Manual Next.js Deployment on AWS EC2: A Production-Grade Setup

🚀 Deployed My Next.js Portfolio on AWS EC2 (Production Setup)

Vishal Kondi transitioned a Next.js portfolio from development to a live production environment on Amazon Linux 2023. The deployment utilizes a public cloud server at IP 32.192.174.226 to host the application. This manual setup provides deeper infrastructure knowledge than managed platforms.

Why This Matters

Moving from managed services to manual EC2 orchestration allows developers to understand the interplay between the application layer and the underlying operating system. Configuring Amazon Linux 2023 manually ensures that environment variables, Node.js runtimes, and Git integrations are tailored to specific project requirements. Production reliability is achieved through the implementation of a reverse proxy like Nginx, which shields the application server. This architecture prevents common failures associated with exposing the internal Node.js listener directly to public web traffic while providing a scalable path for SSL termination and load balancing.

Key Insights

• Amazon Linux 2023 was selected as the OS for the EC2 instance to host the portfolio, Vishal Kondi 2026.
• PM2 is utilized for production process management to ensure high availability of the Next.js application, Vishal Kondi 2026.
• Nginx serves as a reverse proxy to handle incoming traffic and route it to the internal Node.js process, Vishal Kondi 2026.
• AWS Security Groups are used to manually open and secure specific ports for public access, Vishal Kondi 2026.
• Next.js applications require a production build step to optimize performance before deployment on cloud servers, Vishal Kondi 2026.

Practical Applications

• Use Case: Hosting a portfolio on AWS EC2 for granular control over the web server and OS configuration. Pitfall: Improperly configured Security Groups can lead to exposed internal ports or blocked traffic.
• Use Case: Implementing PM2 for process management in a Node.js environment to handle automatic restarts. Pitfall: Failing to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy may expose the raw Node.js port directly to the web.

References:

• https://dev.to/vishal_kondi_92483f40e706/deployed-my-nextjs-portfolio-on-aws-ec2-production-setup-3d6b