Migrating Bold BI from EC2 Docker to ECS Fargate

Objective

To migrate the Bold BI application from a single-container Docker deployment in an EC2 instance to a scalable ECS Fargate-based architecture, ensuring data consistency and minimal downtime.

Step 1: Backup PostgreSQL Database

• Access the PostgreSQL container
• Take a database backup using:

docker exec postgres pg_dump -U postgres bold_services > bold_services_backup.sql 

• Copy the backup file to a safe location

Step 2: Backup app_data Folder

• Locate the app_data directory inside the container or mounted volume
• Compress and back up:

tar -czvf app_data_backup.tar.gz app_data/ 

Migration to ECS Fargate:

Deploy Bold BI application in ECS fargate using the documentation below:

Document : Bold BI on ECS Fargate

Step 3: Create Application Load Balancer

• Create an Application Load Balancer
• Configure:
  • Listener (HTTP/HTTPS)
  • Security groups
  • Subnets

Step 4: Create Target Group

• Create target group for ECS service
• Configure:
  • Target type: IP
  • Port: Application port (e.g., 80)
  • Health check path

step 5: Create Task Definition:

• Use Bold BI Docker image
• Configure CPU & memory
• Add environment variables
• Configure port mappings

Example task definition:

{
  "taskDefinitionArn": "<task-definition-ARN>",    //provide the task definition ARN here
  "containerDefinitions": [
      {
          "name": "boldbi",
          "image": "syncfusion/boldbi",
          "cpu": 0,
          "portMappings": [
              {
                  "name": "boldbi-80-tcp",
                   "containerPort": 80,
                  "hostPort": 80,
                  "protocol": "tcp",
                  "appProtocol": "http"
              }
          ],
          "essential": true,
          "environment": [
              {
                  "name": "BOLD_SERVICES_REVERSE_PROXY",
                  "value": "true"
              },
              {
                  "name": "APP_BASE_URL",
                  "value": "<app_url> "    //provide app base url here
              }
          ],
          "mountPoints": [
              {
                  "sourceVolume": "BoldBI-volume",
                   "containerPath": "/application/app_data",
                  "readOnly": false
              },
              {
                   "sourceVolume": "BoldBI-volume-nginx",
                   "containerPath": "/etc/nginx/sites-available",
                   "readOnly": false
               }
          ],
          "volumesFrom": [],
          "logConfiguration": {
              "logDriver": "awslogs",
              "options": {
                   "awslogs-group": "/ecs/BoldBI",
                   "awslogs-create-group": "true",
                   "awslogs-region": "us-east-1",
                   "awslogs-stream-prefix": "ecs"
              }
          },
          "systemControls": []
      }
  ],
  "family": "BoldBI",
  "taskRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::<arn-role> ", //provide arn role here
  "executionRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::<executionRoleArn>", //provide ecs task execustion role
  "networkMode": "awsvpc",
  "revision": 89,
  "volumes": [
      {
          "name": "BoldBI-volume",
           "efsVolumeConfiguration": {
              "fileSystemId": "<filesystem-id>",
              "rootDirectory": "/"
          }
      },
       {
           "name": "BoldBI-volume-nginx",
           "efsVolumeConfiguration": {
               "fileSystemId": "<filesystem-id>",
               "rootDirectory": "/nginx"
           }
       }
  ],
  "status": "ACTIVE",
  "requiresAttributes": [
      {
          "name": "com.amazonaws.ecs.capability.logging-driver.awslogs"
      },
      {
          "name": "ecs.capability.execution-role-awslogs"
      },
      {
          "name": "ecs.capability.efsAuth"
      },
      {
          "name": "com.amazonaws.ecs.capability.docker-remote-api.1.19"
      },
      {
          "name": "ecs.capability.efs"
      },
      {
          "name": "com.amazonaws.ecs.capability.task-iam-role"
      },
      {
          "name": "com.amazonaws.ecs.capability.docker-remote-api.1.25"
      },
      {
          "name": "com.amazonaws.ecs.capability.docker-remote-api.1.18"
      },
      {
          "name": "ecs.capability.task-eni"
      },
      {
          "name": "com.amazonaws.ecs.capability.docker-remote-api.1.29"
      }
  ],
  "placementConstraints": [],
  "compatibilities": [
      "EC2",
      "MANAGED_INSTANCES",
      "FARGATE"
  ],
  "requiresCompatibilities": [
      "FARGATE"
  ],
  "cpu": "4096",
  "memory": "8192",
  "runtimePlatform": {
      "cpuArchitecture": "X86_64",
      "operatingSystemFamily": "LINUX"
  },
  "registeredAt": "2026-03-18T08:12:08.046Z",
  "registeredBy": "<arn-id> ",
  "tags": []
}

Create ECS Service:

• Set desired task
  
  
• Choose the launch type as Fargate
  
  
• Enable turn-on ECS Exec option for bash the task later
  
  
• Attach the load balancer
• Attach target group
  
  

Step 6: Mount app_data and nginx folder using EFS

Note: Mount the app_data and nginx folder in the separate VM using below Documentation:

Documentation: How to Mount a Persistent Volume for App Data in Amazon AWS ECS Service

Step 7: Restore Data

• Once ECS service went to running and completed state please do below steps for restore the app_data and db data
  
  

8.1 Replace app_data

• Copy backed-up app_data into EFS mount location

8.2 Restore Database to RDS

• Create new DB in Amazon RDS
• Restore DB:

psql -h <rds-endpoint> -U <username> -d <database_name> -f boldbi_backup.sql 

Step 8: Execute Commands Inside ECS Task

• Access running ECS container (via exec/bash):

aws ecs execute-command \
 --cluster <cluster-name> \
 --task <task-id> \
 --container <container-name> \
 --interactive \
 --command "/bin/bash" 

Note: For bash the task you should allow the AmazonSSMManagedInstanceCore in your task role

Step 9: Run Bold BI DB Utility to change the connection string in db

• Inside the container, run required Bold BI DB migration/upgrade utility for update the new db details in new migrated site
• Documentation : Reset application database

Step 10: Restart ECS Service

• Restart ECS tasks/service to apply all configurations:
  
  

Step 11: Access Application

• Map domain to ALB
• Access Bold BI using domain URL