Hemanshu Sanjay Mahajan's blog

Day 64 - Terraform with AWS

Hemanshu S Mahajan's photo
Hemanshu S Mahajan
·

3 min read

Day 64 - Terraform with AWS

Provisioning infrastructure on Amazon Web Services (AWS) can sometimes be a complex and error-prone process. However, with the help of Terraform, an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool, this task becomes remarkably easy and straightforward. In Day 64 of our journey to master AWS, we will explore how to provision AWS resources efficiently using Terraform. To get started, you will need a few prerequisites, including AWS CLI, an IAM user, and a configured Terraform environment.

Prerequisites

  1. AWS CLI Installed: The AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) is a powerful tool that allows you to manage your AWS services from the command line. It streamlines interactions with AWS resources and facilitates automation through scripts. Make sure you have it installed and configured with the necessary credentials.

  2. AWS IAM User: AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a vital component of AWS security, allowing you to control access to AWS resources. You will need an IAM user with the necessary permissions to create and manage AWS resources. Ensure you have the access keys and secret access keys exported to your machine, as they will be required for Terraform to interact with your AWS account.

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<access key> 
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<secret access key>

3.Install Required Providers: Terraform relies on provider plugins to interact with cloud providers like AWS. In your Terraform configuration file (usually named main.tf), you should specify the required AWS provider:

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 4.16"
    }
  }
  required_version = ">= 1.2.0"
}

4.Configure AWS Region: Define the AWS region where you want to create your instances. This is essential for specifying the data center location for your resources:

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1"  # Modify this to your desired region
}

Task-01: Provisioning an AWS EC2 Instance using Terraform

In this task, we will provision AWS EC2 instances using Terraform. EC2 instances are virtual machines in the AWS cloud that can run various operating systems. Terraform makes this process simple and repeatable.

Here’s an example of how to define an EC2 instance resource in your Terraform configuration:

resource "aws_instance" "aws_ec2_test" {
  count = 4
  ami           = "ami-08c40ec9ead489470"  # Specify your desired AMI ID
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
  tags = {
    Name = "TerraformTestServerInstance"
  }
}

Explanation:

  • aws_instance is the Terraform resource type for an EC2 instance.

  • "aws_ec2_test" is the resource name we assign.

  • count specifies the number of instances to create (in this case, 4).

  • ami defines the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) to use as the base for your EC2 instances. Make sure to choose the appropriate AMI for your needs.

  • instance_type sets the instance type, which determines the CPU, memory, and network capacity.

  • tags are used to assign metadata to your instances. In this case, we've given them a name for easy identification.

Conclusion

Using Terraform to provision AWS resources simplifies and automates infrastructure management. In Day 64, we’ve covered the prerequisites and steps to create an AWS EC2 instance using Terraform. As you explore Terraform further, you’ll discover its ability to manage a wide range of AWS resources, making infrastructure provisioning more efficient and less error-prone. Stay tuned for more AWS adventures on your journey to mastering cloud computing!

Terraform#90daysofdevopsAWS