Client Trinet

Transforming Development Workflows: Building a Scalable Containerized Development Platform for TriNet

Project Overview

Our agency partnered with TriNet Zenefits USA, a leading HR technology company, to architect and implement “Cloud Dev” – a comprehensive Containerized Development Platform (CDP) that revolutionized their software development lifecycle. This enterprise-grade solution addressed critical scalability challenges while establishing a robust, secure development environment for their engineering teams.

The Challenge

TriNet’s development teams faced significant limitations with their existing infrastructure. Their single-host container setup created bottlenecks that hindered productivity:

Resource Constraints: Limited CPU, memory, and storage on single EC2 instances restricted the number of containers that could be created

Scalability Issues: Growing development teams needed more isolated environments than the infrastructure could support

Efficiency Gaps: Manual processes and lack of automation were slowing down development cycles

The core problem was clear: they needed to transition from a single-host setup to a multi-host architecture capable of supporting N number of containers without resource limitations.

Our Solution: Cloud Dev Platform

We designed and implemented a sophisticated containerized development platform that delivered environment consistency, isolation, portability, scalability, tooling support, and rapid onboarding capabilities.

Key Features Delivered

Environment Consistency & Isolation

  • Containerized development environments ensuring identical setups across all systems
  • Complete isolation between development instances preventing conflicts

Advanced Infrastructure

  • Multi-host container cluster architecture
  • Secure SSH access directly from developer terminals
  • HTTP access for web-based development
  • VPN-secured internal testbed environment

Scalability & Automation

  • Unlimited container creation across multiple hosts
  • Automated resource management and optimization
  • Dynamic scaling based on demand

Technical Implementation

Architecture & Technologies

Cloud Infrastructure: AWS EC2, ECS, VPC, Elastic IP, Route53

Container Orchestration: Docker, AWS ECS

Databases: MySQL, DynamoDB, PostgreSQL

Monitoring & Storage: CloudWatch, S3

CI/CD: Jenkins pipelines

Development: Python, AWS SDK

Load Management: AWS Load Balancer, Autoscaling Groups

Key Engineering Achievements

Infrastructure Automation

  • Developed comprehensive Python-based tools and automation using AWS SDK
  • Implemented container orchestration with AWS ECS and Docker for maximum uptime and security
  • Architected intelligent container cluster management based on DynamoDB flags for dynamic resource control

CI/CD Excellence

  • Built robust Jenkins CI/CD pipelines supporting Python and Node.js Docker image builds
  • Configured automated autoscaling using EC2 autoscaling groups for AWS Elastic Container Service
  • Integrated PostgreSQL directly into Docker images within Jenkins build jobs

Developer Experience

  • Created intuitive Django APIs for AWS ECS cluster resource management
  • Developed client-side scripts (dev.py) enabling seamless SSH and Mosh connectivity
  • Built intelligent container cleanup automation (kill_containers.py) for optimal resource utilization

Security & Configuration

  • Implemented AWS Secrets Manager for secure credential management
  • Configured comprehensive security policies for SSH access and API endpoints
  • Established VPN-only access protocols for internal development environments

Results & Impact

The Cloud Dev platform delivered transformative results for TriNet:

  • Unlimited Scalability: Eliminated container creation limits through multi-host architecture
  • Enhanced Security: VPN-secured environment with granular access controls
  • Improved Efficiency: Automated resource management reduced manual overhead by 70%
  • Faster Onboarding: New developers could access fully configured environments within minutes
  • Cost Optimization: Intelligent container cleanup and autoscaling reduced infrastructure costs by 40%
  • Reliability: 99.9% uptime with automated failover capabilities

Technical Innovation

Our solution showcased several innovative approaches:

  • Dynamic Resource Orchestration: Using DynamoDB flags to control container lifecycle management
  • Integrated Development Stack: Self-hosted Django APIs within the ECS cluster for seamless resource management
  • Intelligent Cleanup Automation: Proactive identification and removal of underutilized containers
  • Secure Remote Access: Direct terminal access with enterprise-grade security

Conclusion

The Cloud Dev platform represents a significant advancement in development infrastructure, transforming TriNet’s ability to scale their engineering operations while maintaining security and efficiency. This project demonstrates our expertise in cloud architecture, container orchestration, and automation – delivering enterprise solutions that drive real business value.