AKS-based infrastructure for PartsClub and Automa.Net

For PartsClub and Automa.Net, we have implemented a cloud-based infrastructure based on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). As a result, the client gained great flexibility, scalability, and the ability to implement the go global strategy.

PartsClub and Automa.Net is the easiest way to buy and sell parts online. Both platforms operate in other vertical markets. PartsClub is industrial parts for agricultural and construction machinery, and Automa.Net is a platform for automation and industrial electronics. These are platforms that allow you to publish your parts, and elements to enable sales to both individual customers and suppliers in a safe and personalized way. The platform shortens the time associated with the valuation of the owned part. The platform allows you to search using the company name, country and products, and brands offered.

Due to the desire to implement Kubernetes technology, the need to flexibly scale the infrastructure, and the global reach of the services provided by the Client, Microsoft Azure technologies were the best choice. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies the deployment of a managed Kubernetes cluster in Azure by shifting operational costs to Azure.

Implementation:

The company contacted us to support a Kubernetes-based deployment on Azure. The task set for our team was to configure and launch the following services:

• Azure Database for MySQL – a database running on the MySQL elastic server service to provide easy scale down/up, high availability, and a simple way to back up data
• Apache Cassandra and FTP Service - Provides automated deployment and scaling operations for open source Apache Cassandra managed data centers. This service helps speed up hybrid scenarios. In addition, the FTP server on which the content of the providers is thrown.
• Container Registry - stores images built by developers and delivers them to other services
• Key Vault – a secure service to store secrets and passwords needed for the Kubernetes cluster (deployed as an automatic mount), as well as for the BitBucket repository
• Storage—Provides permanent storage for your Kubernetes cluster as well as FTP server. It uses both Blob Storage and File Share.
• App Service – PaaS platform used to run the image from the application frontend
• Azure Backup – creates and stores backups of selected services from the environment
• Azure Kubernetes Service - Cloud-based deployment of Kubernetes. Most of the infrastructure services using Helm and GitOps have been launched here. It allows you to easily scale pods and nodes and adapt to movement. In front of the cluster, there is a Load Balancer which, according to the rules, directs traffic. The key elements implemented in the cluster are:
• Argo CD - provides a very rich GUI to manage the continuous delivery process with multiple approaches to synchronization with the AKS cluster. Manages most of the applications running on the cluster with a modern GitOps approach.
• ElasticSearch - allows you to reliably and securely retrieve data from any source and in any format, and then search, analyze and visualize them in real-time.
• Redis - improves the performance and scalability of an application that uses data stores intensively
• RabbitMQ - is used to queue messages, which are then retrieved by various application components
• Client applications – main infrastructure components based on PHP and Laravel framework
• Nginx Ingress – responsible for directing HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
• Bastion – a machine that provides access to the infrastructure along with the configuration of the necessary tools
• BitBucket – hosting for the GIT version control system for applications, as well as ArgoCD.
• DataDog – a stack that monitors and collects logs from a Kubernetes cluster
• CloudFlare - an external service providing DNS and SSL functionality. It has also been configured as a Firewall for some services.

Architecture:

Customer benefits:

By deploying Kubernetes, the project team was able to build on-demand scaling and new failover policies, as well as simplify the overall deployment and management of a complex piece of infrastructure. With AKS, PartsClub and Automa.Net can scale container usage as needed. Workloads can change dynamically, allowing some processes to run in the background when the cluster is idle and then return to running client-facing services if necessary.