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Productionizing AWS’s Retail Sample App with GitOps on EKS

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How I transformed AWS’s demo retail microservices application into a production-ready, cost-optimized platform using Terraform, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, and EKS Auto Mode.

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Background

The AWS Retail Sample App is a microservices-based demo designed to showcase cloud-native workloads. While it demonstrates architecture concepts, it’s not “production-ready” out of the box.

The objective of this project was to:

  • Take the AWS Retail Sample App (5 microservices)
  • Deploy it on Amazon EKS
  • Implement infrastructure as code, CI/CD, and GitOps
  • Ensure the setup was secure, observable, and cost-efficient

This case study documents the approach, challenges, and outcomes.

Architecture Overview

EKS

The final platform integrated:

  • Terraform for infrastructure as code
  • Amazon EKS Auto Mode to simplify compute management
  • GitHub Actions for CI/CD with intelligent change detection
  • ArgoCD for GitOps-driven continuous delivery
  • ECR as the private container registry
  • Ingress + Cert Manager for HTTPS traffic
  • Optional Prometheus/Grafana for observability

High-level workflow: 

Developer → GitHub → GitHub Actions → ECR → ArgoCD → EKS

Implementation

1. Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

  • Deployed EKS with Auto Mode, eliminating the need to manage node groups.
  • Added random suffix strategy for unique cluster naming.
  • Provisioned add-ons (Ingress, Cert Manager, optional monitoring stack).

2. CI/CD with GitHub Actions

  • Implemented change detection to rebuild only modified services.
  • Built and pushed Docker images to private ECR.
  • Updated Helm values with new image tags.

3. GitOps with ArgoCD

  • Configured one ArgoCD application per service, avoiding a single umbrella chart.
  • Enabled automatic sync with Git as the source of truth.
  • Supported granular rollouts, service-level visibility, and independent rollbacks.

4. Security & Cost Controls

  • Enforced private ECR with scanning + encryption.
  • Applied IAM least-privilege policies for CI/CD and services.
  • Used single NAT gateway in dev and spot instance support for cost optimization.

Key Challenges and Solutions

  • Node Group Complexity → Solved with EKS Auto Mode for hands-free compute scaling.
  • Helm Chart Updates Overwriting Infra Images → Implemented targeted AWK script to update only app images.
  • GitOps Workflow Discipline → Enforced branch protections and structured Git flows.

Results

  • Deployment Speed:

    • Infrastructure: 15–20 mins
    • Application changes: 3–5 mins
    • Single service update: 1–2 mins

  • Cost Efficiency:

    • Auto Mode prevented over-provisioning
    • Change detection reduced unnecessary builds
    • Shared NAT + optional spot instances lowered non-prod expenses

  • Production Readiness:

    • HTTPS ingress with auto certificates
    • RBAC/IAM security enforcement
    • Optional monitoring and alerting enabled

Lessons Learned

  1. EKS Auto Mode dramatically reduces operational overhead.
  2. Change detection in CI/CD is a simple but powerful optimization.
  3. GitOps adds discipline and traceability but requires strict Git hygiene.
  4. Security and observability should be built in from day one, not after incidents.

At a Glance

By productionizing the AWS Retail Sample App, this project demonstrates how a demo workload can be elevated into a secure, cost-optimized, and fully automated cloud-native platform.

The integration of Terraform, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, and EKS Auto Mode provided:

  • Automated infrastructure provisioning
  • Intelligent CI/CD pipelines
  • GitOps-driven deployments
  • Security, monitoring, and cost controls

This approach can be adapted to any microservices-based workload seeking production readiness with efficient DevOps practices.

Check out the source code at GitHub for more details.

📬 Contact

If you’d like to connect, collaborate, or discuss DevOps, feel free to reach out:

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