AWS CloudFormation Introduction

AWS CloudFormation is a service that helps you define and provision AWS infrastructure using a declarative template format. This allows you to manage infrastructure as code (IaC), making it easier to automate and control the lifecycle of AWS resources.

• Templates: JSON or YAML formatted text files that declare the AWS resources you want to create.
• Stacks: A collection of AWS resources that you manage as a single unit.
• Change Sets: A way to preview how proposed changes to a stack might impact your running resources.
• Resources: The AWS components that you create and manage, like EC2 instances, S3 buckets, etc.

• Infrastructure as code (IaC) allows for version control of your infrastructure.
• Automated resource provisioning saves time and reduces risks of human error.
• Consistent and repeatable deployments across environments.
• Integration with other AWS services like AWS CodePipeline for CI/CD.

Below is a simple example of a CloudFormation template in YAML format that creates an S3 bucket:

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: Simple S3 Bucket Template
Resources:
  MyS3Bucket:
    Type: 'AWS::S3::Bucket'
    Properties:
      BucketName: my-example-bucket
                

This template defines a single S3 bucket named "my-example-bucket".

• Break down large templates into smaller, reusable components.
• Use parameters for dynamic values to enhance flexibility.
• Use outputs to expose important information about your stack.
• Test your templates in a development environment before production.