A brief introduction to AWS ECR and Step Functions


Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR) is a fully managed Docker container registry integrated with Amazon ECS. It facilitates easy storage, management, and deployment of Docker container images. ECR supports API V2 which means we can easily access it via the CLI. All container images are stored in Amazon S3 ensuring high availability and durability. Access control is managed through IAM, ensuring defined policies for image access.

Containers hold everything that the software needs to run, such as libraries, system tools, code, and the runtime.

  • Docker is a software platform that packages software (such as applications) into units that are called containers.
  • A single application can span multiple containers.
  • Kubernetes is open-source software for container orchestration. It enables you to deploy and manage containerized applications at scale.
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration tool which allows us to deploy and manage containerized applications at scale, providing a consistent toolset for on-premises and cloud environments. It operates by managing a cluster of compute instances, scheduling containers based on resource availability and requirements. Containers form pods, logical groupings that can be scaled together. The Kubernetes control plane automates pod deployment, manages traffic routing, and scales pods based on defined metrics. It automatically starts and restarts pods based on resource needs and handles failures seamlessly.


AWS Step Functions is a service that allows you to efficiently organize and coordinate AWS services within serverless workflows. In the context of AWS Step Functions, a workflow is essentially a series of steps and the transitions between these steps, collectively referred to as a "state machine."

When using AWS Step Functions, you have the flexibility to define the flow of your application or process by specifying the sequence of steps that need to be executed. Each step represents an individual task or operation, and the transitions indicate how the workflow progresses from one step to the next.

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