Hacker News: Using Terraform Workspace for AWS multi account archtetctures

Source URL: https://github.com/maurobaraldi/terraform-workspaces-aws-multi-account
Source: Hacker News
Title: Using Terraform Workspace for AWS multi account archtetctures

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AI Summary and Description: Yes

Summary: The text provides a detailed guide on building and managing an AWS multi-account architecture using Terraform workspaces. It presents a practical approach to testing environments locally with Localstack and highlights the use of OpenTofu as an open-source alternative to Terraform. The guide focuses on the setup process without delving into security or modularization.

Detailed Description: This document elaborates on creating and managing AWS multi-account environments using Terraform workspaces, catering to developers and infrastructure engineers looking to streamline cloud deployments and test setups effectively. Here are the main points discussed in the text:

– **Introduction to Terraform Workspaces**:
– Explanation of how Terraform workspaces help manage multiple environments, such as development (dev) and user acceptance testing (UAT), within AWS account structures.

– **Local Testing with Localstack**:
– Introduction to Localstack as a tool to simulate AWS environments locally before deploying to actual AWS accounts.
– Instructions on running Localstack with Docker Compose, including configuration files (like `docker-compose.yaml`) for managing multiple instances (localstack-dev and localstack-uat).

– **Initial Configuration Steps**:
– Clear steps on modifying AWS CLI configuration and credentials files to test Localstack functionality.
– Emphasis on backing up configuration files before making changes, highlighting safe practices in infrastructure management.

– **Provisioning with Terraform**:
– Instructions for initializing Terraform workspaces and switching between environments using the OpenTofu CLI.
– Instructions for defining AWS providers with workspaces, focusing on dynamic retrieval of workspace names to manage multiple accounts efficiently.

– **Use of Variable Files**:
– Description of organizing Terraform variable files (`dev.tfvars` and `globals.tfvars`) for better modularization and management of configurations.

– **Example Configuration Snippets**:
– Provides code snippets for defining VPC resources and displaying tags based on the environment configuration.

This guide is practical for cloud security and infrastructure professionals who are either implementing or managing AWS services through Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using Terraform. It showcases a hands-on example that emphasizes the importance of local testing and version control in cloud deployment processes, two critical areas for ensuring reliable and secure infrastructure.