AWS Serverless GeoServer Infrastructure
Deploy GeoServer with PostgreSQL and PostGIS on AWS using containerized deployment via AWS Fargate for seamless geospatial data management and auto-scaling.
Published Nov 20, 2024
Last Modified Nov 21, 2024
The project aims to deploy and auto-scale a GeoServer application with a PostgreSQL database and PostGIS extension on AWS. The architecture is designed to minimize the need for manual server management using serverless technologies.
- AWS Fargate: To run containerized GeoServer instances.
- Amazon RDS: Host the PostgreSQL database with PostGIS extensions.
- Amazon EFS: For shared storage across containers.
- Amazon ECS: To orchestrate container deployments.
- Amazon VPC: For secure networking.
The infrastructure employs a serverless, containerized deployment using AWS services to:
- Host GeoServer on Fargate.
- Store geospatial data in a PostgreSQL/PostGIS database.
- Share files via EFS.
- Balance load and scale services using ECS and an Application Load Balancer (ALB).
- VPC Creation:
- Create a VPC with public and private subnets across multiple availability zones.
- Configure NAT gateways and internet gateways.
- Security Groups:
- Define security groups for the Application Load Balancer, GeoServer, EFS, and RDS with appropriate rules for restricted access.
- Amazon EFS:
- Create an EFS for shared file storage between containerized GeoServer instances.
- PostgreSQL Database:
- Set up an Amazon RDS PostgreSQL instance with PostGIS extensions for spatial data processing.
- AWS CloudShell:
- Use CloudShell to configure the PostgreSQL database and install PostGIS extensions.
- GeoServer Deployment:
- Use ECS to create a task definition and configure a containerized GeoServer instance.
- Mount the EFS volume to share data across multiple containers.
- Data Upload:
- Load geospatial datasets into the PostgreSQL/PostGIS database.
- Application Load Balancer:
- Set up an ALB to route traffic to GeoServer instances.
- Configure health checks and sticky sessions for efficient load balancing.
- Scaling:
- Use ECS to deploy multiple GeoServer instances, auto-scaling based on CPU utilization.
- Configure GeoServer to:
- Connect to the PostGIS database.
- Use data from EFS and PostgreSQL.
- Publish geospatial layers for visualization.
- Access GeoServer via the ALB's DNS and manage the application through its web interface.
- Automation: Fully automated deployment using ECS and Fargate.
- Scalability: Ability to auto-scale based on demand with ECS services.
- Flexibility: Integration with PostgreSQL/PostGIS and EFS for geospatial data management.
- Security: Controlled access using VPC and security groups.
This project demonstrates how AWS serverless technologies can simplify the deployment and scaling of GeoServer for geospatial applications. It eliminates server management overhead and provides a scalable, cost-effective solution for geospatial data hosting and processing.
- Ensure that all resources are deleted after use to avoid unnecessary costs.