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Internal Developer Platform for Self-Service Deployment of Microservices-Based Finance Invoice and Billing Applications

Description

This project develops an Internal Developer Platform that provides a standardized and self-service way to deploy microservices-based Finance Invoice & Billing Applications. Developers can use the platform to deploy application services without manually configuring the underlying infrastructure. The platform provides consistent deployment, configuration, and monitoring of the invoice and billing application across different environments.

Aim

To develop an Internal Developer Platform that enables secure, standardized, and self-service deployment of microservices-based Finance Invoice & Billing Applications.

Objectives

01 Provide self-service deployment of invoice and billing microservices.
02 Standardize application deployment and configuration across environments.
03 Automate application build, packaging, deployment, and scaling.
04 Provide centralized monitoring and logging for application services.
05 Reduce manual deployment effort and configuration errors.

Application Workflow

01

1. Collect Customer & Billing Information

Process

The application collects customer details, products or services, pricing information, and billing details.

Tools
REST API
Implementation

The customer and billing microservices receive and validate the required customer and billing information through APIs.

02

2. Calculate Invoice Amount

Process

The application calculates the total amount based on products or services, quantities, prices, taxes, and applicable discounts.

Tools
Python
Implementation

The billing service processes the pricing information and calculates the invoice subtotal, taxes, discounts, and final payable amount.

03

3. Generate Invoice

Process

The application creates an invoice containing customer information, billing details, invoice number, and total amount.

Tools
Python PostgreSQL
Implementation

The invoice service generates the invoice and stores the invoice details in the database.

04

4. Process Payment

Process

The customer makes a payment for the generated invoice.

Tools
Python REST API
Implementation

The payment service sends the payment request to the configured payment system, validates the response, and records the payment status.

05

5. Update Invoice & Payment Status

Process

The application updates the invoice based on the payment result.

Tools
PostgreSQL
Implementation

The billing service updates the invoice as Paid, Pending, or Failed and maintains the customer's payment history.

06

6. Send Invoice & Payment Notification

Process

The customer receives the invoice and payment status notification.

Tools
REST API
Implementation

The notification service sends invoice details, payment confirmations, or payment-failure notifications to the customer.

07

7. Generate Billing Reports

Process

The application provides billing and payment information for business analysis.

Tools
PostgreSQL Grafana
Implementation

Billing and payment data is retrieved from the database and presented through reports or dashboards for authorized users.

Cloud Infrastructure and Tools

Self-Service Developer Portal Backstage

Provides the main developer portal where developers can select approved templates and create new invoice and billing microservices without manually requesting infrastructure.

Container Orchestration Platform Kubernetes

Runs and manages the containerized Invoice & Billing Application microservices and platform components. It handles scheduling, service discovery, scaling, and restarting failed containers.

Infrastructure Control Plane Crossplane

Allows the platform to provision and manage cloud resources through Kubernetes-based declarative configurations. It can provision resources such as compute, databases, storage, and networking.

Identity and Access Management Keycloak

Provides authentication, MFA, and role-based access control for platform users. It controls which developers can access platform features and resources.

Container Platform Docker

Packages the Backstage platform components and Invoice & Billing Application microservices with their dependencies into containers.

Target Compute Infrastructure Cloud EC2 Instances

Provides virtual servers on which the self-managed Kubernetes cluster and its platform/application workloads can run.

Server Operating System Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS

Provides the Linux operating system for the EC2 servers running the Kubernetes nodes.

Target Cloud Networking Plane Cloud VPC

Provides the private Cloud network for the Kubernetes cluster, platform components, and invoice/billing application workloads. Subnets can be used to separate public-facing and private resources.

Security Controls & Firewalls Cloud Security Groups + Network ACLs

Control network traffic to and from the EC2 instances and protect the Kubernetes platform and application resources.

Target Cloud Storage Interface Cloud EBS

Provides persistent block storage for EC2 instances and Kubernetes workloads that require persistent storage, such as application data and platform data.

Implementation Process

01
Step 1 – Define Platform Standards and Application Requirements
  • Identify the required microservices for the Invoice & Billing Application, such as customer, invoice, billing, payment, and notification services.
  • Define standard application configurations, APIs, ports, resource requirements, and environment variables.
  • Define the required Development, Staging, and Production environments.
  • Define security, authentication, access-control, and deployment requirements.
  • Define the standard infrastructure requirements for Kubernetes and Cloud.
02
Step 2 – Build the Self-Service Developer Portal
  • Deploy Backstage as the central developer portal.
  • Configure Backstage Software Templates for creating approved invoice and billing microservices.
  • Integrate Keycloak to provide developer authentication and role-based access.
  • Configure templates to generate application source code, Dockerfiles, Kubernetes manifests, and configuration files.
  • Provide developers with a self-service workflow to create new application services without manual infrastructure requests.
03
Step 3 – Implement Containerization and Kubernetes
  • Create Docker images for the Invoice & Billing Application microservices.
  • Deploy a self-managed Kubernetes cluster on Cloud EC2.
  • Configure Kubernetes deployments, services, namespaces, and resource limits.
  • Deploy the generated microservices into the appropriate Kubernetes environment.
  • Configure Kubernetes to automatically restart failed containers and manage application resources.
04
Step 4 – Automate Cloud Infrastructure Provisioning
  • Deploy Crossplane inside the Kubernetes cluster.
  • Define declarative configurations for required Cloud resources.
  • Configure Crossplane to provision resources such as EC2, networking, storage, and other required cloud services.
  • Create the required Cloud VPC, subnets, Security Groups, and EBS resources.
  • Validate that provisioned resources follow the platform's predefined infrastructure standards.
05
Step 5 – Test, Monitor, and Operate the Platform
  • Test the complete self-service workflow from Backstage → Kubernetes → Cloud infrastructure → application deployment.
  • Verify Keycloak authentication and role-based access control.
  • Test the Invoice & Billing Application microservices and their communication.
  • Monitor application and platform health and verify resource usage.
  • Validate deployments across Development, Staging, and Production before making the platform available to developers.

Proposed Solution

The proposed solution is an Internal Developer Platform that provides developers with a self-service and standardized way to create and deploy microservices-based Invoice & Billing Applications. Backstage provides the developer portal, Keycloak manages authentication and access control, Kubernetes runs the microservices, and Crossplane automates the provisioning of required Cloud infrastructure. This reduces manual deployment work and ensures applications are deployed using approved configurations.

Benefits

Self-Service Deployment: Developers can create and deploy microservices without manually requesting infrastructure.
Standardized Deployments: Approved templates provide consistent application and infrastructure configurations.
Faster Delivery: Automation reduces the time required to create and deploy new Invoice & Billing services.
Improved Security: Keycloak provides authentication and role-based access control.
Reduced Manual Errors: Automated provisioning and deployment reduce configuration mistakes.
Scalable Platform: Kubernetes can scale application microservices based on workload requirements.

Challenges

Platform Complexity: Integrating Backstage, Keycloak, Kubernetes, and Crossplane requires careful configuration.
Access Management: Roles and permissions must be designed correctly to prevent unauthorized access.
Infrastructure Management: Maintaining the self-managed Kubernetes and Cloud infrastructure requires operational expertise.
Template Maintenance: Backstage templates must be updated when application standards or technologies change.
Crossplane Configuration: Managing cloud-resource definitions and provider configurations can become complex as the platform grows.
Monitoring: The platform needs proper monitoring to identify failures in both the platform and deployed applications.
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