AWS CloudFormation Template

| Last Updated December 21, 2021 - by johny varghese under data engineering

Calling all AWS users! Have you been introduced to the CloudFormation service yet? If not, you need to have this in your life. This service will make setting up and maintaining all of your other AWS resources much simpler. Where you used to have to go in and manually deploy the infrastructure, this template will do it for you! Even in multiple environments, it can deploy the same infrastructure, you just need to enter the information into the CloudFormation template!

What is it?

The AWS CloudFormation is a free service available for AWS users to help you model and set up your Amazon Web Services resources giving you more time to focus on the applications actually running in AWS.

The simplest way to put it is that AWSCF allows its users to build scalable infrastructures. In their user guide, Amazon gives a high-level overview of how this works.

A user can create a template that describes the AWS resources they want, such as Amazon EC2 instances or Amazon RDS DB instances. The AWSCF will take care of provisioning and configuring the resources for you. This takes away the pain of needing to individually create and configure the resources or figure out what is dependent on what because the CloudFormation will take care of it all!

How does it work?

There are two different parts that make up the CloudFormation Template. The first part is a JSON text file template that is declarative and non-scripted. Its job is to define what AWS resources or non-AWS resources are required to run the specific application. When the template is submitted to the service, CloudFormation then creates the resources in the account and builds a running instance of the template, which becomes the second part of a working CloudFormation template.

This running instance is a stack that users can make changes to this after it has been deployed. CloudFormation offers tools during editing processes to allow users an easy way to make these changes. However, if you delete the stack, all related resources will be deleted automatically as well. More information may be found in the essential guide. With this template, if there was an issue detected, users have the freedom to go back into a deployed set of infrastructure and configure it by itself. All of the changes, or any added components will be tracked properly by the CloudFormation tool. It is especially helpful if you have an instance where you need to add just one component, because AWS can detect that there is only one change being made and it will add the single component correctly.

What are the Benefits?

It simplifies infrastructure management
Allows you to replicate your infrastructure in a timely manner
Enables you to easily source control, and track changes to your infrastructure
Allows you to test, and deploy along with your application code
It is free for AWS customers
Helps to save time when deploying in multiple environments
Making changes can be done simply

How can Softcrylic help?

Softcrylic recently worked with our client Local Now, an OTT, streaming news service, owned by Weather Group, parent company of The Weather Channel television network, in the CloudFormation tool. Local Now needed a data pipeline created and using the CloudFormation tool we were able to achieve this much quicker. Typically, we would have had to go in and manually deploy the infrastructure, but with CloudFormation we were able to enter the infrastructure into the template and let AWS do the work!

Local Now stored the data in AWS S3 and we were able to transform it and push it into a database. From there we just aggregated it so the client would be able to put the aggregated data set into a data visualization dashboard.

Using CloudFormation, Local Now will now be able to swiftly go back into this template and make changes as they see fit or adjust to errors that are detected. This template can really help to ensure you are utilizing your Amazon Web Services to their fullest potential.  Request a consultation  with our team to learn more about what the CloudFormation Template can do for you!