Creating an HTTP load-balanced logbook app

This advanced example demonstrates how to build a logbook app that uses node.js for its frontend and MySQL for its backend. The template also creates and connects an HTTP load balancer that load balances across two zones, and an autoscaler to automatically scale the app.

This example assumes you are familiar with Docker containers, as well as Compute Engine resources, particularly HTTP load balancing, autoscaling, managed instance groups, and instance templates.

For more introductory tutorials, refer to the Getting started guide or the Step-by-step guide.

Before you begin

• If you want to use the command-line examples in this guide, install the `gcloud` command-line tool.
• If you want to use the API examples in this guide, set up API access.
• Familiar with Compute Engine HTTP load balancing.
• Familiar with Docker containers.

Creating your templates

This example launches a deployment with several types of resources. To start, you will create reusable templates that define these resources separately. Later on, you will use these templates in your final configuration.

At the end of this example, you will have a deployment that contains these resources:

• A single Compute Engine instance for the backend MySQL virtual machine.
• An instance template that uses a Docker image.
• Two autoscaled managed instance groups in two different zones, running the frontend node.js service.
• Another two autoscaled managed instance group serving static data.
• A health check and a HTTP load balancer to distributed traffic across the respective managed instance groups.

Creating the backend templates

The backend of this app is a single Compute Engine instance running a MySQL Docker container. Create a template that defines a Compute Engine instance that uses a container-optimized image. Name the file container_vm.[py|jinja]:

{% from 'container_helper.jinja' import GenerateManifest %}
{% set COMPUTE_URL_BASE = 'https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/' %}

resources:
- name: {{ env['name'] }}
  type: compute.v1.instance
  properties:
    zone: {{ properties['zone'] }}
    machineType: {{ COMPUTE_URL_BASE }}projects/{{ env['project'] }}/zones/{{ properties['zone'] }}/machineTypes/f1-micro
    metadata:
      items:
      - key: gce-container-declaration
        value: |
          {{ GenerateManifest(env['name'], properties['port'], properties['dockerImage'], properties['dockerEnv'])|indent(10) }}
    disks:
    - deviceName: boot
      type: PERSISTENT
      autoDelete: true
      boot: true
      initializeParams:
        diskName: {{ env['name'] }}-disk
        sourceImage: {{ COMPUTE_URL_BASE }}projects/cos-cloud/global/images/{{ properties['containerImage'] }}
    networkInterfaces:
    - accessConfigs:
      - name: external-nat
        type: ONE_TO_ONE_NAT
      network: {{ COMPUTE_URL_BASE }}projects/{{ env['project'] }}/global/networks/default
    serviceAccounts:
      - email: default
        scopes:
        - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write
        - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring.write

# Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.

"""Creates a Container VM with the provided Container manifest."""

from container_helper import GenerateManifest


COMPUTE_URL_BASE = 'https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/'


def GlobalComputeUrl(project, collection, name):
  return ''.join([COMPUTE_URL_BASE, 'projects/', project,
                  '/global/', collection, '/', name])


def ZonalComputeUrl(project, zone, collection, name):
  return ''.join([COMPUTE_URL_BASE, 'projects/', project,
                  '/zones/', zone, '/', collection, '/', name])


def GenerateConfig(context):
  """Generate configuration."""

  base_name = context.env['name']

  # Properties for the container-based instance.
  instance = {
      'zone': context.properties['zone'],
      'machineType': ZonalComputeUrl(context.env['project'],
                                     context.properties['zone'],
                                     'machineTypes',
                                     'f1-micro'),
      'metadata': {
          'items': [{
              'key': 'gce-container-declaration',
              'value': GenerateManifest(context)
              }]
          },
      'disks': [{
          'deviceName': 'boot',
          'type': 'PERSISTENT',
          'autoDelete': True,
          'boot': True,
          'initializeParams': {
              'diskName': base_name + '-disk',
              'sourceImage': GlobalComputeUrl('cos-cloud',
                                              'images',
                                              context.properties[
                                                  'containerImage'])
              },
          }],
      'networkInterfaces': [{
          'accessConfigs': [{
              'name': 'external-nat',
              'type': 'ONE_TO_ONE_NAT'
              }],
          'network': GlobalComputeUrl(context.env['project'],
                                      'networks',
                                      'default')
          }],
        'serviceAccounts': [{
            'email': 'default',
            'scopes': ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write']
            }]
      }

  # Resources to return.
  resources = {
      'resources': [{
          'name': base_name,
          'type': 'compute.v1.instance',
          'properties': instance
          }]
      }

  return resources

The template defines a number of variables, such as the containerImage and the manifest, which will be filled in when you define your configuration. This template alone just creates a single virtual machine (VM) instance.

When you use container images on Compute Engine instances, you also need to provide a manifest file (different from a Deployment Manager manifest) to describe to Compute Engine which container image to use. Create a helper method called container_helper.[py|jinja] to dynamically define the container manifest:

{% macro GenerateManifest(name, port, dockerImage, dockerEnv) -%}

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: {{ name }}
spec:
  containers:
  - name: {{ name }}
    image: {{ dockerImage }}
    ports:
    - hostPort: {{ port }}
      containerPort: {{ port }}
    {% if dockerEnv -%}
    env:
    {% for key, value in dockerEnv.items() -%}
    - name: {{ key }}
      value: '{{ value }}'
    {% endfor -%}
    {% endif -%}
{%- endmacro -%}

# Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.

"""Helper methods for working with containers in config."""

import six
import yaml


def GenerateManifest(context):
  """Generates a Container Manifest given a Template context.

  Args:
    context: Template context, which must contain dockerImage and port
        properties, and an optional dockerEnv property.

  Returns:
    A Container Manifest as a YAML string.
  """
  env_list = []
  if 'dockerEnv' in context.properties:
    for key, value in six.iteritems(context.properties['dockerEnv']):
      env_list.append({'name': key, 'value': str(value)})

  manifest = {
      'apiVersion': 'v1',
      'kind': 'Pod',
      'metadata': {
          'name': str(context.env['name'])
          },
      'spec': {
          'containers': [{
              'name': str(context.env['name']),
              'image': context.properties['dockerImage'],
              'ports': [{
                  'hostPort': context.properties['port'],
                  'containerPort': context.properties['port']
                  }],
              }]
          }
      }

  if env_list:
    manifest['spec']['containers'][0]['env'] = env_list

  return yaml.dump(manifest, default_flow_style=False)

Creating the frontend templates

The frontend of this app runs Node.js and allow users to post messages to the web page. There will be two managed instance groups that contain two instances each: a primary managed instance group, and a secondary managed instance group for load balancing.

To create these frontend templates, use the following instructions.

1. Create an instance template.

   You need an Instance Template resource to create a managed instance group, which is a group of identical VM instances that are centrally managed. This example creates a managed instance group for the frontend node.js instances, but first, you must create the Instance Template.

   Define a file named container_instance_template.[py|jinja]:

   Jinja

   
   
   {% from 'container_helper.jinja' import GenerateManifest %}
   {% set IT_NAME = env['name'] + '-it' %}
   
   resources:
   - name: {{ IT_NAME }}
     type: compute.v1.instanceTemplate
     properties:
       properties:
         metadata:
           items:
           - key: gce-container-declaration
             value: |
               {{ GenerateManifest(env['name'], properties['port'],properties['dockerImage'], properties['dockerEnv'])|indent(12) }}
         machineType: f1-micro
         disks:
         - deviceName: boot
           boot: true
           autoDelete: true
           mode: READ_WRITE
           type: PERSISTENT
           initializeParams:
             sourceImage: https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/images/{{ properties['containerImage'] }}
         networkInterfaces:
         - accessConfigs:
           - name: external-nat
             type: ONE_TO_ONE_NAT
           network: https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/{{ env['project'] }}/global/networks/default
         serviceAccounts:
           - email: default
             scopes:
             - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write
             - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring.write
   outputs:
   - name: instanceTemplateSelfLink
     value: $(ref.{{ IT_NAME }}.selfLink)
   

   Python

   # Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
   #
   # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   # You may obtain a copy of the License at
   #
   #     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
   #
   # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   # limitations under the License.
   
   """Creates a Container VM with the provided Container manifest."""
   
   from container_helper import GenerateManifest
   
   
   def GenerateConfig(context):
     """Generates configuration."""
   
     image = ''.join(['https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/',
                      'projects/cos-cloud/global/images/',
                      context.properties['containerImage']])
     default_network = ''.join(['https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/',
                                context.env['project'],
                                '/global/networks/default'])
   
     instance_template = {
         'name': context.env['name'] + '-it',
         'type': 'compute.v1.instanceTemplate',
         'properties': {
             'properties': {
                 'metadata': {
                     'items': [{
                         'key': 'gce-container-declaration',
                         'value': GenerateManifest(context)
                         }]
                     },
                 'machineType': 'f1-micro',
                 'disks': [{
                     'deviceName': 'boot',
                     'boot': True,
                     'autoDelete': True,
                     'mode': 'READ_WRITE',
                     'type': 'PERSISTENT',
                     'initializeParams': {'sourceImage': image}
                     }],
                 'networkInterfaces': [{
                     'accessConfigs': [{
                         'name': 'external-nat',
                         'type': 'ONE_TO_ONE_NAT'
                         }],
                     'network': default_network
                     }],
                   'serviceAccounts': [{
                       'email': 'default',
                       'scopes': ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write']
                       }]
                 }
             }
         }
   
     outputs = [{'name': 'instanceTemplateSelfLink',
                 'value': '$(ref.' + instance_template['name'] + '.selfLink)'}]
   
     return {'resources': [instance_template], 'outputs': outputs}
   

2. Create an autoscaled managed instance group.

   Now that you have an instance template, you can define a template that uses the instance template to create an autoscaled managed instance group. Create a new file named autoscaled_group.[py|jinja] with the following contents:

   Jinja

   
   
   resources:
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}-igm
       type: compute.v1.instanceGroupManager
       properties:
         zone: {{ properties["zone"] }}
         targetSize: {{ properties["size"] }}
         baseInstanceName: {{ env["name"] }}-instance
         instanceTemplate: {{ properties["instanceTemplate"] }}
   
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}-as
       type: compute.v1.autoscaler
       properties:
         zone: {{ properties["zone"] }}
         target: $(ref.{{ env["name"] }}-igm.selfLink)
         autoscalingPolicy:
           maxNumReplicas: {{ properties["maxSize"] }}
   

   Python

   # Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
   #
   # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   # You may obtain a copy of the License at
   #
   #     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
   #
   # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   # limitations under the License.
   
   """Creates autoscaled, network LB IGM running specified docker image."""
   
   
   def GenerateConfig(context):
     """Generate YAML resource configuration."""
   
     # NOTE: Once we can specify the port/service during creation of IGM,
     # we will wire it up here.
     name = context.env['name']
     resources = [{
         'name': name + '-igm',
         'type': 'compute.v1.instanceGroupManager',
         'properties': {
             'zone': context.properties['zone'],
             'targetSize': context.properties['size'],
             'baseInstanceName': name + '-instance',
             'instanceTemplate': context.properties['instanceTemplate']
         }
     }, {
         'name': name + '-as',
         'type': 'compute.v1.autoscaler',
         'properties': {
             'zone': context.properties['zone'],
             'target': '$(ref.' + name + '-igm.selfLink)',
             'autoscalingPolicy': {
                 'maxNumReplicas': context.properties['maxSize']
   
             }
         }
     }]
     return {'resources': resources}
   

   Create the corresponding schema file:

   Jinja

   # Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
   #
   # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   # You may obtain a copy of the License at
   #
   #     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
   #
   # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   # limitations under the License.
   
   info:
     title: Autoscaled, network LB IGM template
     author: Google
     description: Creates an autoscaled Instance Group Manager running the specified Docker image
     version: 1.0
   
   required:
   - zone
   - instanceTemplate
   
   properties:
     zone:
       type: string
       description: Zone in which this VM will run
   
     instanceTemplate:
       type: string
       description: URL for the instance template to use for IGM
   
     size:
       type: integer
       default: 1
       description: Initial size of the Managed Instance Group
   
     maxSize:
       type: integer
       default: 1
       description: Maximum size the Managed Instance Group will be autoscaled to
   

   Python

   # Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
   #
   # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   # You may obtain a copy of the License at
   #
   #     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
   #
   # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   # limitations under the License.
   
   info:
     title: Autoscaled, network LB IGM template
     author: Google
     description: Creates an autoscaled Instance Group Manager running the specified Docker image
     version: 1.0
   
   required:
   - zone
   - instanceTemplate
   
   properties:
     zone:
       type: string
       description: Zone in which this VM will run
   
     instanceTemplate:
       type: string
       description: URL for the instance template to use for IGM
   
     size:
       type: integer
       default: 1
       description: Initial size of the Managed Instance Group
   
     maxSize:
       type: integer
       default: 1
       description: Maximum size the Managed Instance Group will be autoscaled to
   

3. Create resources using these templates.

   Up to this point, you defined base templates that determine the properties of your resources. Using these templates, define the setup of your frontend. Create a new file named service.[py|jinja] with the following contents:

   Jinja

   
   
   resources:
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}
       type: container_instance_template.jinja
       properties:
         port: {{ properties["port"] }}
         dockerEnv: {{ properties["dockerEnv"] }}
         dockerImage: {{ properties["dockerImage"] }}
         containerImage: {{ properties["containerImage"] }}
   
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}-pri
       type: autoscaled_group.jinja
       properties:
         zone: {{ properties["primaryZone"] }}
         size: {{ properties["primarySize"] }}
         maxSize: {{ properties["maxSize"] }}
         port: {{ properties["port"] }}
         service: {{ properties["service"] }}
         baseInstanceName: {{ env["name"] }}-instance
         instanceTemplate: $(ref.{{ env["name"] }}-it.selfLink)
   
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}-sec
       type: autoscaled_group.jinja
       properties:
         zone: {{ properties["secondaryZone"] }}
         size: {{ properties["secondarySize"] }}
         maxSize: {{ properties["maxSize"] }}
         port: {{ properties["port"] }}
         service: {{ properties["service"] }}
         baseInstanceName: {{ env["name"] }}-instance
         instanceTemplate: $(ref.{{ env["name"] }}-it.selfLink)
   
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}-hc
       type: compute.v1.httpHealthCheck
       properties:
         port: {{ properties["port"] }}
         requestPath: /_ah/health
   
     - name: {{ env["name"] }}-bes
       type: compute.v1.backendService
       properties:
         port: {{ properties["port"] }}
         portName: {{ properties["service"] }}
         backends:
           - name: {{ env["name"] }}-primary
             group: $(ref.{{ env["name"] }}-pri-igm.instanceGroup)
           - name: {{ env["name"] }}-secondary
             group: $(ref.{{ env["name"] }}-sec-igm.instanceGroup)
         healthChecks: [ $(ref.{{ env["name"] }}-hc.selfLink) ]
   

   Python

   # Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
   #
   # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   # You may obtain a copy of the License at
   #
   #     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
   #
   # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   # limitations under the License.
   
   """Creates primary/secondary zone autoscaled IGM running specified container."""
   
   
   def GenerateConfig(context):
     """Generate YAML resource configuration."""
   
     name = context.env['name']
   
     resources = [{
         'name': name,
         'type': 'container_instance_template.py',
         'properties': {
             'port': context.properties['port'],
             'dockerEnv': context.properties['dockerEnv'],
             'dockerImage': context.properties['dockerImage'],
             'containerImage': context.properties['containerImage']
         }
     }, {
         'name': name + '-pri',
         'type': 'autoscaled_group.py',
         'properties': {
             'zone': context.properties['primaryZone'],
             'size': context.properties['primarySize'],
             'maxSize': context.properties['maxSize'],
             'port': context.properties['port'],
             'service': context.properties['service'],
             'baseInstanceName': name + '-instance',
             'instanceTemplate': '$(ref.' + name + '-it.selfLink)'
         }
     }, {
         'name': name + '-sec',
         'type': 'autoscaled_group.py',
         'properties': {
             'zone': context.properties['secondaryZone'],
             'size': context.properties['secondarySize'],
             'maxSize': context.properties['maxSize'],
             'port': context.properties['port'],
             'service': context.properties['service'],
             'baseInstanceName': name + '-instance',
             'instanceTemplate': '$(ref.' + name + '-it.selfLink)'
         }
     }, {
         'name': name + '-hc',
         'type': 'compute.v1.httpHealthCheck',
         'properties': {
             'port': context.properties['port'],
             'requestPath': '/_ah/health'
         }
     }, {
         'name': name + '-bes',
         'type': 'compute.v1.backendService',
         'properties': {
             'port': context.properties['port'],
             'portName': context.properties['service'],
             'backends': [{
                 'name': name + '-primary',
                 'group': '$(ref.' + name + '-pri-igm.instanceGroup)'
             }, {
                 'name': name + '-secondary',
                 'group': '$(ref.' + name + '-sec-igm.instanceGroup)'
             }],
             'healthChecks': ['$(ref.' + name + '-hc.selfLink)']
         }
     }]
     return {'resources': resources}
   

   Create the corresponding schema file:

   Jinja

   # Copyright 2016 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
   #
   # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   # You may obtain a copy of the License at
   #
   #     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
   #
   # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   # limitations under the License.
   
   info:
     title: Autoscaled IGM
     author: Google
     description: Creates primary/secondary zone autoscaled IGM running specified container.
     version: 1.0
   
   imports:
   - path: autoscaled_group.jinja
   - path: ../../common/jinja/container_instance_template.jinja
     name: container_instance_template.jinja
   
   required:
   - port
   - service
   - primaryZone
   - secondaryZone
   - dockerImage