AWS CodePipeline Using Terrraform

Software Development includes the continuous integration of different types of technologies like (CI/CD) pipelines for automating the process of building, testing, and deploying applications. AWS CodePipeline is a fully managed CI/CD service provided by Amazon Web Services which enables us to automate the steps required to release the software changes.

Understanding Of Primary Terminologies

• AWS CodePipeline: It provides an immersible service that automates some processes like build, testing, and deployment of a more qualitative path so that it can release processes.
• Terraform: It is an open-source infrastructure software tool which is created by HashiCorp that can create and manage resources which are on Cloud Platform with the help of APIs.
• CI/CD Pipeline: It is a CI/CD pipeline that contains a series of steps which helps in automating the process of integrating code.

What Is AWS CodePipeline?

AWS CodePipeline is a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) service which is provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that leads to automate the process of building, testing, and deploying the applications as CodePipeline enables us to create pipelines that define the steps and actions that are required to take the code from a source repository through various stages of testing and deployment, and ultimately to production.

By using CodePipeline you can design your pipelines in order to integrate with other AWS services like AWS CodeBuild and can be used for building the application. Moreover, AWS CodeDeploy is used for deploying it on the various environments and helps the teams to deliver software changes more quickly, reliably, and efficiently.

CodePipeline provides a visual interface for designing and managing the pipelines which consequently helps in tracking the progress of changes that happens in code and integrates it with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for managing user access and permissions in the pipelines and their resources.

Implementation Of AWS CodePipeline Using Terraform Step-By-Step

Step 01: Create An AWS CodeCommit Repository

• First of all, we need to create a code commit repository and afterwards we have to go to AWS developer tools and select AWS code commit.

• Create a new repository.
• Once in CodeCommit, click on the “Create repository” button.
• Provide a name for your repository and an optional description.
• You can also configure repository settings such as permissions, encryption, and triggers according to your project requirements.

• Now, upload all the terraform and other configuration files.
• Depending on your project needs, you might want to configure additional settings like repository triggers, branch policies, or encryption.
• You can set up notifications, which can be helpful to stay updated on changes to the repository.

• The following screenshosts the files that we are going to build up using terraform to setup AWS Codepipeline:

• Uploading the terraform files in terraform codepipeline repository:

Step 02: Create CodeBuild Project

• For initiating the creation of a CodeBuild project in the AWS account, the first step is to log in the AWS Codebuild service and it can be done by searching the services in the search bar or by locating it in the Developer Tools Section.
• After getting access of the Code Build anyone can easily click on the “Create build project” button in order to start building a new project and ensure to give a descriptive name your project so that it can be easily identified.

Select Service CodeBuild And Give Administrator Access:

• Configure the appropriate permissions and then select the “Roles” from the sidebar menu.
• After selecting “Roles”, choose the appropriate role and if one doesn’t exist you can easily create a new role.

• Adding Adminstration permissions to the IAM Role:

• Adding permissions such as IAM CodeBuild Role to access the CodeBuild properties.

• After that we should go to the CodeBuild section and select Create a new build while giving name as “terraform-build”. And it will result in creating a main branch.

Create CodeBuild Project

• Firstly, select the existing IAM role.

• Provide the Build specifications as ashown in the below screenshot:

• Make Amazon S3 bucket for storing and for logging while creating a new log group from inside Cloudwatch.

• Provide the logs defines options:

• Afterwards we can easily create build projects for terraform in order to Apply and Destroy.
• Now, configure the environment as the terraform plan build project.
• AWS IAM CodeBuild will be used as a role for the terraform apply build projects.

• Give buildspec_apply.yml file location and configure buildspec_apply.yml

• Overall, there are two build projects.

Step 03: Create CodePipeline Terraform Resource Provision Automation

• Navigate to the AWS Code pipeline service and afterwards click on the create pipeline.

• Click on the pipeline name and then select a service role.
• In the Source stage all the codes will be in the main branch. Meanwhile, select the detection option which is named as “AWS CodePipeline”.
• Build stage will lead to give build provider a AWS CodeBuild which is already created by two build projects.

• Now, create a AWS CodePipeline.

• After creating the pipeline we will add more stages to the pipeline and for that click on the edit pipeline.

Step 4: Click Add Stages

After clicking the stages in AWS CodePipeline,you can easily navigate to your pipeline in the AWS Management Console and if you want to edit then just click on the “Edit” button to access the pipeline’s configuration. Afterwards you can locate the position where you want to insert the new stage and for adding the new stage click on “Add stage” button. Once the new stage gets added, you can proceed to define and configure the specific actions that needs to be executed within it.

• Defining the actions to build stage.

• We successfully build the AWS CodePipeline.

Advantages Of AWS CodePipeline

The following are the advantages of AWS Codepipeline:

• Infrastructure as Code : Terraform allows us to define AWS CodePipeline infrastructure as code. This makes it easier to manage, version control, and replicate your pipeline across different environments.
• Automated Deployment: AWS CodePipeline automates the process of building, testing, and deploying the applications which reduces the manual effort that is required for release management.
• Integration with AWS Services: AWS CodePipeline helps in the efficient connection with other AWS services, such as AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, and AWS Lambda because it allows us to create end-to-end CI/CD pipelines.

Disadvantages Of AWS CodePipeline

The following are the disadvantages of AWS CodePipeline:

• Learning Curve: AWS CodePipeline and Terraform have their learning curves which can take time if anybody wants to become more proficient in using these tools effectively.
• Complexity of Configuration: Configuring AWS CodePipeline with Terraform can become complex as pipeline requirements grows due to errors.
• Potential for Infrastructure Drift: Terraform manages infrastructure resources outside of AWS CodePipeline which results in a risk of infrastructure drift.

Conclusion

AWS CodePipeline provides us scalable and reliable solutions for automating the deployment of the applications on AWS and we can easily define the infrastructure as code while ensuring consistency, repeatability, and manageability of CI/CD pipelines.

By following all the step-by-step guide which is been provided in the above article, we can effectively leverage these tools to streamline the software delivery processes on AWS.

AWS CodePipeline – FAQs

Is It Possible To Use Aws Codepipeline With Terraform In Order To Deploy Applications In The Multiple Environments?

Yes, we can easily use AWS Code Pipeline in order to deploy applications, and it can be done by defining multiple pipelines in Terraform and corresponding each of them in a different environment and then configure it accordingly.

Is It Possible To Integrate Aws Codepipeline With Other Aws Services Like Aws Lambda ?

Yes, with the use of AWS CodePipeline we can easily integrate various AWS services which will allow us to build sophisticated CI/CD pipelines.

How Can We Secure Sensitive Information Such As Api Keys Or Database Passwords In The Ci/cd Pipeline?

With the use of AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store we can easily secure, store and retrieve sensitive information

What Happens If A Stage In My Pipeline Fails?

AWS CodePipeline provides visibility into pipeline execution, including detailed logs and notifications. You can configure actions to stop the pipeline execution if a stage fails, enabling you to investigate and resolve the issue.

Can I Version Control My Terraform Configurations Along With My Application Code?

Yes, it’s a recommended practice to version control your Terraform configurations alongside your application code to ensure consistency and traceability across environments.