To deploy a CloudFormation template on AWS, you must log in to the CloudFormation section of the AWS console.
Then you press the “create stack” button. After that, you upload your CloudFormation template, specify a stack name, add any additional parameters and tags, and then press “create stack” to deploy your CloudFormation template.
Here are the steps for how to deploy an AWS CloudFormation template via the AWS Console.
Table of Contents
How to deploy a CloudFormation template on AWS
First, you log in to the AWS Console and go to the search bar on the top left corner of the site, and type “CloudFormation”. This will bring you to the CloudFormation service in the console.
Press the orange “Create stack” button to start the CloudFormation deploy process.
You’ll be greeted with a 4-step wizard:
- Specify template
- Specify stack details
- Configure stack options
- Review
You need to fill in the CloudFormation stack details before you can deploy the CloudFormation template to AWS.
1. Specify template
A CloudFormation stack is based on a template defined in either YAML or JSON format. In this template, you specify the AWS resources that you wish to deploy and create on AWS.
There are 3 ways to prepare a template for deployment. You can upload your own template, use a sample template that is provided by AWS or create a template in the designer.
We have two options of providing the custom template, via an Amazon S3 URL (hosted on an S3 bucket) or uploading it directly to the AWS Console.
Note: the maximum size of a template body that you can pass in a CreateStack request is 51,200 bytes. However, the maximum size of a template body that you can pass in an Amazon S3 object is 1 MB.
In this case, we go for the most common method, which is uploading our own template.
You can upload the following example template (JSON) which deploys an Amazon EC2 instance in an Amazon EC2 security group.
{
"AWSTemplateFormatVersion" : "2010-09-09",
"Description" : "AWS CloudFormation Sample Template EC2InstanceWithSecurityGroupSample: Create an Amazon EC2 instance running the Amazon Linux AMI. The AMI is chosen based on the region in which the stack is run. This example creates an EC2 security group for the instance to give you SSH access. **WARNING** This template creates an Amazon EC2 instance. You will be billed for the AWS resources used if you create a stack from this template.",
"Parameters" : {
"KeyName": {
"Description" : "Name of an existing EC2 KeyPair to enable SSH access to the instance",
"Type": "AWS::EC2::KeyPair::KeyName",
"ConstraintDescription" : "must be the name of an existing EC2 KeyPair."
},
"InstanceType" : {
"Description" : "WebServer EC2 instance type",
"Type" : "String",
"Default" : "t2.small",
"AllowedValues" : [ "t1.micro", "t2.nano", "t2.micro", "t2.small", "t2.medium", "t2.large", "m1.small", "m1.medium", "m1.large", "m1.xlarge", "m2.xlarge", "m2.2xlarge", "m2.4xlarge", "m3.medium", "m3.large", "m3.xlarge", "m3.2xlarge", "m4.large", "m4.xlarge", "m4.2xlarge", "m4.4xlarge", "m4.10xlarge", "c1.medium", "c1.xlarge", "c3.large", "c3.xlarge", "c3.2xlarge", "c3.4xlarge", "c3.8xlarge", "c4.large", "c4.xlarge", "c4.2xlarge", "c4.4xlarge", "c4.8xlarge", "g2.2xlarge", "g2.8xlarge", "r3.large", "r3.xlarge", "r3.2xlarge", "r3.4xlarge", "r3.8xlarge", "i2.xlarge", "i2.2xlarge", "i2.4xlarge", "i2.8xlarge", "d2.xlarge", "d2.2xlarge", "d2.4xlarge", "d2.8xlarge", "hi1.4xlarge", "hs1.8xlarge", "cr1.8xlarge", "cc2.8xlarge", "cg1.4xlarge"]
,
"ConstraintDescription" : "must be a valid EC2 instance type."
},
"SSHLocation" : {
"Description" : "The IP address range that can be used to SSH to the EC2 instances",
"Type": "String",
"MinLength": "9",
"MaxLength": "18",
"Default": "0.0.0.0/0",
"AllowedPattern": "(\\d{1,3})\\.(\\d{1,3})\\.(\\d{1,3})\\.(\\d{1,3})/(\\d{1,2})",
"ConstraintDescription": "must be a valid IP CIDR range of the form x.x.x.x/x."
}
},
"Mappings" : {
"AWSInstanceType2Arch" : {
"t1.micro" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"t2.nano" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"t2.micro" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"t2.small" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"t2.medium" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"t2.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m1.small" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m1.medium" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m1.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m1.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m2.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m2.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m3.medium" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m3.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m3.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m3.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m4.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m4.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m4.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m4.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"m4.10xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c1.medium" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c1.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c3.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c3.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c3.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c3.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c3.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c4.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c4.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c4.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c4.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"c4.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"g2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVMG2" },
"g2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVMG2" },
"r3.large" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"r3.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"r3.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"r3.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"r3.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"i2.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"i2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"i2.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"i2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"d2.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"d2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"d2.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"d2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"hi1.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"hs1.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"cr1.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" },
"cc2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "HVM64" }
},
"AWSInstanceType2NATArch" : {
"t1.micro" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"t2.nano" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"t2.micro" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"t2.small" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"t2.medium" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"t2.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m1.small" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m1.medium" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m1.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m1.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m2.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m2.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m3.medium" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m3.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m3.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m3.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m4.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m4.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m4.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m4.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"m4.10xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c1.medium" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c1.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c3.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c3.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c3.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c3.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c3.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c4.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c4.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c4.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c4.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"c4.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"g2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVMG2" },
"g2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVMG2" },
"r3.large" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"r3.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"r3.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"r3.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"r3.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"i2.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"i2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"i2.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"i2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"d2.xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"d2.2xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"d2.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"d2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"hi1.4xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"hs1.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"cr1.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" },
"cc2.8xlarge" : { "Arch" : "NATHVM64" }
}
,
"AWSRegionArch2AMI" : {
"af-south-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-064cc455f8a1ef504", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"ap-east-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-f85b1989", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"ap-northeast-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0b2c2a754d5b4da22", "HVMG2" : "ami-09d0e0e099ecabba2"},
"ap-northeast-2" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0493ab99920f410fc", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"ap-northeast-3" : {"HVM64" : "ami-01344f6f63a4decc1", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"ap-south-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-03cfb5e1fb4fac428", "HVMG2" : "ami-0244c1d42815af84a"},
"ap-southeast-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0ba35dc9caf73d1c7", "HVMG2" : "ami-0e46ce0d6a87dc979"},
"ap-southeast-2" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0ae99b503e8694028", "HVMG2" : "ami-0c0ab057a101d8ff2"},
"ca-central-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0803e21a2ec22f953", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"cn-north-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-07a3f215cc90c889c", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"cn-northwest-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0a3b3b10f714a0ff4", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"eu-central-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0474863011a7d1541", "HVMG2" : "ami-0aa1822e3eb913a11"},
"eu-north-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0de4b8910494dba0f", "HVMG2" : "ami-32d55b4c"},
"eu-south-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-08427144fe9ebdef6", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"eu-west-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-015232c01a82b847b", "HVMG2" : "ami-0d5299b1c6112c3c7"},
"eu-west-2" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0765d48d7e15beb93", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"eu-west-3" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0caf07637eda19d9c", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"me-south-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0744743d80915b497", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"sa-east-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-0a52e8a6018e92bb0", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"us-east-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-032930428bf1abbff", "HVMG2" : "ami-0aeb704d503081ea6"},
"us-east-2" : {"HVM64" : "ami-027cab9a7bf0155df", "HVMG2" : "NOT_SUPPORTED"},
"us-west-1" : {"HVM64" : "ami-088c153f74339f34c", "HVMG2" : "ami-0a7fc72dc0e51aa77"},
"us-west-2" : {"HVM64" : "ami-01fee56b22f308154", "HVMG2" : "ami-0fe84a5b4563d8f27"}
}
},
"Resources" : {
"EC2Instance" : {
"Type" : "AWS::EC2::Instance",
"Properties" : {
"InstanceType" : { "Ref" : "InstanceType" },
"SecurityGroups" : [ { "Ref" : "InstanceSecurityGroup" } ],
"KeyName" : { "Ref" : "KeyName" },
"ImageId" : { "Fn::FindInMap" : [ "AWSRegionArch2AMI", { "Ref" : "AWS::Region" },
{ "Fn::FindInMap" : [ "AWSInstanceType2Arch", { "Ref" : "InstanceType" }, "Arch" ] } ] }
}
},
"InstanceSecurityGroup" : {
"Type" : "AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup",
"Properties" : {
"GroupDescription" : "Enable SSH access via port 22",
"SecurityGroupIngress" : [ {
"IpProtocol" : "tcp",
"FromPort" : "22",
"ToPort" : "22",
"CidrIp" : { "Ref" : "SSHLocation"}
} ]
}
}
},
"Outputs" : {
"InstanceId" : {
"Description" : "InstanceId of the newly created EC2 instance",
"Value" : { "Ref" : "EC2Instance" }
},
"AZ" : {
"Description" : "Availability Zone of the newly created EC2 instance",
"Value" : { "Fn::GetAtt" : [ "EC2Instance", "AvailabilityZone" ] }
},
"PublicDNS" : {
"Description" : "Public DNSName of the newly created EC2 instance",
"Value" : { "Fn::GetAtt" : [ "EC2Instance", "PublicDnsName" ] }
},
"PublicIP" : {
"Description" : "Public IP address of the newly created EC2 instance",
"Value" : { "Fn::GetAtt" : [ "EC2Instance", "PublicIp" ] }
}
}
}2. Specify stack details
In the specify stack details step, you fill in the name of your CloudFormation stack. A Stack name can include letters (A-Z and a-z), numbers (0-9), and dashes (-).
Then you fill in the parameters of the template. Parameters allow you to input custom values for the properties of your AWS resources. This makes it possible to build reusable CloudFormation templates.
3. Configure stack options
The configure stack options step allows you to add permissions and metadata to your stack.
You have the ability to tag your CloudFormation stack (up to 50 tags). Tagging stacks becomes helpful when you have to manage multiple stacks on an AWS account.
You can differentiate which stack belongs to which team for example. Note: when tagging stacks the tags are also propagated on the AWS resources that are deployed from them.
Next to that, you can configure an IAM role for CloudFormation to explicitly define how it can create, modify or delete resources on your behalf.
This way you have better control over what CloudFormation can and can’t do within the boundaries of this CloudFormation stack.
You also have two options on what CloudFormation should do when a stack deployment fails. You can choose to “Roll back all stack resources” which is the default option or you can “Preserver successfully provisioned resources”.
The latter is a newer feature and can be a real-time-saver when you’re developing large CloudFormation templates.
Further down below, you’ll find the “Advanced options” section. Here you can configure a stack policy, which is a JSON document that defines which AWS resources you want to protect from unintentional updates during a stack update.
You can add a rollback configuration by defining an optional CloudWatch alarm to monitor during a stack update. If for example that CloudWatch alarm breaches the alarm threshold, then it will send a signal to CloudFormation to roll back the stack to the previous state.
It’s also possible to add notifications to the CloudFormation stack by adding an SNS topic ARN. This is a useful feature if you want to get notified on stack updates in Slack for example.
At last, you have the option to set a custom timeout before a stack creation times out and you can protect a stack from accidental deletion by enabling “Termination protection”.
4. Review
The last step of the CloudFormation template deployment is the review section in which you can verify all the details that you filled in the previous 3 steps.
Scroll to the bottom and click “Create stack” to start the CloudFormation template deploy in AWS.
The CloudFormation template is deployed
Now that you initiated the “Create stack” process, the CloudFormation template is being deployed, as you can see in the stack events tab of the “ec2-instance-with-sg” stack.
Conclusion
There are various ways to deploy a CloudFormation template on AWS. The simplest method is to do it via de AWS console in 4 steps. You log in to the AWS Console, head over to CloudFormation, and press the “Create stack” button.
Then you specify the template which you want to deploy and enter the stack details such as the stack name and parameters.
The 3rd step is to configure stack options such as tags and IAM roles. And finally, you review your input before you deploy the CloudFormation template on AWS.
