3-Tier Java Registration Form Deployment on AWS

This project showcases a Java-based Student Registration Web Application deployed using a Three-Tier Architecture on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The setup includes an NGINX Proxy Server in the public subnet, a Tomcat Application Server in the private subnet, and a MariaDB Database hosted on Amazon RDS. The Proxy Server not only handles HTTP requests but also acts as a Jump Server (Bastion Host) for secure SSH access to private-tier instances. The entire infrastructure is built inside a custom VPC using subnets, route tables, a NAT gateway, and security groups for secure communication between tiers. It demonstrates how traffic flows from users through a proxy to the application and database layers, following a real-world, scalable cloud deployment model.

Architecture Layers

● Proxy Tier (Presentation Layer): Handles client requests, routes traffic, and ensures secure external access via NGINX.

● Application Tier (Business Logic): Hosts the Java-based web application (Student Registration System) running on Apache Tomcat.

● Database Tier (Data Layer): Stores user information in a relational database managed by Amazon RDS for reliability and automated backups.

Architecture Diagram

VPC Configuration

VPC CIDR: 10.0.0.0/

Subnets:
● Public Subnet (Proxy): 10.0.0.0/
● Private Subnet 1 (App): 10.0.16.0/
● Private Subnet 2 (DB): 10.0.32.0/

NAT Gateway: In Public Subnet with Elastic IP

Security Group Ports:
● 22 (SSH)
● 80 (HTTP)
● 8080 (Application)
● 3306 (MySQL)

AWS Setup Steps

1. Create Networking Resources

Step 1: Create a VPC

Create a VPC with range 10.0.0.0/16. This creates an isolated network to host all components securely.

Step 2: Create Subnets

Create three subnets:

● Public Subnet → 10.0.0.0/20 (for Proxy Server)
● Private Subnet 1 → 10.0.16.0/20 (for App Server)
● Private Subnet 2 → 10.0.32.0/20 (for DB Server)

Step 3: Create an Internet Gateway

Create an Internet Gateway and attach it to the VPC. This allows resources in the public subnet to connect to the internet.

Step 4: Configure Public Route Table

Update Public Route Table to add an IGW route.

Step 5: Create NAT Gateway

Create a NAT Gateway in the Public Subnet (auto-allocate Elastic IP). It allows private instances (App, DB) to access the internet

Step 6:

Create Private Route table inside your VPC and add route of NAT gateway in it: Now private subnets can reach the internet through NAT.

Step 7:

Associate Private Subnets to the private route table. This separates internal traffic from public access.

Step 8:

Create a Security Group with inbound rules:

22 (SSH)
80 (HTTP)
8080 (Tomcat)
3306 (MySQL/RDS)

2. Launch EC2 Instances and Create RDS

Tier	Subnet	Description	Security Group
Proxy Tier	Public Subnet	NGINX Reverse Proxy	3-Tier-SG
App Tier	Private Subnet 1	Apache Tomcat Application Tier	3-Tier-SG
Database Tier	Private Subnet 2	MariaDB / RDS Database Server	3-Tier-SG

Also, create an RDS instance (MariaDB) in the same VPC with the same security group.

3. Proxy Server Setup (NGINX)

Step 1 : Connect via SSH to the Proxy instance.

Step 2 : Install and start NGINX:

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install nginx -y
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx

Step 3 : Edit NGINX configuration:

cd /etc/nginx
sudo vim nginx.conf

Inside the server block, add: location / { proxy_pass http://:8080/student/; }

Step 4 : Restart NGINX:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

NGINX will now forward external traffic to your Tomcat server.

4. Application Server Setup (Tomcat)

Step 1 : From jump server(here Proxy) Connect to your App instance.

Step 2 : Install Java and Tomcat

update system
install java
install tomcat

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install java -y
wget https://dlcdn.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-9/v9.0.98/bin/apache-tomcat-
9.0.98.tar.gz
sudo tar -xvzf apache-tomcat-9.0.98.tar.gz -C /opt

Step 3 :

Check that tomcat is installed correctly:

Step 4 : Deploy your application WAR file:

Deploy your web application inside webapps:

cd /opt/apache-tomcat/webapps
wget <S3-Bucket-URL-to-App-Code>

Step 5 : Restart Tomcat

cd /opt/apache-tomcat/bin
./catalina.sh stop
./catalina.sh start

Step 6 : Check Java

Now open your browser to check java page:

http://Proxy-Public-IP

5. Database Setup (MariaDB / RDS)

Step 1 :

SSH into DB instance and take access of RDS:

sudo yum install mariadb105-server -y
mysql -h <RDS-ENDPOINT> -u admin -p

Step 2 :

Create database and table:

CREATE DATABASE studentapp;
USE studentapp;

CREATE TABLE students (
student_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
student_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,

student_addr VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
student_age VARCHAR(3) NOT NULL,
student_qual VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
student_percent VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
student_year_passed VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (student_id)
);

Exit MySQL:

exit;

6. Connect App Server to RDS

Step 1 :

Install JDBC connector in App server:

sudo -i
cd /opt/apache-tomcat/lib
wget <S3-Bucket-URL-to-JDBC-Connector>

Step 2:

Edit the context file:

cd /opt/apache-tomcat/conf
sudo vim context.xml

Step 3 :

Add this configuration inside context block:

<Resource name="jdbc/TestDB" 
          auth="Container"
          type="javax.sql.DataSource"
          maxTotal="500" 
          maxIdle="30" 
          maxWaitMillis="1000"
          username="admin" 
          password="redhat123!"
          driverClassName="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver"
          url="jdbc:mysql://<RDS-ENDPOINT>:3306/studentapp?
 useUnicode=yes&characterEncoding=utf8"/> 

Step 4 :

Restart Tomcat:

cd /opt/apache-tomcat/bin
./catalina.sh stop
./catalina.sh start

7. Access the Application and add entries

Once all services are running visit: http://Proxy-Public-IP

Register new student details and submit.

8. Verify entries in the RDS

Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Fix
Application not loading	Check NGINX logs: /var/log/nginx/error.log
Tomcat not starting	Verify Tomcat status with sudo systemctl status tomcat
Database connection failed	Ensure correct RDS endpoint, username, and password in context.xml
Access denied	Verify Security Group rules for ports 22, 80, 8080, and 3306
Proxy not forwarding traffic	Recheck proxy_pass URL in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Final Result

Successfully deployed a 3-Tier Web Application on AWS with:

● Isolated VPC architecture
● Secure public and private subnets
● NAT Gateway for private internet access
● Reverse proxy with NGINX
● RDS integration for database storage
● End-to-end functional Student Registration System