AWS CloudFormation StackSets - krdheeraj51/aws-labs GitHub Wiki

AWS CloudFormation StackSets extend the functionality of CloudFormation stacks, enabling you to manage and deploy stacks across multiple AWS accounts and regions from a central administration account. This is incredibly useful for managing infrastructure at scale, especially in organizations with multiple AWS accounts.

The Problem StackSets Solve

Imagine you have many AWS accounts (e.g., for different teams, environments, or customers). Deploying the same infrastructure (like a base VPC, security groups, or logging setup) to each account individually would be tedious, error-prone, and difficult to manage. StackSets provide a solution.

How StackSets Work

  1. Administration Account: You designate one AWS account as the administration account. This is where you create and manage your StackSets.

  2. Target Accounts: These are the AWS accounts where you want to deploy the CloudFormation stacks.

  3. StackSet: A StackSet is a container for a CloudFormation template and its associated parameters. It defines the infrastructure you want to deploy to your target accounts.

  4. Stack Instances: When you create a StackSet, you specify the target accounts and regions. CloudFormation then creates stack instances in each target account and region. Each stack instance is a running CloudFormation stack based on the StackSet's template.

  5. Deployment: You deploy (or update) the StackSet from the administration account. CloudFormation then handles the creation (or update) of the stack instances in the target accounts.

  6. Permissions: Proper IAM roles are essential. The administration account needs permissions to assume roles in the target accounts. These roles allow CloudFormation to deploy and manage the stack instances.

Key Concepts

  • Template: The CloudFormation template that defines the infrastructure you want to deploy. This is the core of the StackSet.
  • Parameters: You can define parameters for your template, allowing you to customize the stack instances in different target accounts.
  • Regions: You can specify the AWS regions where you want to deploy the stack instances.
  • Accounts: You specify the AWS accounts where you want to deploy the stack instances.
  • Administration Role (AWSCloudFormationStackSetAdministrationRole): This role resides in the administration account and grants permissions to manage StackSets.
  • Execution Role (AWSCloudFormationStackSetExecutionRole): This role resides in each target account and allows the administration account to manage resources within that account.

Benefits of Using StackSets

  • Centralized Management: Manage infrastructure across multiple accounts and regions from a single location.
  • Consistency: Ensure consistent infrastructure deployments across all your accounts.
  • Scalability: Easily deploy infrastructure to a large number of accounts.
  • Reduced Operational Overhead: Automate the deployment process and reduce manual effort.
  • Improved Governance: Maintain control over infrastructure deployments across your organization.

Use Cases

  • Baseline Infrastructure: Deploy common infrastructure components (VPCs, security groups, logging) to all your accounts.
  • Application Deployments: Deploy applications consistently across multiple environments (dev, test, prod).
  • Compliance: Ensure compliance with security and configuration standards across all accounts.

Example

Imagine you want to deploy a logging solution to 100 AWS accounts. Using StackSets, you can:

  1. Create a CloudFormation template that defines your logging infrastructure.
  2. Create a StackSet in your administration account, using the logging template.
  3. Specify the 100 target accounts and the desired regions.
  4. Deploy the StackSet.

CloudFormation will then create stack instances of your logging infrastructure in each of the 100 accounts, automating the entire process.

Conclusion

CloudFormation StackSets are a powerful tool for managing infrastructure at scale. They simplify deployments, improve consistency, and reduce operational overhead. If you're working with multiple AWS accounts, StackSets are an essential part of your infrastructure-as-code strategy.