Docker on Amazon Web Services: Build, deploy, and manage your container applications at scale

Getting a containerized application running is one thing; building a repeatable path from local development to cloud deployment is another. In Docker on Amazon Web Services, Justin Menga uses a sample Python web application backed by MySQL to connect Docker fundamentals with the practical work of building, testing, publishing, and operating applications on AWS.

The book moves from local setup into AWS container services, with particular focus on ECS and the tools that support a reliable deployment workflow. Its broad tour of alternatives makes the trade-offs between different ways to run Docker applications part of the learning, rather than treating deployment as a single recipe.

From a local container to an AWS deployment 💻

Early chapters introduce containers and Docker architecture, help readers prepare a local environment, and use the sample application to explore testing and image-building. The progression gives the cloud deployment material a concrete starting point: readers can follow the application as it moves through development tasks and toward AWS.

Build confidence with ECS, ECR, and CloudFormation

Amazon Elastic Container Service is a central thread. Menga covers creating clusters, defining tasks and services, and deploying applications, while Amazon Elastic Container Registry enters the workflow for storing and publishing Docker images. AWS CloudFormation supports the book’s Infrastructure as Code approach, showing how infrastructure and application deployment can be managed through repeatable definitions.

Compare approaches to running containers

The coverage extends beyond ECS to Fargate, ECS Service Discovery, Elastic Beanstalk, Docker Swarm, and Elastic Kubernetes Service. That range helps readers consider which platform fits a particular operational need, rather than assuming that one container-management model suits every project. Other subjects include secrets management, network isolation, scaling, infrastructure life-cycle management, and continuous delivery.

A practical guide for developers and cloud practitioners

The hands-on examples and operational focus make this a useful fit for developers and technology professionals interested in deploying Docker applications on AWS. Some familiarity with containers or a cloud provider can help, but the book starts with foundational material. First published in 2018, its AWS walkthroughs describe the services and tooling of that period, so readers should check current AWS documentation when applying steps to present-day environments.