279 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
279 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
---
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layout: docs
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page_title: Installing Consul on AWS ECS using Terraform
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description: >-
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Install Consul Service Mesh on AWS ECS with Terraform (Elastic Container Service).
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---
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# Installation with Terraform
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This topic describes how to use the [`mesh-task`](https://registry.terraform.io/modules/hashicorp/consul-ecs/aws/latest/submodules/mesh-task) Terraform module to launch your application in AWS ECS as part of Consul service mesh. If you do not use Terraform, see the [Manual Installation](/docs/ecs/manual-installation) page to install Consul on ECS without Terraform.
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This topic does not include instructions for creating all AWS resources necessary to install Consul, such as a VPC or the ECS cluster. Refer to the linked guides in the [Getting Started](/docs/ecs#getting-started) section for complete, runnable examples.
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## Overview
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This topic describes the following procedure:
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1. Create Terraform configuration files for the necessary components:
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* [ECS task definition](#using-the-mesh-task-module): Use the `mesh-task` module to create an ECS task definition for Consul on ECS
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* [ECS service](#ecs-service): Use the `aws_ecs_service` resource to create an ECS service that schedules service mesh tasks to run on ECS
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2. [Run Terraform](#running-terraform) to deploy the resources in AWS
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## Prerequisites
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* You should have some familiarity with using Terraform. Refer to the [Terraform documentation](https://www.terraform.io/docs) to learn about infrastructure as code and how to get started with Terraform.
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* You should also be familiar with AWS ECS before following these instructions. See [What is Amazon Elastic Container Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/Welcome.html) for details.
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## Using the Mesh Task Module
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To run an application in ECS with Consul service mesh, you must create an ECS task definition, which includes your application container(s)
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and additional sidecar containers, such as the Consul agent container and the Envoy sidecar proxy container.
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The [`mesh-task` module](https://registry.terraform.io/modules/hashicorp/consul-ecs/aws/latest/submodules/mesh-task) will automatically include the necessary sidecar containers.
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The following example shows a Terraform configuration file that creates a task definition with an application container called `example-client-app` in a file called `mesh-task.tf`:
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<CodeBlockConfig filename="mesh-task.tf">
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```hcl
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module "my_task" {
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source = "hashicorp/consul-ecs/aws//modules/mesh-task"
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version = "<latest version>"
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family = "my_task"
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container_definitions = [
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{
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name = "example-client-app"
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image = "docker.io/org/my_task:v0.0.1"
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essential = true
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portMappings = [
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{
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containerPort = 9090
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hostPort = 9090
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protocol = "tcp"
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}
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]
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cpu = 0
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mountPoints = []
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volumesFrom = []
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}
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]
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port = 9090
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retry_join = ["<address of the Consul server>"]
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consul_datacenter = "<name of your Consul datacenter>"
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}
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```
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</CodeBlockConfig>
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The following fields are required. Refer to the [module reference documentation](https://registry.terraform.io/modules/hashicorp/consul-ecs/aws/latest/submodules/mesh-task?tab=inputs) for a complete reference.
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| Input Variable | Type | Description |
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| ----------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `source` | string | Must be set to the source location of the `mesh-task` module, `hashicorp/consul-ecs/aws//modules/mesh-task`. |
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| `version` | string | Must be set to the version of the `mesh-task` module. |
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| `family` | string | The [ECS task definition family](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task_definition_parameters.html#family). The family is also used as the Consul service name by default. |
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| `container_definitions` | list | This is the list of [container definitions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task_definition_parameters.html#container_definitions) for the task definition. This is where you include your application containers. |
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| `essential` | boolean | Must be `true` to ensure the health of your application container affects the health status of the task. |
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| `port` | integer | The port that your application listens on, if any. If your application does not listen on a port, set `outbound_only = true`. |
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| `retry_join` | list | The is the [`retry_join`](/docs/agent/options#_retry_join) option for the Consul agent, which specifies the locations of your Consul servers. |
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| `consul_datacenter` | string | The name of your Consul datacenter. |
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### Running Terraform
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You will need to run Terraform to create the task definition.
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Save the Terraform configuration for the task definition to a file, such as `mesh-task.tf`.
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You should place this file in a directory alongside other Terraform configuration files for your project.
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The `mesh-task` module requires the AWS Terraform provider. The following example shows how to include
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and configure the AWS provider in a file called `provider.tf`. Refer to the [AWS Terraform provider](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs)
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documentation for complete configuration details.
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<CodeBlockConfig filename="provider.tf">
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```hcl
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terraform {
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required_providers {
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aws = {
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source = "hashicorp/aws"
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version = "<latest version>"
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}
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}
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}
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provider "aws" {
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region = "<AWS region>"
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...
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}
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```
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</CodeBlockConfig>
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Additional AWS resources for your project can be included in additional Terraform configuration files
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in the same directory. The following example shows a basic project directory:
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```shell-session
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$ ls
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mesh-task.tf
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provider.tf
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...
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```
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Terraform should be run in your project directory as follows.
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* Run `terraform init` first to download dependencies, such as Terraform providers
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* Run `terraform apply` to have Terraform create AWS resources, such as the task definition from the `mesh-task` module.
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Terraform automatically reads all files in the current directory that have a `.tf` file extension.
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Refer to the [Terraform documentation](https://www.terraform.io/docs) for more information and Terraform best practices.
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## ECS Service
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[ECS services](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs_services.html) are one of the most common
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ways to start tasks using a task definition.
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To define an ECS service, reference the `mesh-task` module's `task_definition_arn` output value
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in your `aws_ecs_service` resource. The following example shows how to include the service in the `mesh-task.tf` file.
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<CodeBlockConfig filename="mesh-task.tf" highlight="6-12">
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```hcl
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module "my_task" {
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source = "hashicorp/consul-ecs/aws//modules/mesh-task"
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...
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}
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resource "aws_ecs_service" "my_task" {
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name = "my_task_service"
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task_definition = module.my_task.task_definition_arn
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launch_type = "FARGATE"
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propagate_tags = "TASK_DEFINITION"
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...
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}
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```
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</CodeBlockConfig>
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This is a partial configuration to highlight some important fields.
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See the [`aws_ecs_service`](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs/resources/ecs_service) documentation for a complete reference.
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| Input Variable | Type | Description |
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| ----------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `name` | string | The name of the ECS service. This is required by AWS but is not used by Consul service mesh. |
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| `task_definition` | string | The task definition used to start tasks. Set this to the task definition ARN returned by the `mesh-task` module. |
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| `launch_type` | string | The launch type. Consul on ECS supports the `FARGATE` and `EC2` launch types. |
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| `propagate_tags` | string | This must be set to `TASK_DEFINITION` so that tags added by `mesh-task` to the task definition are copied to tasks. |
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After including the ECS service in your Terraform configuration, run `terraform apply`
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from your project directory to create the ECS service resource. The ECS service will
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soon start your application in a task. The task will automatically register itself
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into the Consul service catalog during startup.
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-> **NOTE:** If your tasks run in a public subnet, they must have `assign_public_ip = true`
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in their [`network_configuration`](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs/resources/ecs_service#network_configuration) block so that ECS can pull the Docker images.
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## Routing
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Now that your tasks are registered in the mesh, you're able to use the service
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mesh to route between them.
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In order to make calls through the service mesh, you must configure the sidecar
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proxy to listen on a different port for each upstream service your application
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needs to call. You then must modify your application to make requests to the sidecar
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proxy on that port.
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For example, if your application `web` makes calls to another application called `backend`, then you would first configure the `mesh-task` module's upstream(s):
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```hcl
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module "web" {
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family = "web"
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upstreams = [
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{
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destinationName = "backend"
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localBindPort = 8080
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}
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]
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}
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```
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| Input Variable | Type | Description |
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| ----------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `destinationName` | string | The name of the upstream service, as it is registered in the Consul service catalog. |
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| `localBindPort` | integer | Requests to this port will be forwarded by the proxy to the upstream service. This must be an unused port, but does not need to match the upstream service port. |
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If you have multiple upstream services they each need to be listed here.
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Next, configure your application to make requests to `localhost:8080` when
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it wants to call the `backend` service.
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For example, if your service allows configuring the URL for `backend` via the
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`BACKEND_URL` environment variable, you would set:
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```hcl
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module "web" {
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family = "web"
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upstreams = [
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{
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destinationName = "backend"
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localBindPort = 8080
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}
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]
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container_definitions = [
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{
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name = "web"
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environment = [
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{
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name = "BACKEND_URL"
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value = "http://localhost:8080"
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}
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]
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...
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}
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]
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...
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}
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```
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## Bind Address
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To ensure that your application only receives traffic through the service mesh,
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you must change the address that your application is listening on to only the loopback address
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(also known as `localhost`, `lo`, and `127.0.0.1`)
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so that only the sidecar proxy running in the same task can make requests to it.
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If your application is listening on all interfaces, e.g. `0.0.0.0`, then other
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applications can call it directly, bypassing its sidecar proxy.
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Changing the listening address is specific to the language and framework you're
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using in your application. Regardless of which language/framework you're using,
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it's a good practice to make the address configurable via environment variable.
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For example in Go, you would use:
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```go
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s := &http.Server{
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Addr: "127.0.0.1:8080",
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...
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}
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log.Fatal(s.ListenAndServe())
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```
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In Django you'd use:
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```bash
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python manage.py runserver "127.0.0.1:8080"
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```
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## Next Steps
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- Follow the [Secure Configuration](/docs/ecs/terraform/secure-configuration) to get production-ready.
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- Now that your applications are running in the service mesh, read about
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other [Service Mesh features](/docs/connect).
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- View the [Architecture](/docs/ecs/architecture) documentation to understand
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what's going on under the hood.
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