How to deploy the container of any compute workload on Edgegap like Edgegap’s own engineers
Build and Ship your code/game into a Container Package and push it to Edgegap as a new app version. It's as simple as creating a Dockerfile for your build and letting Edgegap handle the rest.
Test Live, Not Local! Skip the "iT wOrKs oN mY mAcHiNe <insert spongebob meme here>" headache by deploying to Edgegap's actual edge network in seconds. You'll instantly know if your app runs properly in the real world across 615+ global locations, catching issues that local testing misses.
Add Your Developer Tools Deploy the supporting tools you need alongside your app - whether that's web utilities, network beacons for testing, proxy services, databases, or anything else that keeps your development workflow smooth and efficient.
Test Individual Components Quickly Deploy and test specific components or services in isolation without spinning up new clusters or affecting your production stack. Perfect for testing new APIs with “fake” backends, validating microservices, or experimenting with configuration changes in a live edge environment.
When developers ask "where to deploy my workload" on global edge computing, Edgegap's own developers have perfected a streamlined three-step process that eliminates most possibilities to run into problem once in production and enables rapid edge deployment testing. This guide outlines the exact workflow used internally at Edgegap for fast, reliable deployments, showing you how to deploy container applications without the complexity typically associated with orchestration platforms.
Step 1: Containerize Your Project
Learning how to deploy container applications efficiently starts with proper containerization. The first step involves containerizing your application using Docker or any open-source containerization solution.
At Edgegap, our container-based orchestration distributes your compute workload worldwide to 615+ edge locations. As multiplayer games need to deploy game servers quickly for your players, our orchestration ensures containers can be deployed almost instantly.
Creating Your Docker Container
Start by creating a Dockerfile in your project root. The containerization process is straightforward for most applications - once it is done, simply push it to our private registry or to any public container registry (i.e. Docker hub)
Step 2: Create you application Version
Deploy a new Application and Version
Once your container image is ready, deploy it to Edgegap as a new app and version using the Edgegap API or the Web UI. Configure everything depending of your needs
Select your specification like CPU and Memory requirements
Select the ports that you want to expose in your deployment
Use private container image registry or public one
Inject additional information with Environment Variables
Add sidecar for effortless TLS upgrade (for http and websocket application)
Many more advanced option to cover all the usecases!
Step 3: Deploy in Seconds for End-to-End Edge Testing
The last step involves rapid deployment to test your application end-to-end on the actual edge network rather than relying on local testing. This approach eliminates the notorious "but it works on my machine" syndrome by proving functionality in the real Edgegap edge environment.
Why Edge Testing Matters
Edgegap orchestrates game servers worldwide across 615+ physical locations and 17+ data center providers to ensure deployment to the ideal location for your end users. Edgegap's patented strategy is the best-in-class turnkey solution to reduce latency and minimize operating (hosting) costs, thanks to our pay-per-use pricing.
Testing on this distributed infrastructure ensures your application performs correctly across Edgegap's global network, revealing issues that local testing simply cannot catch.
Fast Iteration Workflow
The deployment system is designed for speed, allowing developers to:
Deploy containers in seconds
Test immediately on live edge infrastructure
Identify and fix issues quickly
Iterate rapidly without lengthy deployment cycles
Which is great considering Edgegap’s generous free tier, which doesn’t require a credit card.
Deploy Supporting Tools for Development
You can also deploy additional tools that support current development workflows. Edgegap provides several developer tools designed to enhance the development and testing experience.
Available Developer Tools
Edgegap offers various tools to support your development process:
Web-based Tools: Including web utilities for testing and monitoring your deployments
Beacons: For network measurement and optimization testing
Proxy Services: To handle traffic routing and load balancing during development
Testing Solutions: Test your application/game with tests suites, fake players script, etc
Integration and Storage Options
Create an endpoint storage to store your container logs at the end of a deployment. The platform supports S3-compatible storage solutions for log management and provides API endpoints for automated integration with your CI/CD pipelines.
No Needs for DevOps!
One of the key advantages of Edgegap's platform is that it provides enterprise-grade container orchestration without requiring developers to learn or manage any DevOps skills. While Edgegap's underlying infrastructure is Container-based, the platform abstracts away all the complexity, allowing you to focus on your application rather than orchestration mechanics.
Any runtime can be deployed using Edgegap's API, making this workflow applicable to any technology stack. The API provides comprehensive functionality for:
Application and version management
Deployment automation
Resource monitoring
Log storage configuration
Network optimization
Best Practices for Rapid Iteration
To maximize the effectiveness of this workflow:
Container Optimization: Design containers with speed in mind, as applications using Edgegap often need to start within milliseconds. Small container size and optimized cpu and memory usage are the key factor for fast boot time.
Automated Pipelines: If the dashboard UI is too slow for you, or you need an automated continuous integration pipeline that would build, containerize, push and test your application/game, you can easily integrate our REST API.
Testing Strategy: Always test on the actual edge network rather than relying solely on local development environments.
Tool Integration: Leverage Edgegap's developer tools to create a comprehensive testing and monitoring environment.
This three-step workflow enables Edgegap's developers to maintain rapid iteration cycles while ensuring their code performs reliably across the global edge network. By following the same process, external developers can achieve similar levels of efficiency and confidence in their deployments.
Sources and/or content collaboration with
Bastien Roy-Mazoyer
