Author Archives

Lou Bichard

Software Developer

Hey I'm Lou! I'm a Cloud Software Engineer From London. I created Open Up The Cloud to help people get their start and grow their careers in cloud. I edit the monthly Open Up The Cloud Newsletter which I think you'd really like. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn , I'm always happy to chat. When I'm not writing you can usually find me picking up heavy things and putting them down, or riding two wheels (sometimes with an engine, sometimes not).

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The Simplest Possible EC2 Web Server Setup Using Terraform (On AWS)

Are you looking to create a basic AWS instance web server? Maybe you’re learning AWS, trying to get an understanding on Terraform or actually trying to get a pieceof your infrastructure setup. Whatever your reason for needing a simple AWS web server setup, that’s what we’ll be covering today.

Today we’ll walk through (in detail) how to create the simplest possible EC2 web server on AWS using Terraform. We’ll cover all of the fiddly AWS details like AMI’s and user data scripts.

By the end of this article you’ll know how to create a simple Apache based web server on AWS EC2 written in Terraform. 

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What is Terraform? A Simple Definition.

So you might have heard of this Terraform thing, but you’re not totally sure what it is, right? Not to fear, we’ve got you covered…

Today we’re going to dive into what Terraform is, why it’s useful, how it compares to other tools, and some of the difficulties of using it.

By the end of this article you’ll understand what Terraform is, why it’s useful and what you’d use it for. 

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10 Terraform Best Practices: For Secure & Fast Infrastructure.

If you’ve just started working with Terraform you might be getting that familiar feeling in the back of your mind: “Am I doing this the right way?“.

Terraform Best Practices

Today we’re going to tackle your nagging feelings head on by discussing all the important best practices for Terraform, so that you have the confidence to go full steam ahead with your project.

By the end of this article you’ll understand 10 best practices to follow when implementing Terraform. 

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Serverless on AWS Lambda: A Comprehensive Comparison Of Approaches (Serverless Framework vs SAM vs Terraform vs CloudFormation)

When it comes to working with Serverless and AWS Lambda there are many different tools and approaches to choose from. You may have heard about a few already and might be wondering about the differences. To be quite frank with you—there were some aspects I wasn’t event totally sure of myself.

Working with Serverless requires overcoming a few obstacles: How to run your functions locally? How to create your infrastructure? How to deploy your applications? Today we’ll take a look at five main serverless approaches that attempt to help with these obstacles: manually configuring, using Serverless Framework, Terraform, CloudFormation, and SAM.

By the end of this article you should understand what the main approaches to Serverless are and when to consider using them. 

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3 Simple Serverless Beginner Projects Ideas

Are you looking to learn Serverless but need a little help in where to start? One of the best ways to get your head around a new technology is to dive in and build some example projects. But what are some nice and simple serverless beginner projects?

Dayum Llama

In today’s article we’ll go through three different simple examples of serverless functions you can build using AWS Lambda for your first trial with serverless.

By the end of this article you should have an overview of three serverless beginner projects, the steps you’d need to create them, and some ways that you can later extend them to learn more. 

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Misconceptions of Serverless: 5 Things You Thought AWS Lambda Did… But It Doesn’t.

Ah Serverless… it’s the golden child of software engineering right now, and the internet is full of Serverless and AWS Lambda success stories. But actually the golden child of software engineer is harbouring a few secrets…

Lambda Koala saying "Wait Whut"

Yep, that’s right, Serverless isn’t as good as the marketing pages lead you to believe. That’s not to say Serverless is bad technology — I absolutely love Serverless. But on a few occasions whilst working with it, I felt kinda duped.

By the end of this article you’ll understand some of the limitations of AWS Lambda and how some features like, DDOS and memory leaks really work. 

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How to Use AWS KMS in AWS Lambda

So you’re new to AWS Lambda and secrets management? Maybe you’ve just joined a team that’s using KMS and you want to know more about how KMS and Lambda work, or maybe you’re looking to use KMS as your preferred choice for Lambda secrets management.

Whatever your reasoning for investigating AWS KMS with Lambda, today we’re going to cover the in’s and out’s of how the two technologies work together, and show you how you can use them.

By the end of this article you’ll understand what KMS is, how KMS works with AWS Lambda and the alternatives to using KMS for AWS Lambda functions. 

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Should You Commit the Terraform .tfstate File to Git?

I’m guessing you’ve started working with Terraform and you’re staring at that weird looking state file Terraform just outputted wondering if it’s safe to commit the file to Git (or some other source control)?

Terraform State

A key to understanding Terraform is understanding how to manage your state. Today we’re going to discuss the in’s and out’s of the state file, and answer the pressing question: Should you commit the Terraform .tfstate file to Git?

By the end of this article you’ll understand what a TF state file is, why Terraform needs it, how you can manage it, and ultimately whether you should commit it to git (or not!)

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The Ultimate Terraform Workflow: Setup Terraform (And Remote State) With Github Actions

Running Terraform in a CI Server can be incredibly useful when you’re trying to automate or experiment with cloud resources. One of the easiest, cheapest and most accessible setups I’ve found is using Github Actions and S3 for state.

But learning a new technology can be frustrating especially when the anxiety of: “Am I doing this right?” strikes. In this article I’ll walk you through how to get a Terraform project running in Github Actions from start to finish — with all the details you need to understand what’s happening and why.

By the end of this article you will have a running Terraform project on Github Actions using remote state. 

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Master the AWS Lambda Console: A Comprehensive Walkthrough.

I remember staring at the AWS Lambda console for the first time and feeling overwhelmed. There were so many things happening: qualifiers, actions, triggers, permissions. It’s like the cockpit of a fighter jet in there. And with new features the Lambda interface has only become more complicated.

But when you understand the different parts of the AWS Lambda console and everything you can achieve with Lambda it opens up your perspective and builds your confidence. When you know what all the parts do you can then focus your attention only on the features that matter for you.

By the end of this article you will be more confident using AWS Lambda after we explore and understand the AWS Lambda console.