Commanding the Cloud: Improve Automation by Setting up AWS CLI.
AWS Decoded, Your Ultimate Handbook for Cloud Mastery. Part-6.
Hey there! I'm Vishwa, a DevOps Engineer. Curious about me? Check out my profile and posts, but here's a quick overview. I've spent the past two years building credibility, consistently working on projects, and upskilling myself. I'm a self-learner, and my posts reflect my journey. When it comes to technical expertise, I'm proficient in Linux, Networking, Shell Scripting, Docker, Ansible, Terraform, Kubernetes, Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Python, Go, and Java. Wondering about my cloud experience? I'm well-versed in AWS, Digital Ocean, and GCP. I'm also skilled in troubleshooting. My ability to self-motivate and search for solutions allows me to quickly adapt to new technologies. And yes, I love writing. Sharing knowledge through blogs is something I’m passionate about. To reach out to Me, You can do DM and also leave an E-mail here at vishwa20042003@gmail.com, Waiting for your Connections and Opportunities.
About Me:
Hey Folks! I'm Vishwa, a DevOps and OpenSource enthusiast. I am currently doing LearnInPublic and BuildInPublic, where I'll be documenting my entire journey on LinkedIn and Twitter to be accountable and to connect with many like-minded people to seek knowledge from them and help each other. In this series, I'll delve deeper into cloud computing, with a specific focus on AWS. This journey enables effortless learning and experimentation. My goal is to simplify complex concepts for all. Without further delay, let's get into Part 6 of the series that's all about the AWS CLI.
What is AWS CLI & Why it is used?
- CLI is nothing but a command-line interface, where we use a bunch of commands to execute tasks. AWS has its own CLI; we need to install it in our system to use it.
- It is used to get quicker responses.
Example: Listing the S3 Buckets available.
Why go with CLI then UI?
- Using the user interface won't be automation-friendly, but we can do it with the help of the CLI.
Example: Creating an EC2 instance.
- Let's say we need to create ten EC2 instances. Doing it via the user interface will be a time-consuming process, but we can do it by running a command in the AWS CLI.
Here is the sample command for creating 10 EC2:
$ aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --instance-type t2.micro --key-name YourKeyPairName --subnet-id subnet-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --count 10
What really happening under the hood?
- Once the command is executed, the AWS CLI takes care of converting it into an API call, which is then sent to AWS for resource management.
- We don't want to worry about creating an API; AWS already has a Python application, and using that AWS CLI will help us achieve what we want to do.
Example: $ ./aws s3 ls
AWS CLI Installation:
- Navigate to the AWS CLI official documentation for installing it.
You can use the below link and install it as per your operating system, https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html.
- To confirm the installation, check the version of it by using the following command: $ aws --version
Output will be like:
Configuration:
- Now we need to configure our AWS CLI with our console. We need security credentials for this.
Step 1: Navigate to the AWS Management Console and look for security credentials under your account details.
Step 2:Once entered into the security credentials, look for the Create Access Key option.
Step 3: Click the Create access key option and choose the Command Line Tool option for accessing an AWS account.
Step 4: Give a tag to the access key and click the Create Access Key option.
Step 5: Now that it will be created, please note down the access key and the secret key. Follow the instructions mentioned under keys for best practices.
Step 6: Now use the command $ aws configure and provide the details to connect with our AWS account.
Kudos folks, Now it will be successfully configured.
Note: For passing arguments while executing tasks via the AWS CLI, please refer to the official docs.
Listing the S3 Buckets available though AWS CLI:
- Use command $ aws s3 ls
AWS Console:
AWS CLI Result:
Note: Please refer to the documents for the arguments for the tasks you want to perform.
Drawbacks of AWS CLI:
- We aren't able to use the CLI for complicated tasks. It's difficult to use it. That's where IAC tools like Terraform and CFT come into the picture.
- Even though we use commands, it's difficult because we mostly use the documents for reference, and running a big command like mentioning EC2+VPC is a big thing.
Example: aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --instance-type t2.micro --key-name YourKeyPairName --security-group-ids sg-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx --subnet-id subnet-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --associate-public-ip-address
Conclusion:
I am grateful to all those who have read it. I hope reading it was enjoyable for you. Please let me know if you found it useful by leaving a comment, giving it a like, and forwarding it to your friends. Lets explore about Iac using CFT in the upcomming part. I want to thank everyone again.
