Discovering AWS App Runner: The Latest AWS Orchestration Solution You Should Be Aware Of
Tags: aws, beginners, community, containers
Published: 2023-03-19 15:38:28

AWS Compute services constantly evolve over time to meet the demands of customers. These customers are always seeking faster, quicker, and more user-friendly services. Take a look at the following for the evolution of Compute services:

![Compute services evolution](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/y4v4et52pbhgydlzekf1.png)

In AWS Fargate era, container orchestration has been included as part of AWS's responsibility in the shared responsibility model. Refer to the image below for more information:

![AWS Fargate](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/r78faj3inoi9j8zv9bkh.png)

As a response to the demand for a solution that can rapidly build and deploy applications while being user-friendly, AWS has integrated Load Balancing, Autoscaling, and CI/CD processes into their shared responsibility model. This has led to the development of AWS AppRunner.

![AWS Apprunner](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/l54y0t7ufcetgm575gp0.png)

With AWS AppRunner, publishing your application is a straightforward process that can be completed in just three steps. The first step is critical, as it involves selecting the location from which the application can connect to AppRunner. In the second step, you must define all the necessary configurations for the service. Once this is done, you can proceed to deploy your application and serve traffic from a secure URL. To gain a better understanding of the process, refer to the flow diagram below:

![Apprunner architecture](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/e9xbjcujlvx9ag85cd6y.png)

##IMPROVEMENT
Since its launch in 2021, AppRunner has continuously been improved to cater to the demands of the industry. Several of these improvements have been game-changers for AppRunner, significantly enhancing its robustness in various situations.

Some of these improvements include expanding coverage to multiple regions, supporting AWS WAF web ACLs, redirecting HTTP requests to HTTPS endpoints, enabling privately accessible services within Amazon VPC, supporting additional runtimes, and supporting custom Amazon VPCs for outbound traffic. For more information on the recent improvements made to AppRunner, please refer to the source [here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/apprunner/latest/relnotes/relnotes.html)

##PRICING
AppRunner operates on a pricing model that charges based on the compute and memory resources utilized by your application. This pricing model is similar to that of Fargate, but it is slightly more expensive as AppRunner currently manages both your CI/CD and load balancer. To compare the differences between the two, please refer to the information below:

###Fargate Pricing
![Fargate Pricing](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/v50gyyq22emi4u6pzq8l.png)

###Apprunner pricing
![apprunner pricing](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/44zyvc4dlkgfp41ooctk.png)

However, AWS AppRunner incurs an additional cost for its automatic build feature. For more information, please refer to the details below:
![Additional apprunner pricing](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/nydfyctnd69ktdvy09dc.png)

##CONCLUSION
Although AWS AppRunner is a relatively new addition to the AWS compute services family, it has continuously been enhanced and refined, featuring an improved pricing model. With these developments, AppRunner has the potential to become a top choice for individuals seeking to deploy container services in AWS.

I think that's it for now. Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments section below. Thanks.

Picture Sources:
1. [AWS App Runner: Deep Dive - AWS Online Tech Talks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_1X_4j16A4)
2. [AWS apprunner pricing official](https://aws.amazon.com/apprunner/pricing/)
3. [AWS fargate pricing official](https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/pricing/)