In part 1 we introduced an AWS CloudFormation feature called Drift Detection, with which we can detect (uncontrolled) changes to the resources we manage via CloudFormation. We showed this in the AWS Management Console.
In this part, we are creating simple scripts to start the drift detection process on our CloudFormation stacks, as well as checking the result of detected drifts on the stacks. This will allow us not only to check on a single stack at a time but also on multiple stacks and multiple regions in one operation.
If you use the principles of infrastructure as code to provision your cloud infrastructure, you get many benefits from it - repeatable, quick, and consistent deployments. You also need to apply discipline in how you update the infrastructure - it has to be through the same infrastructure as code workflow. If anyone modifies the infrastructure through other means, like the AWS Management Console, then all bets are off and you may end up with a mess.
Fortunately, some tools can help to keep your cloud infrastructure tidy. If you use AWS CloudFormation, then you have a feature called Drift Detection which may help you detect when someone changes the infrastructure through other means than CloudFormation. Read further to see how you can use Drift Detection for your benefit.
If you are looking to automate your AWS infrastructure provisioning, you may have heard of AWS Cloud Development Kit or AWS CDK for short. This is one of a multitude of tools that are offered when it comes to automating your infrastructure creation and management if you are using AWS as a cloud provider.
I will present the reasons for when I think AWS CDK is a good choice and to what extent it may be used. This will not be a comparison of features for different solutions, but more around an organization, way of working, and philosophy. Will AWS CDK fit the way you work and organize, or might be striving for?
If you are a user of Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services, you have most likely run into the situation where you have some resources costing money that came as…
