Section - Automation

Question 1

What is CloudFormation?

Answer 1

• Infrastructure As Code
  
  • Cloud formation allows you to manage , configure , and provision AWS infrastructure as YAML or JSON code.
• Parameters
  
  • input custom values
• Conditions
  
  • e.g. Provision resources based on environment
• Resources
  
  • This section is manadory and describes the AWS resources that CloudFormation will create.
• Mappings
  
  • Allows you to create custom mappings like Region: AMI
• Transform
  
  • Allows you to reference code located in S3, e.g. Lambda code or resuable snippets of CloudFormation code.

Question 3

CloudFormation Nested Stacks?

Answer 3

• CloudFormation nested stacks enable re-use of CloudFormation Code for common use cases. e.g. Standard configuration for a load balancer, web server or application server.
• Instead of copying out the code each time, create a standard template for each common use case and reference from withon your CloudFormation template.
• CloudFormation Template reference:
  
  • Resource
    
    • Type: AWS::CloudFormation::Stack
  • Template must be hosted on S3
• You can have multi level stacks …but only one level is recommended

Question 4

Serverless Application Model (SAM) ?

Answer 4

• Define and provision serverless applications using CloudFormation
• “sam package”
  
  • Packages your application and uploads to S3
• “sam deploy”
  
  • Deploys your serverless app using CloudFormation

Question 5

Exam Tip: CloudFormation

Answer 5

• CloudFormation is perfect for creating immutable architecture

Question 6

What is Paas?

Answer 6

• Platform as a service (PaaS) is a single-stop application deployment model.
• You can bring your code and the provider builds everything for you, deploys your application, and then manages it going forward.

Question 7

What Elastic Beanstalk does?

Answer 7

• Elastic Beanstalk is Amazon PaaS tool
• Automation
  
  • Elastic Beanstalk automates all your deployments.
  • You cab templatize what you’d like your environment to look like
• Deployment
  
  • It will handle all your deployments.
  • You can upload cide, test your code in a staging envrionment and then deploy to production.

Question 8

Exam Tips: Elastic BeanStalk

Answer 8

• PaaS
  
  • Beanstalk handles it all, there is very little you need to do
• Platform types
  
  • Supports containers, Windows and Linux applications.
• Hand Holding
  
  • It’s great solution to start with, but in generally it’s only for simpler we b applications
• Traditional
  
  • It’s not serverless, Beanstalk is creating and managing standard EC2 architecture.

Question 9

What is Systems Manager?

Answer 9

• Systems manager is a suite of tools designed to let you view, control, and automate both your AWS architecture and on-premises resources.
• Free set of tools on AWS but small fee applies on-prem
• Features of Systems Manager
  
  • Automation Documents(Run Books)
    
    • Can be used to control your instances or AWS resources
  • Run Command
    
    • Execute commands on your hosts
  • Patch Manager
    
    • Manages your application versions
  • Parameter Store
    
    • Securely store your secret values
  • Hybrid Activations
    
    • Control your on-premises architecture using System manager (an Agent must be installed on the host machine)
  • Session Manager
    
    • Remotely connect and interact with your architecture