Introducing LaunchKit: Streamline your infrastructure deployment on DigitalOcean - now in Beta

In the rapidly evolving world of web development, time is of the essence. Before an app developer can start creating software, they need to undergo the process of setting up, configuring and deploying multiple infrastructure services. These extra steps require time, resources, and knowledge of infrastructure setup that an app developer might not have, as their main goal is app development and not infrastructure management.

To address these needs, DigitalOcean is excited to introduce LaunchKit in Beta, a tool designed to simplify the process of spinning up a complete set of resources that are ready to use through an easier, guided operation. With a few clicks on a single screen, LaunchKit deploys a virtual private network consisting of two virtual machines (Droplets), one load balancer, and a DigitalOcean Managed Database of your choice.

This infrastructure stack forms the foundation for building robust and scalable web applications in a common architectural pattern. In this blog, we will delve into the features and benefits of LaunchKit, emphasizing its extensibility and the valuable feedback we seek from our users.

Save time with a pre-configured stack

Setting up a web architecture usually involves configuring each cloud component individually, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.

Steps often include:

1. Create Droplets individually for hosting applications
2. Create and deploy a DigitalOcean Managed Database
3. Create a load balancer and place Droplets within that load balancer
4. Setup a virtual private cloud network (VPC) and place all resources within that VPC
5. Connect load balancers, Droplets, and Managed Databases together to form a performant, highly-available, managed platform.

LaunchKit eliminates these challenges by providing a streamlined process to deploy multiple resources simultaneously. When first getting started on DigitalOcean, developers can launch a stack, empowering them to focus on what truly matters: building their application.

The LaunchKit Stack

At the core of LaunchKit lies a bare bones, common stack that incorporates the fundamental infrastructure components required for a highly scalable web architecture. This stack includes:

Two Droplets: LaunchKit starts you off with two Droplets (virtual machines). After creation, you can add more easily, providing the foundation for a scalable infrastructure. Whether you need additional compute power via larger Droplets or redundancy via multiple instances, LaunchKit enables you to deploy Droplets effortlessly.

Load balancer: Load balancing is essential for distributing incoming traffic across multiple Droplets, ensuring optimal performance and high availability and transport layer security (TLS). LaunchKit automatically configures a load balancer to work with your Droplets, eliminating the need for manual setup.

Your choice of DigitalOcean Managed Database: A robust and reliable database is crucial for storing and managing application data. LaunchKit integrates the DigitalOcean Managed Database component into the stack, empowering users to store their critical information securely on a managed platform. DigitalOcean Managed Database options include PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis.

Easily view your monthly costs

Developers want to understand the cost of cloud resources as they build out their application. LaunchKit uses DigitalOcean’s simple and transparent pricing and shows you the exact costs for all the resources you’ll need via a simplified creation workflow.

Extensibility for customization

While LaunchKit provides a bare bones environment to get you started quickly, we understand that every application has unique requirements. Once the common stack is deployed, you have the flexibility to add and configure additional resources according to your specific needs. Whether you require a caching layer, a message queue, or any other component, LaunchKit provides the foundation upon which you can build and scale your application efficiently.

How to get started

To get started with your LaunchKit infrastructure stack creation, you can either click on the LaunchKit link, or you can go to the Cloud Console, click the Create button, and click on the following image.

After you have set up your stack, you are ready to go through configuration. To get started, refer to our Initial Server Setup guide. After that, you’ll then want to deploy your application, connect to your database, and start building your application out.

Share feedback on your experience with LaunchKit!

At DigitalOcean, we believe in the power of community and collaboration. We value your feedback, and we want to ensure that LaunchKit meets your requirements and expectations. Your input will help us refine and optimize the user interface, making the deployment process even more intuitive and efficient. If you have ideas for other stacks you’d like to see built or configuration options that would be helpful, we are all ears.

Within LaunchKit, you’ll find a feedback link located just below the “Create LaunchKit” button as shown in the image below —please tell us what you think!

Conclusion

DigitalOcean’s LaunchKit presents an easier, guided way to spin up multiple resources at once, offering a common stack for building highly scalable web architectures. By streamlining the deployment process, LaunchKit empowers developers to focus on building their applications while eliminating the complexities of manual configuration and being overwhelmed with additional costs throughout development. We’re excited to hear your feedback and suggestions to make LaunchKit even better over time!

Try LaunchKit today and unlock a world of possibilities for your web infrastructure.