AWS CDK Best Practices for Production

AWS CDK (Cloud Development Kit) allows you to define cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages. Here are key best practices I've learned from deploying production applications.

Project Structure

Organize your CDK project for maintainability:

src/
├── app.ts              # Entry point
├── stacks/             # Stack definitions
├── constructs/         # Reusable constructs
└── config/             # Configuration files

Key Principles

1. Use Constructs for Reusability

Create custom constructs for common patterns:

export class BlogWebsiteConstruct extends Construct {
  public readonly bucket: s3.Bucket;
  public readonly distribution: cloudfront.Distribution;
  
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props: Props) {
    super(scope, id);
    // Implementation
  }
}

2. Separate Environments

Use different stacks for dev, staging, and production:

new MyStack(app, 'DevStack', {
  env: { account: '123', region: 'us-east-1' },
  stage: 'dev',
});

new MyStack(app, 'ProdStack', {
  env: { account: '456', region: 'us-east-1' },
  stage: 'prod',
});

3. Use Context for Configuration

Avoid hardcoding values:

const domainName = this.node.tryGetContext('domainName');

4. Implement Proper IAM Policies

Use least privilege principle:

bucket.grantRead(lambda);  // Instead of grantFullAccess

5. Tag Resources

Make resources discoverable:

Tags.of(this).add('Environment', props.stage);
Tags.of(this).add('Project', 'MyBlog');

Testing

Always test your infrastructure:

test('S3 bucket is encrypted', () => {
  const template = Template.fromStack(stack);
  template.hasResourceProperties('AWS::S3::Bucket', {
    BucketEncryption: {
      ServerSideEncryptionConfiguration: [{
        ServerSideEncryptionByDefault: {
          SSEAlgorithm: 'AES256'
        }
      }]
    }
  });
});

Cost Optimization

Use S3 Lifecycle Policies - Archive old logs
Enable CloudFront Compression - Reduce bandwidth costs
Set DynamoDB to On-Demand - Pay per request
Use Lambda Reserved Concurrency - Control costs

Security

Enable Encryption - At rest and in transit
Use Secrets Manager - Never hardcode secrets
Implement WAF - Protect against common attacks
Enable CloudTrail - Audit all API calls

Deployment

Use CI/CD for consistent deployments:

- name: Deploy CDK
  run: |
    npm run build
    npm run deploy

Monitoring

Set up CloudWatch alarms:

new cloudwatch.Alarm(this, 'HighErrorRate', {
  metric: lambda.metricErrors(),
  threshold: 10,
  evaluationPeriods: 2,
});

Conclusion

Following these best practices will help you build robust, secure, and cost-effective infrastructure with AWS CDK. Start small, iterate, and always test your changes!

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