#1 Creating an EC2 Instance Using Terraform

Terraform is a powerful Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that allows you to provision and manage cloud resources with ease. In this blog post, we will walk through the process of creating an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance using Terraform. EC2 instances are virtual servers in Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Terraform provides a simple and declarative way to define and deploy them.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

1. Terraform Installed: Download and install Terraform from the official Terraform website.
2. AWS Account: You’ll need an AWS account with appropriate permissions to create EC2 instances.
3. AWS CLI Configured: Ensure that you’ve configured your AWS CLI with valid access and secret access keys. You can do this by running aws configure and following the prompts.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Terraform Configuration

Create a new directory for your Terraform project and navigate to it in your terminal. In this directory, create a new Terraform configuration file with a .tf extension, such as ec2_instance.tf.

Open ec2_instance.tf in a text editor, and add the following code:

# Syntax Define the AWS provider
provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1" # Replace with your desired AWS region
}

# Create an EC2 instance
resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0" # Replace with the desired AMI ID
  instance_type = "t2.micro"             # Replace with the desired instance type
  key_name      = "your-key-pair-name"   # Replace with your SSH key pair name

  tags = {
    Name = "example-instance"
  }
}

#Live Code for lab

# Define the AWS provider
provider "aws" {
  region = "ap-south-1" # Replace with your desired AWS region
}

# Create an EC2 instance
resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  ami           = "ami-0f5ee92e2d63afc18" # Replace with the desired AMI ID
  instance_type = "t2.micro"             # Replace with the desired instance type
  key_name      = "test-mumbai"   # Replace with your SSH key pair name

  tags = {
    Name = "First-instance"
  }
}

UNDERSTANDING ABOVE CODE INDETAIL:
Certainly! Let’s go into more detail about the components used in the Terraform configuration for creating an EC2 instance:

The AWS Provider Block

The AWS Provider block defines the cloud provider and the region where your resources will be provisioned. In this case, it’s set to AWS, and the region is specified as “us-east-1.” The AWS provider is responsible for authenticating your Terraform script with your AWS account. Here’s a breakdown:

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1" # Replace with your desired AWS region
}

• provider: This keyword specifies that we are configuring a provider. In this case, it’s AWS.
• "aws": This is the provider type. Terraform supports multiple cloud providers, and you would specify the provider type accordingly (e.g., “google” for Google Cloud Platform).
• region: This is where you specify the AWS region where your resources will be created. Replace “us-east-1” with the desired region code (e.g., “us-west-2” for the US West region).

2. The AWS Instance Resource Block

The aws_instance resource block defines the EC2 instance you want to create. It specifies the instance’s configuration, such as the Amazon Machine Image (AMI), instance type, SSH key pair, and tags. Here’s a breakdown:

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0" # Replace with the desired AMI ID
  instance_type = "t2.micro"             # Replace with the desired instance type
  key_name      = "your-key-pair-name"   # Replace with your SSH key pair name

  tags = {
    Name = "example-instance"
  }
}

• resource: This keyword specifies that we are defining a resource.
• "aws_instance": This is the resource type, which corresponds to an EC2 instance in AWS.
• "example": This is a name for the resource block. You can choose any name you like, and it will be used to reference this resource elsewhere in your Terraform configuration.
• ami: This is the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) ID. An AMI is a pre-configured image used to create an EC2 instance. You should replace it with the specific AMI ID for your desired operating system and software.
• instance_type: This specifies the instance type, which determines the hardware characteristics of the EC2 instance, such as CPU, memory, and network performance. Replace it with the instance type that suits your needs.
• key_name: This is the name of your SSH key pair, which allows you to securely connect to the EC2 instance. Replace it with the name of your existing SSH key pair in AWS.
• tags: Tags are optional metadata that you can attach to resources for better organization and management. In this example, we’ve added a “Name” tag to label the instance.

Additional Information

• Make sure you replace placeholder values such as AMI ID, instance type, and key pair name with appropriate values for your use case.
• Terraform uses the terraform init command to initialize the project and download necessary provider plugins.
• The terraform plan command is used to preview the changes Terraform will make to your infrastructure.
• The terraform apply command is used to apply the configuration and create the specified resources.
• The terraform destroy command allows you to destroy the resources created by Terraform.
• Always exercise caution when applying changes to your infrastructure, especially in production environments. Review and test your Terraform configurations thoroughly before applying them.

Step 2: Initializing Terraform

In your terminal, navigate to the directory containing your Terraform configuration file (ec2_instance.tf) and run the following command to initialize Terraform:

terraform init

Terraform will download the necessary provider plugins.

Step 3: Previewing the Changes

Before creating the EC2 instance, you can preview the changes Terraform will make by running:

terraform plan

Review the output to ensure it aligns with your expectations. Terraform will display the resources it plans to create, modify, or destroy.

Step 4: Applying the Configuration

If the terraform plan output looks correct, apply the configuration to create the EC2 instance:

terraform apply

Terraform will prompt you to confirm the changes. Type yes and press Enter to proceed.

Step 5: Waiting for Provisioning

Terraform will now create the EC2 instance and any associated resources. This may take a few minutes depending on your chosen instance type and AWS region.

Step 6: Verifying the EC2 Instance

Once Terraform finishes provisioning, you can verify the creation of your EC2 instance by logging in to the AWS Management Console or by using AWS CLI commands.

Step 7: Cleaning Up (Optional)

If you want to delete the EC2 instance and associated resources, you can use Terraform to do so:

terraform destroy

Confirm the destruction when prompted.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we’ve covered the process of creating an EC2 instance using Terraform. Terraform simplifies infrastructure provisioning, making it easier to manage and scale your cloud resources. You can extend your Terraform configurations to include additional resources, security settings, and more, allowing you to build complex cloud infrastructures with ease.