AWS CodeBuild - Scaler Topics

Overview

Consider yourself a member of a software development team. You must be quick and agile when releasing new features to stay ahead of the competition. It includes having the ability to create and test codes quickly. However, bottlenecks occur far too frequently, which slows down the process unnecessarily. There is a chance you will have to wait in a queue. A controlled continuous integration service called AWS CodeBuild compiles source code, runs tests, and creates software packages for deployment. You can provision, manage, and scale your build servers without using CodeBuild. Your builds would not be in a queue since CodeBuild grows constantly and handles several Builds concurrently.

What is AWS CodeBuild?

AWS CodeBuild is a fully managed cloud-based build solution. CodeBuild performs unit tests, builds your source code, and creates deployable artifacts. You no longer need to set up, oversee, and scale up your build servers, thanks to CodeBuild. It offers bundled build environments for well-known programming languages and builds tools like Apache Maven, Gradle, and others. In CodeBuild, you may also modify the build environments to use your build tools. When build requests spike, CodeBuild automatically scales to handle them.

introduction to AWS CodeBuild

AWS CodeBuild Features

Fully Managed to Build Service: AWS CodeBuild does all of the server and software setup, maintenance, patching, and management work for developers. There is no software or hardware to install or keep track of after you utilize this service.
Continuous Scaling is another advantage of utilizing AWS CodeBuild. According to the build volume of a developer, the service scales up and down. The service may execute many builds simultaneously and processes each Build, ensuring no build sits in a queue.
Pay As You Go: The AWS CodeBuild pricing model is pay-to-go, so you only pay for the resources you utilize. The service fees are determined by how long it takes to finish construction. The sort of machine a developer chooses often determines the appropriate per-minute charge and the payment method. Additionally, there are no minimum fees or up-front expenses.
Secure: To encrypt build artifacts, developers can utilize a unique key in the Amazon Web Services. Key Management Service is a unique function connected with AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management). It enables developers to create restrictions for construction projects and provide user-specific rights.

Benefits of AWS CodeBuild

Build and Test Codes: It enables simple integration with tools like Gradle, Apache Maven, and npm, and executes Builds in environments that have already been set up with the particular programming language and the operating system needed to finish the work. The location of the source code, the environment, and the build commands must all be specified during a test.
Configurable Options: Programmers may select the actions they wish the service to take, such as packaging code, running unit tests, and installing tool packages. In addition, they may choose the computing type that best suits their development requirements. There are now three tiers of processing power available, each with a different amount of memory and CPU. The source integrations of AWS CodeBuild are another programmable option. AWS CodeBuild 'builds' may be started in a variety of ways. For instance, after connecting to Amazon S3, GitHub, BitBucket, or Amazon CodeCommit, a developer can start developing 'builds' in the service.
Continuous Integration: With this service, developers may build and integrate code more often, thanks to its pay-as-you-go business model. Using build commands, source integrations, or Jenkins integration, developers may include AWS CodeBuild in their delivery and continuous integration workflows.
Fully Managed: CodeBuild takes the hassle of setting up, patching, maintaining, and managing your build servers.
On Demand: CodeBuild grows to accommodate your build requirements. You just pay for the construction minutes that you use.
CodeBuild offers predefined build environments right out of the box for the most common programming languages. To begin your first build, all you have to do is point to your build script.

Build and Test Your Code Using AWS CodeBuild

A few adjustments must be made to create an AWS CodeBuild project. You may provide the project name and a few brief project details under the project settings section.

The source code must be linked with the AWS CodeBuild build project in the following step. The AWS CodeBuild project may be linked to AWS CodeCommit, GitHub, BitBucket, or AWS S3.

We may select how the source code is acquired for the build process when the source code provider and repository are set up for the AWS CodeBuild project. There are three possibilities: you may choose to check out from a branch, a commit id, or a git tag.

Build and Test Your Code Using AWS CodeBuild 2

Develop the Environment

The environment is a straightforward Docker runtime, which we must set up to meet our code-building needs.

Develop The Environment

Standard images are a good option for small setups, but my recommendation is to use a custom image if your build environment necessitates the availability of multiple pieces of software to carry out the code build process (for example, a maven project necessitates the availability of both Java and Maven in the runtime to build).

Custom docker images will speed up the build stage by reducing the amount of time needed to configure the CodeBuild environment.

Build Spec

How to build the program is described in the build spec file.

The buildspec.yml file is expected by AWS CodeBuild to be located at the root of the repository by default, but we can provide an alternative location if necessary.

In addition to these stages, the build specification file may also include information on environment variables, report generation, and artifact and cache management.

Build Logs and Artifacts

With the specifications listed below, we can tell AWS CodeBuild to transmit logs associated with the AWS CloudWatch Logs and upload created artifacts into an S3 bucket.

Build Logs and Artifacts

Time to Build

Time to Build 2

You may access additional information about the execution by clicking on the build history. There you will view the logs and configuration for each build that we conducted.

Passing Environment Variables for the Build

Receiving a build notification. Since AWS CodeBuild is completely linked with other AWS services, configuring AWS SNS for building job alerts is simple.

Passing Environment Variables For The Build

Pricing for CodeBuild

Free Tier

100 total build minutes per month using the general1.small or arm1.small instance types are included within the AWS CodeBuild free tier. When your 12-month AWS Free Tier contract expires, the CodeBuild free tier does not stop immediately. Both new and current AWS customers can access it.

Added Expenses

If your builds transmit data or utilize other AWS services, you can be charged more. For instance, you could have to pay to build artifact storage with Amazon S3, build log streams with Amazon CloudWatch Logs, and encryption with AWS Key Management Service. If you combine AWS CodeBuild and AWS CodePipeline, you might pay more.

Let us take an example for better understanding. If you use to build.general1.small to perform 100 builds in a month, with a 5 minute build time, your fees would be computed as follows:

Monthly construction fees

500 build minutes are equal to 100 constructions multiplied by 5 minutes.

Monthly billable build minutes divided by free tier build minutes equals 500 - 100 = 400 build minutes.

Monthly build fees are equal to $2 (`400` build minutes x$ 0.005).

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Conclusion

CodeBuild, a cloud-based solution performs unit tests, builds your source code, and creates deployable artifacts. You no longer need to set up, oversee, and scale up your build servers thanks to CodeBuild.
For well-known programming languages and build tools like Apache Maven, Gradle, and others, it offers bundled build environments. In CodeBuild, you may also modify the build environments so that you can use your build tools. When build requests spike, CodeBuild automatically scales to handle them.
AWS CodeBuild has a tonne of capabilities that set it apart from other cloud service providers. Scaling is a challenge for organizations, but with AWS CodeBuild, you don't have to worry about it because you can scale it to your preferences. The nice thing is that you can still reduce your cloud utilization while doing this.