Breakdown

Compute Costs (per month)

  • Minimal Setup: $25-30
  • Standard Setup: $50-60
  • Team Setup: $100-120

Storage Costs (per month)

  • 30GB SSD: $3-5
  • 50GB SSD: $5-8
  • 100GB SSD: $10-15

Data Transfer (per month)

  • Development usage: $2-5
  • Team usage: $5-10
  • Heavy usage: $10-20

Cost Optimization Strategies

1. Scheduled Shutdowns 

# Add to your terraform configuration resource "aws_autoscaling_schedule" "workday_only" { scheduled_action_name = "start_workday" min_size = 1 max_size = 1 desired_capacity = 1 recurrence = "0 9 * * MON-FRI" # 9 AM weekdays } resource "aws_autoscaling_schedule" "workday_end" { scheduled_action_name = "stop_workday" min_size = 0 max_size = 0 desired_capacity = 0 recurrence = "0 18 * * MON-FRI" # 6 PM weekdays }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Potential Savings: 60-65% on compute costs

2. Resource Optimization 

# Monitor resource usage docker stats dev-environment # Adjust container limits based on actual usage docker update --memory=4g --cpus=1.5 dev-environment
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. Storage Management 

# Clean up unused Docker images docker system prune -a # Monitor disk usage df -h /workspace
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Choosing the Right Setup

For Solo Developers

  • Start with Minimal Setup
  • Schedule shutdowns during non-work hours
  • Upgrade if build times become a bottleneck

For Small Teams (2-3 developers)

  • Start with Standard Setup
  • Monitor resource usage
  • Use scheduling for non-work hours

For Larger Teams

  • Use Team Setup
  • Consider separate environments for CI/CD
  • Implement proper resource monitoring

Resource Usage Alerts 

# Add CloudWatch monitoring (AWS example) resource "aws_cloudwatch_metric_alarm" "high_cpu" { alarm_name = "high-cpu-usage" comparison_operator = "GreaterThanThreshold" evaluation_periods = "2" metric_name = "CPUUtilization" namespace = "AWS/EC2" period = "300" statistic = "Average" threshold = "80" alarm_description = "CPU usage above 80%" alarm_actions = [aws_sns_topic.alerts.arn] }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Remember: Development environment costs are usually a fraction of developer time costs. A smoother development experience often pays for itself in improved productivity.

Happy coding! 🎉

Top comments (0)