Serverless Django with Zappa Course Overview

Video Course - Serverless Django Applications With Lambda

Let's explore what Serverless is and isn't

Why Go Serverless? Understanding Zappa's Benefits

About the Author

Class Details

Introduction

We establish the necessary AWS credentials

Creating and Configuring an AWS Account for Zappa Deployment

Let's create a reliable development environment

How to Set Up an AWS Lambda-Like Environment with Docker

Understanding the Basics of Django and Zappa Development

Activating the Environment

Getting Started

Setting Up a Zappa Development Environment

How to Deploy a Django App to the Cloud with AWS Lambda

Serverless projects sometimes need changes

What You Need to Know About AWS Lambda Deployments

Dive into Zappa

Serving static files is different in Serverless

Django Tutorial - What are Static Files?

Two Ways to Handle Django Static Files

Serve static files directly from your project

Configuring WhiteNoise with Django for Static Files

How to Set Up S3 Buckets to Serve Static Files from Django

Final thoughts on static files

Hosting static files

A Quick Overview of HTTPS and Custom Domain Names

Setting Up a Domain Through AWS Route 53 for a Django App

Some hints for those not using AWS services

Not using AWS services

Domain Handling with Zappa - WWW and Non-WWW Options

Custom Domain Names

Creating a Cloud Database and Connecting It to a Django App

A Detailed Walkthrough for Creating Your First RDS with AWS

Connecting a Django App to a PostgreSQL Database

An Introduction to Creating Django Models [with Examples]

Final thoughts on databases

Connecting a Database

A Primer on Securing Serverless Apps in AWS

Creating a Virtual Private Cloud in AWS for a Relational Database

Securing an AWS Virtual Private Cloud for Django Deployment

Get Ready for Production

Whether you are a solo developer working on your next startup idea or a team of folks working with Django, this course shows you the way to simplify your operations overhead while saving money.  The open source Zappa utility paves the way to migrate your Django application away from old-school servers and onto the AWS Lambda serverless platform.  It's almost like having your own private Infrastructure team!

No need to watch for OS security patches or tweak Apache settings -- just focus on delivering value to your users.  All this with minimal changes to your Django application.  Leverage the power of AWS to rapidly respond to spikes in user traffic, while saving money by only paying for the web requests actually needed.

For folks ready for serverless Django, this course covers:

* Which Django apps are best to migrate and how to prepare them
* Configuring a generic and portable development environment easily set up by new developers in minutes
* Deploying and updating your code to AWS Lambda
* Best practices in serving Django static files
* Leveraging AWS services to secure your site with HTTPS and your own custom domain name
* Learning how to configure a secure network environment in AWS VPC
* Connecting your Django application to a hosted RDS database

All this while leveraging the AWS Free Tier.  While there are some lessons that may have additional cost to complete (e.g. bring your own domain name), the vast majority of this course will be using the AWS Free Tier and won't cost anything.

It's taught by Edgar Román. I was introduced to Django in 2009 and I consider it my go-to web framework. With continuous support from a vibrant community in addition to an incredibly rich ecosystem, I would be hard pressed to find another framework that matches up.

I've been using Zappa to host my Django applications for several years now, and I have found no other solution that is as powerful and cost-effective as serverless Django hosting on AWS -- especially for the solo developer working to get a product to market.

I hope you enjoy this course and harness the power of serverless Django with Zappa in your projects!

Learn how to migrate your Django application to a serverless environment hosted by AWS Lambda.

Serverless Django with Zappa

How to migrate your Django project to the AWS serverless environment

Adapt your code to changes necessary for running in the cloud

How to setup a reliable and consistent local development environment for serverless projects

How to setup and connect to a hosted RDS database

Learn about setting AWS IAM permissions for serverless projects

How to map a custom domain name to your Django project

Effectively serve Django static files via S3 or AWS Lambda

How to navigate the AWS Console to host multiple domain names

Learn about setting up a secure network environment using AWS VPC

The end goal will be to run the Django application in AWS Lambda, and it's best if we simulate that same environment on your computer. One way to create this simulated environment is use Docker. Docker is a tool which creates a virtual container on our local system that is not influenced by the Windows or Mac operating system. This is ideal for us if we want to test our project on the local system before deploying to the AWS cloud.

Not only will Docker give us a Lambda-like environment, but it also allows us to isolate the development environment from the host system. If you come back to the project at a future date, the environment will be preserved just as you left it.

Let's create a directory for this course. You can create it anywhere you like on your local system:

mkdir serverless-dz-course
cd serverless-dz-course

 to download and install the latest version of Docker Desktop. Once that is completed, you should be able to run 

 from the command line and get something like this:

$ docker -v
Docker version 20.10.2, build 2291f61
$

The versions and build numbers may differ, but we're just trying to validate that Docker is properly installed. All commands identified here should work on both Windows and Mac, and any differences will be highlighted.

Once you install Docker Desktop, often you will have to start the program manually. If any of these commands reports that docker is not running, check to make sure the Docker Desktop program has started properly.

 that accurately reflect the lambda environment for various programming languages. We'll use that here. Run the following command to download and install the Docker image for Python 3.8.

docker pull lambci/lambda:build-python3.8

Once that's done, let's test out our local Lambda environment by creating and running a Lambda-like Docker instance. Run the following command to start the instance:

docker run -ti -v "$(pwd):/var/task" --rm lambci/lambda:build-python3.8 bash

---
title: How to Set Up an AWS Lambda-Like Environment with Docker
description: Let's create a reliable development environment
privateVideoUrl: https://fullstack.wistia.com/medias/e6ix6piyln
isPublicLesson: true
code: https://gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/newline-course-apps/edgar-roman-serverless-django-with-zappa-app/-/tree/main/code/module01/module01-all-lessons?ref_type=heads
---

The end goal will be to run the Django application in AWS Lambda, and it's best if we simulate that same environment on your computer. One way to create this simulated environment is use Docker. Docker is a tool which creates a virtual container on our local system that is not influenced by the Windows or Mac operating system. This is ideal for us if we want to test our project on the local system before deploying to the AWS cloud.

Not only will Docker give us a Lambda-like environment, but it also allows us to isolate the development environment from the host system. If you come back to the project at a future date, the environment will be preserved just as you left it.

## Create a directory for this course

Let's create a directory for this course. You can create it anywhere you like on your local system:

```bash
mkdir serverless-dz-course
cd serverless-dz-course
```

## Install Docker

Go to [Docker](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop) to download and install the latest version of Docker Desktop. Once that is completed, you should be able to run `docker -v` from the command line and get something like this:

```bash
$ docker -v
Docker version 20.10.2, build 2291f61
$
```

The versions and build numbers may differ, but we're just trying to validate that Docker is properly installed. All commands identified here should work on both Windows and Mac, and any differences will be highlighted.

:::tip

Once you install Docker Desktop, often you will have to start the program manually. If any of these commands reports that docker is not running, check to make sure the Docker Desktop program has started properly.

:::

## Pull a Docker image for AWS Lambda

The folks from [lambci](https://github.com/lambci) have created [Docker images](https://github.com/lambci/docker-lambda) that accurately reflect the lambda environment for various programming languages. We'll use that here. Run the following command to download and install the Docker image for Python 3.8.

```bash
docker pull lambci/lambda:build-python3.8
```

Once that's done, let's test out our local Lambda environment by creating and running a Lambda-like Docker instance. Run the following command to start the instance:

```bash
docker run -ti -v "$(pwd):/var/task" --rm lambci/lambda:build-python3.8 bash
```

This command instructs Docker to:

-   create an instance using the image `lambci/lambda:build-python3.8`
-   map the current working directory `$(pwd)` to the container's directory `/var/task`
-   run in interactive mode: `-ti`
-   clean up the instance once it terminates: `--rm`
-   and run the `bash` shell so we can interact with the container via the terminal