README.md

Project Report: Automating EC2 & AMI Creation with Terraform

1. Project Overview

For this project, I used Terraform to automate the provisioning of an AWS EC2 instance and then created a custom Amazon Machine Image (AMI) from that instance. This report documents the steps I took, the evidence of the created resources, and the process for cleaning up the environment.

My primary goal was to apply Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles to create a reusable server template, demonstrating a foundational DevOps skill.

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2. Prerequisite Verification

I began by ensuring my local environment was correctly configured to interact with AWS.

1. AWS CLI Version: I first confirmed the AWS CLI was installed.

   aws --version

   Evidence below shows the installed AWS CLI version.

2. AWS CLI Configuration: I then verified that the CLI was configured with my credentials.

   aws configure list

   Evidence below shows my AWS CLI configuration.

3. AWS Authentication: I ran sts get-caller-identity to ensure my credentials were valid and authentication to my AWS account was successful.

   aws sts get-caller-identity

   Evidence below confirms my identity and successful authentication.

4. Terraform Version: Finally, I confirmed that Terraform was installed and ready.

   terraform --version

   Evidence below shows the installed Terraform version.

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3. My Implementation Steps

With the prerequisites confirmed, I proceeded with the implementation.

Step 1: Project Setup

I created a new directory for the project to keep the configuration files organized.

mkdir terraform-ec2-ami
cd terraform-ec2-ami

Step 2: Writing the Terraform Configuration

I created a main.tf file and wrote the following script. The script defines the AWS provider, an EC2 instance resource, and a resource to create an AMI from that instance.

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1"
}

# This resource defines the EC2 instance I want to create.image
resource "aws_instance" "my_ec2_spec" {
  # I chose a standard Amazon Linux 2 AMI for the us-east-1 region.
  ami           = "ami-052064a798f08f0d3"
  instance_type = "t2.micro"

  tags = {
    Name = "Terraform-created-EC2-Instance"
  }
}

# This resource creates a custom AMI from the instance defined above.
resource "aws_ami_from_instance" "my_ec2_spec_ami" {
  name               = "my-ec2-ami-from-terraform"
  source_instance_id = aws_instance.my_ec2_spec.id

  tags = {
    Name = "My-Custom-AMI"
  }
}

image

Step 3: Running the Terraform Workflow

I followed the standard Terraform workflow to deploy the infrastructure.

1. terraform init: I initialized the project, which downloaded the AWS provider plugin. Evidence of successful initialization.

2. terraform plan: I ran a plan to review the changes before applying them. The plan correctly showed that two resources (the EC2 instance and the AMI) would be created. Evidence of the execution plan.

3. terraform apply: I applied the configuration, and after I confirmed with yes, Terraform began creating the resources. Evidence of the successful apply command.

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4. Evidence of Created Resources

After the apply command completed, I logged into the AWS Management Console to verify the resources were created as expected.

1. EC2 Instance Verification: I navigated to the EC2 dashboard and found the instance named Terraform-created-EC2-Instance running correctly. Evidence: Screenshot from the AWS Console showing the running EC2 instance.

2. Custom AMI Verification: I then went to the AMIs section and confirmed that the new AMI, my-ec2-ami-from-terraform, was successfully created. Evidence: Screenshot from the AWS Console showing the new custom AMI.

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5. Challenges Encountered (Troubleshooting)

During the project, I anticipated some potential errors. For example, an InvalidAMIID.NotFound error could occur if the AMI ID was incorrect for the chosen region. To mitigate this, I ensured the AMI ID was valid for us-east-1. I also knew to use aws_ami_from_instance instead of aws_ami to avoid an Unsupported argument error for source_instance_id.

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6. Resource Cleanup

To avoid incurring costs, I cleaned up all the resources created during this project using the destroy command.

1. terraform destroy: I ran the destroy command and confirmed with yes to terminate the EC2 instance and deregister the AMI. Evidence of the successful destroy operation.

This project was a successful exercise in using Terraform to automate infrastructure provisioning on AWS.