The deployment process continues with this second step being deploying the socket server built using NodeJs onto Digital Ocean. The NodeJs socket server which is a very important part of the project is used to transfer data between the two Course Assist apps in real time.
Why Digital Ocean?🤔
Now if you read my previous blog you’ll know that I deployed the Course Assist backend to Amazon Web Services(AWS) and I actually wrote about how I felt AWS was the best option for my project, so how did I find myself using Digital Ocean?😅
Just as I was about to open my AWS management console I came across a Digital Ocean ad and I thought hmm🤔..what if I tried Digital Ocean. So I checked it out, compared it to AWS and realized Digital Ocean is a better choice for Course Assist. I came to this conclusion because I felt AWS was more complicated than Digital Ocean in terms of the UI and general setup procedure. Plus digital ocean is cheaper than AWS and it’s got fixed pricing so I wouldn’t have to worry about finding a $1000 bill at the end of the month like I would if I used AWS🙄. Though AWS is better if you’re a huge organization deploying enterprise applications. But if you’re a small hobbyist/solopreneur like me😁, I’d strongly advise you to use Digital Ocean.
Deploying to a Digital Ocean Droplet💧
To deploy the NodeJs socket server I had to create a Droplet which according to the official docs are Linux-based virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of virtualized hardware. Basically, they’re Digitals Oceans’ equivalent of Amazon Web Services EC2 with a very cool name😂.
The setup of a droplet was mostly straightforward and had some similar parts to the EC2 setup process such as having an Ubuntu VM and ssh key creation. For the Droplet, I went for the cheapest package as a start which costs about $6, cheap right😏? During the setup, I chose NodeJs for the type of application I want to run. After the setup was complete I got my ipv4 address which when I clicked took me to a very neat page that welcomed me to my Droplet and gave instructions on how to set up your NodeJs application. I simply followed these instructions and within an hour I had my NodeJs socket server up and running. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the whole process were mind-blowing 🤯. I think Digital Ocean is my new best friend😂.
Now that the backend and socket server are deployed I can proceed to run tests to see how the Course Assist apps perform with deployed servers. Once the tests are done and are successful I’ll then start working on creating a logo, landing page and social media pages for Course Assist which I’ll write about in my new blog series Running Course Assist so keep an eye out for that😉. Thanks for reading and see you in the next one🙏.