Tag: Qovery

Exploring Qovery Deployment Platform Benefits for Next.js, Node.js, and MongoDB Apps on AWS

Deploying applications to the cloud can often be a complicated process involving extensive configuration and setup. Qovery presents itself as a seamless solution for developers looking to streamline this process, particularly for those deploying Next.js, Node.js, and MongoDB stacks on AWS. The platform is currently used by around 14,000 developers worldwide.

Streamlining Development Workflows

With Qovery, developers can connect their AWS accounts and let the platform take care of the meticulous cloud setup process. What differentiates Qovery is its Preview Environment feature, enabling developers to test full-stack applications with frontends, backends, and databases in a real, isolated cloud environment.

Preview Environments: A Game-Changer

Preview Environments are not unique to Qovery; platforms like Vercel and Netlify have similar features. However, Qovery extends this functionality to full-stack applications, taking into account backend services and databases. This comprehensive approach allows developers to replicate all services within a new environment automatically.

Time-Efficiency and Productivity

With Qovery's Preview Environment feature, setting up test environments becomes significantly faster, enhancing productivity and enabling better testing practices. Moreover, this feature supports independence and rapid delivery while reducing friction during development.

AWS Infrastructure Setup Made Simple

Qovery promises a 15-minute initial setup before a cluster is ready for hosting applications. Their documentation guides users through the configuration process for cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services.

Creating a Full Stack Application

Qovery supports various applications, including those with a Next.js frontend, Node.js backend, and MongoDB database. The article demonstrates how developers can deploy a simple image gallery application that connects to a backend to fetch images from a database.

Simplifying the Frontend and Backend Setup

For the frontend, developers create a Next.js app, complete with a Dockerfile and necessary backend queries. The backend is also set up using Express, with a Dockerfile and endpoints configured to interact with MongoDB.

Deploying and Testing New Features

The platform simplifies the process of adding applications, databases, and environment variables. Enabling Preview Environments allows developers to see changes in real-time, further enhancing the development experience.

Effective Testing with Preview Environments

By implementing Preview Environments, any new pull requests trigger the creation of isolated test environments. These environments automatically receive updates from the pull requests, keeping the testing phase current with the latest code revisions.

Preview Environment Benefits in Detail

Here are some key points about the benefits and process of using Qovery's Preview Environments:

  • The feature is toggleable per application.
  • It creates copies of the environment for isolated testing.
  • Automatic management of environment variables and aliases.
  • Automatic cleanup post-merge saves costs and time.

Final Steps and Real-world Testing

The article concludes with steps on how to manually populate the MongoDB database with images, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Preview Environment feature once the frontend displays the data.

Conclusion

Qovery's Preview Environments empower developers to work independently and efficiently, providing a robust testing ground that mimics production and automates the entire process from development to deployment. This seamless integration greatly reduces setup time and allows for a focus on development and collaboration.

Tags: #Qovery, #AWS, #ApplicationDeployment, #PreviewEnvironments

https://docs.qovery.com/guides/tutorial/blazingly-fast-preview-environments-for-nextjs-nodejs-and-mongodb-on-aws/

Comprehensive Guide to Building E2E Testing Ephemeral Environments Using GitHub Actions and Qovery

E2E (End-to-End) testing is indispensable in the software development process as it simulates real-world user behaviors and interactions within an application. This critical testing phase ensures your application works seamlessly from start to finish, which is something unit and integration tests cannot fully guarantee. To support effective E2E testing, creating ephemeral environments that mimic production settings is essential. This guide focuses on leveraging GitHub Actions and Qovery to automate the creation of such environments.

The Power of Ephemeral Environments for E2E Testing

Ephemeral environments are temporary, fully functional versions of your application's infrastructure that can be quickly provisioned for testing and then disposed of afterward. They ensure that tests do not interfere with each other and that resources are used efficiently. Utilizing ephemeral environments for E2E testing leads to several benefits, including:

  • Isolation: Each test run occurs in a clean state, avoiding inconsistencies from previous tests.
  • Scalability: New environments can be spun up as needed without the overhead of maintaining persistent infrastructure.
  • Cost-effectiveness: Resources exist only for the duration of the tests, thus reducing expenses.

Pairing GitHub Actions for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows with Qovery's environment management capabilities can significantly streamline the process of E2E testing.

Setting the Stage with GitHub Actions and Qovery

Integrating GitHub Actions with Qovery offers an efficient pipeline for E2E testing. GitHub Actions excels in automating workflows, while Qovery simplifies cloud resource management.

Step-by-Step Process

  1. Prepare Qovery Blueprint Environment: A blueprint environment is the template from which all ephemeral environments are cloned. Here, you create a new project in Qovery and configure essential resources such as a PostgreSQL database.

  2. Build and Push Container Image: Leveraging GitHub Actions, you automate the building of your application's Docker image and push it to a container registry like Amazon ECR. This step ensures the latest code is available for testing.

  3. Create an Ephemeral Environment: By employing Qovery CLI within a GitHub Actions workflow, you instantiate a temporary clone of the blueprint environment to deploy your application for E2E testing.

  4. Run E2E Tests with K6: K6 is a performance testing tool. You execute the tests against your ephemeral environment to validate application behavior. The scripts are run using GitHub Actions and perform various checks to simulate user interactions.

  5. Display Test Results: After running the tests, their results are displayed within the Pull Request on GitHub, allowing easy access for developers to review.

  6. Destroy Ephemeral Environment and Clean Up: Once the Pull Request is closed or merged, the ephemeral environment is destroyed to conserve resources. This clean-up process is automated through a GitHub Action triggered by Pull Request closure events.

Why Choose This Approach?

Automating E2E testing with GitHub Actions and Qovery not only reduces the manual effort involved in provisioning and de-provisioning of environments but also closely integrates testing with your development process. This approach aligns with modern DevOps practices, promoting faster iterations and ensuring high-quality release cycles.

This guide offers valuable insights for various roles in the development process, including developers, DevOps engineers, QA specialists, engineering managers, and CTOs.

By following this detailed guide, you gain the ability to:

  • Automate your testing pipeline effectively.
  • Rapidly produce and discard testing environments as required.
  • Seamlessly integrate your ephemeral environments with GitHub repositories.
  • Achieve time savings and cost-efficiency.

You now have a blueprint to create an automated E2E testing pipeline that leverages GitHub Actions and Qovery, enabling rigorous testing and assuring that your application meets the highest standards when it goes live.

For those who prefer to watch and learn, a webinar covering this topic is also available【1†source】.

Tags: #E2ETesting, #EphemeralEnvironments, #GitHubActions, #Qovery

https://docs.qovery.com/guides/tutorial/build-e2e-testing-ephemeral-environments/