Cloud Resume Challenge

Overview

My attempt at the Cloud Resume Challenge, built with performance and sustainability in mind. This project demonstrates full-stack cloud development using cutting-edge technologies and best practices for infrastructure, security, and automation.

Key Achievements

Performance Optimisation

• 97.8% faster cold starts: Reduced from 5,596 ms (Java) to 125 ms (Rust).
• 84.2% memory reduction: From 152MB to 24MB average usage.
• 79.5% cost savings: Optimised Lambda pricing through efficient resource usage.
• Response time improvement: From ~140 ms to 6-8 ms average API response.

Architecture and Technologies

• Frontend: Astro static site generator with React components for dynamic content.
• Backend: Rust-powered AWS Lambda functions with DynamoDB storage.
• Infrastructure: Terraform for Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
• Deployment: Automated CI/CD with GitHub Actions and OIDC authentication.
• Hosting: AWS S3 + CloudFront CDN with custom domain and SSL.

Technical Highlights

Sustainable Cloud Computing

Chose Rust over Java for serverless functions to reduce environmental impact and improve user experience through:

• Minimal memory footprint
• Faster execution times
• Reduced cold start penalties
• ARM64 architecture optimisation

Development Practices

• Content Management: Astro’s Content Collections API for seamless blog post creation.
• Code Quality: Biome for linting and formatting.
• Type Safety: TypeScript integration in both Astro, and React.
• Testing: Integration tests with Cargo and E2E testing with Playwright.
• Security: Supply chain security practices and AWS credential management via OIDC.

Infrastructure as Code

• Migrated from AWS CloudFormation to Terraform for better flexibility and code structure.
• Modular architecture separating frontend and backend resources.
• Resource import capabilities for existing infrastructure.
• Environment-specific configurations for testing and production.

Key Challenges Solved

CORS Configuration

Debugged CORS issues between local development and AWS API Gateway, including proper handling of preflight OPTIONS requests and Vary headers.

Race Conditions in Testing

Resolved Playwright test flakiness by implementing sequential test execution to prevent concurrent counter-increments.

CI/CD Pipeline Optimisation

• Implemented ARM64 GitHub runners to eliminate cross-compilation overhead.
• Implemented caching to reduce build times.
• Integrated Cargo Lambda via pip for serverless Rust deployment.
• Added security auditing with cargo audit in the pipeline.

Authentication & Security

• Replaced long-term AWS credentials with OpenID Connect for secure, temporary access.
• Proper repository and audience configuration for GitHub Actions.
• Origin Access Control (OAC) for CloudFront to secure S3 bucket access and to prevent direct bucket exposure.

Development Workflow

• Local Development: Cargo Lambda with live reloading for rapid iteration
• Testing: Automated integration and E2E tests ensuring functionality
• Deployment: Push-to-deploy automation via GitHub Actions

Technologies Used

• Languages: Rust, TypeScript, JavaScript
• Frameworks: Astro, React
• Cloud Services: AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, CloudFront, Route53, API Gateway, Certificate Manager
• Infrastructure: Terraform
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions with OIDC
• Testing: Playwright, Cargo test framework
• Tooling: Cargo Lambda, Biome, Tailwind CSS, JetBrains

Future Enhancements

• CloudWatch logging integration for improved observability
• Individual blog post visitor tracking