Tutorial / Cram Notes

A CloudFormation stack is a collection of AWS resources that you can manage as a single unit. When working with multiple accounts and regions, managing these resources can become complex. StackSets simplifies this process by allowing you to define stacks in a template and then deploy them to multiple target accounts and regions.

Key Concepts:

  • StackSet: A collection of CloudFormation stacks that can be managed together. You create, update, or delete stacks in the StackSet once, and those changes are applied across all the stacks.
  • Stack Instance: A stack in a specific account and region that is part of a StackSet.
  • Administrator Account: The AWS account where you create the StackSet.
  • Target Account: An AWS account where you want to deploy stacks included in the StackSet. The target accounts can be part of an AWS Organization.
  • Template: A CloudFormation template defines the resources you want to deploy. This template is used for all stack instances in the StackSet.

Creating a StackSet

To create a StackSet, you must first have a CloudFormation template. This template is written in YAML or JSON and defines the AWS resources you want to provision.

Example Template (YAML):

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: ‘2010-09-09’
Description: Example StackSet Template for an S3 Bucket

Resources:
ExampleS3Bucket:
Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
Properties:
BucketName: my-stackset-example-bucket

After creating the template, you can define the StackSet in the CloudFormation console, the AWS CLI, or via CloudFormation APIs.

Step by Step to Create a StackSet:

  1. Go to the CloudFormation console and select “StackSets” then “Create StackSet”.
  2. Upload your CloudFormation template.
  3. Define the parameters, if any are required by your template.
  4. Set up permissions. You can choose self-managed permissions if you want to deploy StackSets to accounts not managed by AWS Organizations or service-managed permissions for accounts within an AWS Organization.
  5. Choose the accounts and regions where you want the StackSets to be deployed.
  6. Define tags, if needed, then create the StackSet.

Updating and Deleting StackSet Instances

To keep your AWS environment up to date or remove unnecessary resources, you can update or delete StackSets.

Updating a StackSet:

  1. Modify your CloudFormation template.
  2. Go to the CloudFormation console, select the StackSet you want to update, and choose “Update StackSet”.
  3. Upload the updated template and/or modify the parameters.
  4. Select the accounts and regions to be updated.
  5. Confirm the update and it will be applied across the selected stack instances.

Deleting a StackSet:

  1. Go to the CloudFormation console and select the StackSet you want to delete.
  2. First, delete stack instances by selecting “Delete Stacks” to remove resources from target accounts and regions.
  3. Once all stack instances are removed, you can delete the StackSet itself.

Best Practices for Using StackSets

When deploying StackSets, following best practices is essential:

  • Test StackSets in a non-production environment before deploying to production accounts.
  • Use change sets to preview changes before applying them, reducing the risk of unintended consequences.
  • Implement AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) best practices to control access to your StackSets.
  • Monitor your stack instances using AWS Config and AWS CloudTrail to ensure compliance and track changes.

Conclusion

CloudFormation StackSets is a crucial tool for those looking to achieve the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification. By leveraging StackSets, DevOps professionals can efficiently manage resources across multiple AWS accounts and regions, enforce standards, and bring automation to the next level. Understanding how to create, update, and delete StackSets, as well as following best practices, will prepare candidates for scenarios they will encounter both in the exam and in real-world cloud infrastructure management.

Practice Test with Explanation

True or False: AWS CloudFormation StackSets allows you to deploy CloudFormation templates across multiple AWS accounts and regions simultaneously.

  • (A) True
  • (B) False

Answer: A

Explanation: AWS CloudFormation StackSets enables you to deploy CloudFormation templates across multiple AWS accounts and regions with a single operation.

Which service must be enabled in all accounts for StackSets to work properly when deploying across multiple AWS accounts?

  • (A) AWS Config
  • (B) AWS CloudTrail
  • (C) AWS Organizations
  • (D) Amazon CloudWatch

Answer: C

Explanation: AWS Organizations must be enabled to manage permissions and deployments across multiple AWS accounts using StackSets.

What is the role of the AWS CloudFormation StackSet Administrator account?

  • (A) To execute stack instances
  • (B) To receive stack set operations
  • (C) To manage stack set operations
  • (D) To monitor CloudWatch Logs for stack set operations

Answer: C

Explanation: The StackSet Administrator account is responsible for managing stack set operations, including creation, update, and deletion of stack sets and stack instances.

True or False: CloudFormation StackSets do not support the deployment of stacks in parallel across accounts and regions.

  • (A) True
  • (B) False

Answer: B

Explanation: CloudFormation StackSets do support the parallel deployment of stacks across multiple accounts and regions to expedite infrastructure deployment.

What permission model can be used when creating a StackSet?

  • (A) Service-managed permissions
  • (B) Self-managed permissions
  • (C) User-managed permissions
  • (D) IAM role permissions
  • (E) A and B

Answer: E

Explanation: AWS CloudFormation StackSets supports two permission models, service-managed permissions and self-managed permissions, to accommodate different use cases.

True or False: You need to manually create IAM roles in each target account for StackSets using service-managed permissions.

  • (A) True
  • (B) False

Answer: B

Explanation: When using service-managed permissions, AWS CloudFormation StackSets will automatically create the necessary IAM roles in each target account on your behalf.

In StackSets, what is a stack instance?

  • (A) An EC2 instance created by CloudFormation StackSets
  • (B) A single deployment of a stack in a specific account and region
  • (C) A templated resource configuration for StackSets
  • (D) The master template used by StackSets

Answer: B

Explanation: A stack instance refers to a single deployment of a stack by StackSets within a specific AWS account and region.

True or False: StackSets allows you to specify the order in which stack instances are deployed across regions and accounts.

  • (A) True
  • (B) False

Answer: A

Explanation: CloudFormation StackSets provides the capability to specify the deployment order for stack instances across regions and accounts.

Which of the following tasks can StackSets automate across multiple accounts and regions?

  • (A) Creating and updating resources
  • (B) Deleting stacks
  • (C) Managing output values
  • (D) All of the above

Answer: D

Explanation: StackSets can automate the process of creating, updating, managing output values, and deleting stacks across multiple accounts and regions.

What feature does AWS CloudFormation StackSets provide to automatically manage permissions for you as you use StackSets to deploy across accounts within an organization?

  • (A) AWS IAM Access Analyzer
  • (B) AWS IAM Service-linked roles
  • (C) AWS IAM Role chaining
  • (D) AWS Organizations trust

Answer: D

Explanation: AWS Organizations trust enables AWS CloudFormation StackSets to automatically create the necessary service-managed permissions as you deploy across accounts within your AWS Organization.

True or False: StackSets can be used to deploy resources to accounts that are not part of your AWS Organizations structure.

  • (A) True
  • (B) False

Answer: A

Explanation: StackSets can indeed be used to deploy resources to accounts outside of AWS Organizations by using self-managed permissions and manually setting up the necessary IAM roles.

When using StackSets, which entity is responsible for ensuring compliance with the target account’s service control policies (SCPs)?

  • (A) StackSets Administrator
  • (B) AWS Config
  • (C) The target account administrator
  • (D) AWS Organizations

Answer: C

Explanation: The target account administrator is responsible for ensuring that the actions taken by StackSets are compliant with any applicable service control policies (SCPs) in place.

Interview Questions

What are AWS CloudFormation StackSets and how do they benefit multi-account and multi-region management?

AWS CloudFormation StackSets allow you to create, update, or delete stacks across multiple accounts and regions with a single operation. They simplify the management of AWS resources across different accounts and regions by enforcing consistency, reducing the potential for errors, and saving time for DevOps teams.

How do CloudFormation StackSets differ from standard CloudFormation stacks?

CloudFormation StackSets extend the functionality of individual stacks by enabling you to deploy the same stack across multiple AWS accounts and regions. They handle the operations in a coordinated way, ensuring that stacks are deployed consistently, whereas standard CloudFormation stacks manage resources within a single account and region.

Can you describe the permission model used by CloudFormation StackSets for deploying stacks across multiple accounts?

CloudFormation StackSets use a service-managed or self-managed permissions model. With service-managed permissions, AWS Organizations is leveraged to automatically deploy to accounts within an organization or organizational units (OUs). With self-managed permissions, you manually set up IAM roles in the target accounts to grant StackSets the necessary permissions.

What are the key considerations when choosing between service-managed and self-managed permission models in StackSets?

The key considerations include the level of control required, the structure of your AWS accounts, and whether you’re using AWS Organizations. Service-managed permissions provide a simpler setup for those using AWS Organizations, while self-managed permissions offer more granular control over IAM roles and are necessary for accounts outside of AWS Organizations.

How would you monitor the status of your stack instances across multiple accounts and regions?

You can monitor the status of stack instances within CloudFormation in the AWS Management Console or use the CloudFormation APIs. Additionally, you may integrate CloudFormation with Amazon CloudWatch to trigger alarms or notifications based on stack events.

When deploying a StackSet, what strategies can you use to prevent service interruptions or deployment failures in multiple regions?

You can use various strategies such as deploying in batches, staggering deployments across regions, employing AWS Region Concurrency controls, and using failure tolerance settings to prevent widespread impact. Additionally, testing changes in a staging environment before production deployment can reduce the likelihood of interruptions.

Explain how you would roll back a change that caused issues after applying a StackSet operation to multiple regions/accounts.

To roll back a change, you can use the StackSets operation to issue an update with the previous, known-good template and parameters. If you have configured automatic rollback on stack operation failure, CloudFormation will attempt to roll back to the previous state in the event of a failure.

Describe how you would update a particular stack instance within a StackSet while leaving others unchanged.

To update a specific stack instance, you can initiate an update StackSet operation and select the Regions and account(s) for the stack instances that you want to update, or use override operations if only certain parameters need to change for specific instances.

How does CloudFormation StackSets handle drift detection, and what are the implications for stacks across multiple accounts and regions?

CloudFormation StackSets support drift detection to identify discrepancies between the stack’s actual configuration and its expected configuration. Drift detection helps in maintaining consistency across multiple accounts and regions by alerting you to unauthorized or accidental changes so that you can take appropriate action.

What are the limitations of using AWS CloudFormation StackSets?

Some limitations include a maximum number of stack instances that can be managed, restrictions on updating stack sets with service-managed permissions, lack of support for all AWS resources, and the complexity of managing stack set operations as the number of accounts and regions grow.

Remember that these answers are guidelines and additional elaboration with personal experience, if possible, would be beneficial during an interview. Since the AWS platform is frequently updated, be sure to check the latest AWS documentation before your interview to ensure that the information given is still accurate.

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Stella Lewis
6 months ago

Thanks for the detailed blog on applying CloudFormation StackSets!

María Rocha
6 months ago

Great post! This helps a lot in preparing for the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer exam.

Adrian Stolyarchuk
6 months ago

Can someone explain the benefits of using StackSets for managing multiple accounts?

Arthur Liu
6 months ago

I’m curious, how do you handle stack drift in StackSets?

Katerina Ieleyko
6 months ago

This blog is amazing for understanding the deployment best practices with StackSets.

Ricardo Archuleta
6 months ago

How does StackSets interact with AWS Organizations?

Tido Mosselman
5 months ago

Quick question: do we need additional permissions to use StackSets?

Mira Sokolović
6 months ago

I love how the examples in this blog simplify a complex topic.

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