This CloudFormation template deploys a trio of docker images running in a non-validating, ephemeral configuration connected to the test network. The deployment uses a single VPC subnet in a single availability zone.
Core, Horizon and PostgreSQL are all running in separate containers on the same EC2 instance. AWS ECS is used to manage the container, and EC2 Autoscaling will replace the instance if it crashes or is terminated, but there is never more than one instance running at a time.
The main difference between this template and quickstart is that we follow the best practice of splitting Core, Horizon and PostgreSQL into separate containers, and that logs are automatically sent to AWS CloudWatch allowing user to review detailed logs directly from a web browser .
Aside from having an AWS account, the only prerequisite for deploying this template is that you have an EC2 key pair. The key pair allows you to SSH into your instance. If you don't already have a key pair you can create one via the console or upload an existing one.
Click the links below to launch this stack in the AWS region of your choice. If your desired region is not listed, just copy one of the URLs and edit the region accordingly.
| AWS Region | Short name | |
|---|---|---|
| US East (N. Virginia) | us-east-1 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| US East (Ohio) | us-east-2 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| US West (N. California) | us-west-1 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| US West (Oregon) | us-west-2 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| EU (Ireland) | eu-west-1 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| EU (London) | eu-west-2 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| EU (Frankfurt) | eu-central-1 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| Asia Pacific (Tokyo) | ap-northeast-1 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| Asia Pacific (Mumbai) | ap-south-1 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
| Asia Pacific (Sydney) | ap-southeast-2 | Launch Stack 🚀 |
The template creates a number of resources but the majority of them do not attract charges. You will be billed for the following resources:
AWS Instances and EBS volumes are now billed per second (1 minute minimum) so you can run your instance for as long or little as you like. Estimated monthly and daily prices for entry level instances are below.
- EC2 Instance - $4.25
- EBS Storage - $3.00
- Data Transfer - $0.50
- Total: $7.75/month | $0.26/day
- EC2 Instance - $8.50
- EBS Storage - $3.00
- Data Transfer - $0.50
- Total: $12/month | $0.40/day
New AWS accounts are usually eligible for a 12 month free tier benefit. If you are still eligible for the free tier and use the t2.micro instance type, your only cost will be bandwidth. Note that t2.nano instances are NOT eligible for the free tier.
- EC2 Instance - $0.00
- EBS Storage - $0.00
- Data Transfer - $0.50
- Total: $0.50/month | $0.02/day
Data Transfer pricing on AWS can be complex and usage patterns will vary from user to user. $0.50 per month is a baseline estimate for SCP traffic and basic interaction with horizon. If you plan to do high volume testing or make your horizon instance public be sure to keep an eye on the Data Transfer section of your bill.
CloudWatch logging can also potentially attract charges, but it has a permanent free tier of 5GB ingested before charges apply. A full month of logs including consensus details on the test network is estimated to be less than 0.5GB of data.
While we attempt to provide useful and up to date information, you are responsible for your own AWS
account and the resources that you are charged for. Always be vigilant about doubling checking to ensure that the
resources used are what your expect.
The template URL is a part of the launch link, so will be auto-selected by default. You don't need to change anything on this screen. Click here to view the template directly, it never hurts to double check what you are deploying to your account!
Most of the default parameters can be left as is, however you must specify:
- An SSH Key Pair to be associated with the instance (choose from the dropdown).
- An IP address range that is allowed to SSH into the instance in CIDR format.
- (Optional) An IP address range that is allowed to access the Horizon API via HTTP. Leave blank to block external access.
NOTE: To restrict access to your current IP Find your IP and then add /32 to the end.
You can skip the options screen entirely. On the review screen you can double check the parameters that you set. Be sure to check the acknowledgement checkbox at the end. It is to confirm that you know that the template is creating and IAM Role. Click the "Learn more" link in the warning box if you don't understand what that means.
It will take about 5 minutes for everything to be deloyed. You will see the resources being created in the events tab
Once the deployment is done the status will be CREATE_COMPLETE. Switch to the Outputs tab to see the relevant URLs
- The SSH URL shows the IP of the server and the username. Authentication is done using the key pair specified earlier.
- The Horizon URL is a direct link to the Horizon API.
- The ContainersLogGroup link will take you to a CloudWatch page with separate log streams for core, horizon and postgres.
- The ECS link will show you information about the state of the cluster.
- The DbAppUser value and DbSuperUserPassword link to the Parameter Store (Theses are the credentials used by stellar-core and horizon)
- The DbSuperUser value and DbSuperUserPassword link to the Parameter Store.
If you need database access, the PostgreSQL passwords are auto-generated by the template and stored securely in the SSM Parameter Store. Click on the relevant link in the output tab to be taken to that page then click the link to Show the value.
This template allows you to view the detailed logs generated by Stellar Core and Horizon without SSHing into your instance. If you click on the ContainersLogGroup link in the outputs tab it will take to a page that links to the log streams for core, horizon and the database.
Clicking on those links will show you more detailed logs for each system including consensus logging for core.
-
Horizon is only accessible over HTTP, not HTTPS.
-
The PostgreSQL port is not exposed to the internet. You must SSH into the server (or tunnel over SSH) to access the database.
-
Please remember to report issues specific to the docker image, stellar-core, horizon, etc to the appropriate repo and only report issues related to the CloudFormation template here.