Demo Deploy AWS EC2

In this guide, you’ll learn how to deploy a Dockerized Node.js application to an AWS EC2 instance using a Jenkins Pipeline. We’ll cover every step—from adding a deploy stage and managing Docker containers on EC2, to conditional execution and verifying your deployment. Table of Contents

Prerequisites
Adding the Deploy Stage
Stopping & Removing the Existing Container
Running the New Container
Wrapping in a script Block
Conditional Execution with when
Verifying the Deployment
Links and References

Prerequisites

A Jenkins instance with the SSH Agent plugin installed
An AWS EC2 Ubuntu server accessible via SSH
A Dockerized application pushed to a Docker registry
Jenkins credentials configured for:
- SSH key (e.g., aws-dev-deploy-ec2-instance)
- MongoDB username & password (mongo-db-username, mongo-db-password)

1. Adding the Deploy Stage

After your Push Docker Image stage, insert a new stage called Deploy - AWS EC2. Here’s the skeleton of your declarative pipeline:

pipeline {
    agent any

    stages {
        stage('Build Docker Image') { /* ... */ }
        stage('Trivy Vulnerability Scanner') { /* ... */ }
        stage('Push Docker Image') { /* ... */ }
        stage('Deploy - AWS EC2') {
            steps { /* To be implemented */ }
        }
    }

    post {
        always { /* ... */ }
    }
}

Stage Name	Description
Build Docker Image	Build and tag your Docker image
Trivy Vulnerability Scanner	Scan the image for vulnerabilities
Push Docker Image	Push the image to your Docker registry
Deploy - AWS EC2	SSH into EC2 and restart the container

We’ll use the SSH Agent plugin to authenticate to EC2 using the private key credential aws-dev-deploy-ec2-instance.

2. Stopping & Removing the Existing Container

Use an SSH one-liner to detect if the solar-system container is running, then stop and remove it:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no ubuntu@3.140.244.188 "
if sudo docker ps -a | grep -q 'solar-system'; then
    echo 'Container found. Stopping...'
    sudo docker stop solar-system && sudo docker rm solar-system
    echo 'Container stopped and removed.'
fi
"

Suppressing StrictHostKeyChecking avoids interactive host key prompts, which is essential for unattended CI/CD pipelines.

3. Running the New Container

Next, start a fresh container with your environment variables. These variables come from the global environment block in your Jenkinsfile:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no ubuntu@3.140.244.188 "
sudo docker run --name solar-system \
  -e MONGO_URI=$MONGO_URI \
  -e MONGO_USERNAME=$MONGO_USERNAME \
  -e MONGO_PASSWORD=$MONGO_PASSWORD \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -d siddharth67/solar-system:$GIT_COMMIT
"

Define your environment variables at the top of the Jenkinsfile:

pipeline {
    agent any

    environment {
        MONGO_URI         = 'mongodb+srv://supercluster.d83jj.mongodb.net/superData'
        MONGO_USERNAME    = credentials('mongo-db-username')
        MONGO_PASSWORD    = credentials('mongo-db-password')
        SONAR_SCANNER_HOME = tool 'sonarqube-scanner-610'
    }

    stages { /* ... */ }
}

Variable	Source
MONGO_URI	Hard-coded connection string
MONGO_USERNAME	Jenkins credential `mongo-db-username`
MONGO_PASSWORD	Jenkins credential `mongo-db-password`
GIT_COMMIT	Jenkins built-in variable

4. Wrapping in a `script` Block

Because we’re using conditional logic (if), wrap the SSH commands in a script step inside the declarative stage:

stage('Deploy - AWS EC2') {
    steps {
        script {
            sshagent(['aws-dev-deploy-ec2-instance']) {
                sh '''
                ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no ubuntu@3.140.244.188 "
                if sudo docker ps -a | grep -q 'solar-system'; then
                    echo 'Container found. Stopping...'
                    sudo docker stop solar-system && sudo docker rm solar-system
                    echo 'Container stopped and removed.'
                fi

                sudo docker run --name solar-system \
                  -e MONGO_URI=$MONGO_URI \
                  -e MONGO_USERNAME=$MONGO_USERNAME \
                  -e MONGO_PASSWORD=$MONGO_PASSWORD \
                  -p 3000:3000 -d siddharth67/solar-system:$GIT_COMMIT
                "
                '''
            }
        }
    }
    post {
        always { /* cleanup or notifications */ }
    }
}

5. Conditional Execution with `when`

Run the deploy stage only on feature branches by adding a when condition. You can also configure this filter in the Jenkins UI:

stage('Deploy - AWS EC2') {
    when {
        branch 'feature/*'
    }
    steps {
        script {
            sshagent(['aws-dev-deploy-ec2-instance']) {
                sh '''<same SSH block as above>'''
            }
        }
    }
}

Using when { branch 'feature/*' } ensures that deployment only triggers for feature branches, preventing accidental prod deployments.

6. Verifying the Deployment

Check Jenkins Console

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no ubuntu@3.140.244.188 "
if sudo docker ps -a | grep -q 'solar-system'; then
    echo 'Container found. Stopping...'
    sudo docker stop solar-system && sudo docker rm solar-system
fi
"

Sample logs:

Warning: Permanently added '3.140.244.188' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
Container found. Stopping...
Container stopped and removed.
Unable to find image 'siddharth67/solar-system:5376ef9094c...' locally
Status: Downloaded newer image for siddharth67/solar-system:5376ef9094c...
cab883d639d9

On the EC2 Instance

sudo docker ps

Expected output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                                        NAMES
cab88363d990   siddharth67/solar-system:5376ef09...         solar-system

COMMAND             CREATED          STATUS             PORTS
"docker-entrypoint.s..." About a minute ago Up About a minute 0.0.0.0:3000->3000/tcp

Access the Application
Open a browser and navigate to:
http://<EC2_PUBLIC_IP>:3000

Integration testing should follow to validate your application endpoints and data flow.

Links and References

Happy Deploying!

Introduction and Basics

Jenkins Setup and Interface

Extending Jenkins and Administration

Jenkins Pipelines

Automation and Security

Setting up CI Pipeline

Code Quality and Testing

Containerization and Deployment

Kubernetes and GitOps

AWS Lambda and Advanced Deployment Techniques

Jenkins Administration and Monitoring - Part 1

Shared Libraries in Jenkins

Agents and Nodes in Jenkins

Pipeline Enhancement and Caching

Pipeline Structure and Scripted vs Declarative

Jenkins Administration and Monitoring - Part 2

Backup and Configuration Management

Demo Deploy AWS EC2

Prerequisites

1. Adding the Deploy Stage

2. Stopping & Removing the Existing Container

3. Running the New Container

4. Wrapping in a `script` Block

5. Conditional Execution with `when`

6. Verifying the Deployment

Links and References

Watch Video

​Prerequisites

​1. Adding the Deploy Stage

​2. Stopping & Removing the Existing Container

​3. Running the New Container

​4. Wrapping in a script Block

​5. Conditional Execution with when

​6. Verifying the Deployment

​Links and References

Watch Video

Prerequisites

1. Adding the Deploy Stage

2. Stopping & Removing the Existing Container

3. Running the New Container

4. Wrapping in a `script` Block

5. Conditional Execution with `when`

6. Verifying the Deployment

Links and References