Project 1: Configure Cloud Automation and
Orchestration Software
Start Here
You recently developed BallotOnline’s cloud migration plan,
programmatic cloud configuration and deployment, and performed
data migration to the cloud. You have also conducted postmigration
activities to ensure a successful data migration. Now, in this project,
you will configure cloud automation and orchestration software.
Your supervisor, Sophia, the vice president of Information Technology
(IT), says that you need to configure and then deploy the following
aspects of BallotOnline’s new cloud infrastructure, using the cloud
orchestration and automation software solution:
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Compute
Databases
Developer tools
Machine learning
Messaging
Storage and content delivery
Website(s) and web app(s)
As the principal cloud architect for BallotOnline, you are grateful that
your previous work has been validated by the executive board, and
you're eager to show Sophia and the board members a comprehensive
cloud orchestration and automation software solution for the
organization. Such a solution will provide cost savings for the
organization. You will also compile and consolidate your activities in a
Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report.
In thinking about the steps needed to put together the orchestration
and automation solution, you will use the knowledge and experience
that you have acquired during your cloud testing and planning
activities.
If the orchestration and automation solution is set up the right way,
you and your team will be able to assess some important components,
including orchestration framework, how to automate operations, and
any related application programming interface (API) integration. You
are beginning to see that putting forth a successful orchestration and
automation solution will help with implementation of advanced
features as well as any additional components required for efficient
operations in the cloud.
All of those components will be included in a Cloud Orchestration and
Automation Report. The executive board will evaluate your report
based on the degree to which you can apply industry best practices
and standards to meet the business needs of BallotOnline.
Project Options
Sophia has given you the following options to choose from (pick one):
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Create the CloudFormation templates for all seven use cases
without showing her a validation of successful execution of each
CloudFormation template.
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Select one of the use cases and create the Cloud Formation
template and show the successful execution of that template.
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Build a dual-region environment using AWS CloudFormation
StackSets. Each region will contain an Amazon VPC and an
Amazon Linux 2 instance running a LAMP
(Linux/Apache/MariaDB/PHP) stack.
o Use the following link to perform all the tasks listed in the
CloudFormation Workshop: https://github.com/awssamples/aws-cloudformationworkshops/tree/master/workshop_1
o Take screenshots showing the completion of each step
(Steps 1 through 7) and add the screenshots in your Project
1 deliverable. Note: Make sure that your screenshots include
your unique AWS ID (which is at the top right corner of the
AWS console)
o Review the following recently published CloudFormation
Best Practices to avoid any issues you may run into in
Project
1: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest
/UserGuide/best-practices.html
There are nine steps to complete this project. Click on Step 1 to get
started.
This project has a hands-on lab that you need to complete. Instructions
for the lab are included in the steps of this project.
Step 1: Review CloudFormation
Previously, you used existing CloudFormation templates to define your
cloud environment.
Now, you will design your own templates to automate seven elements
of BallotOnline’s cloud environment to speed up the deployment
process, limit or eliminate any human errors, and reduce time to
deployment.
Take Action
Learn How to Create Templates with CloudFormation Designer
Throughout this project, you will be generating templates to model
and provision a cloud environment.
Before moving to the next step, review the following activities and AWS
information to learn how to use CloudFormation Designer:
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Introduction to AWS CloudFormation Designer
Working With Templates
Customizing Templates
AWS CloudFormation Designer Interface Overview
As you create your orchestration and automation templates
throughout this project, make sure you save the template from each
step to be used in the final Cloud Orchestration and Automation
Report.
In the next step, you will deploy compute functions in the cloud for
BallotOnline’s data.
Step 2: Deploy Compute in the Cloud
Review
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Overview of Big Data
As an online voting company, BallotOnline’s operations team manages
large amounts of electronic data. So, the first process you will
automate is the deployment of an elastic High-Performance
Computing (HPC) Cluster to improve the management and analysis of
this data.
Create a Compute Template
Deploying an Elastic HPC Cluster explains how to install and deploy
CfnCluster, configure the environment, run a simple parallel
“mpi_hello_world” job, and shut down the cluster. Use this guide to
help understand the process to deploy this service. You can then either
use CloudFormation Designer to generate the appropriate template
using the associated widget, or you can find the appropriate code on
your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
☑️ Set Up Prerequisites
☑️ Install a Cluster
☑️ Configure and Launch the Cluster
☑️ Submit and Run a Simple Parallel MPI Job (you can use the
sample job provided in the document above)
☑️ Create an EBS Volume Snapshot for Cluster Reusability
After you have created and tested the template, save it for later use in
the final Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report. Then, move to
the next step, where you will deploy databases. Don’t forget to clean
up your cluster to avoid extra charges from AWS.
Step 3: Deploy Databases in the Cloud
In this step, you will create a CloudFormation template to automate the setup, operations, and
scaling of BallotOnline’s data warehouse to help stakeholders in management, accounting and
finance, operations, capacity management, and IT understand trends, make forecasts, and run
reports.
Create a Template to Deploy a Data Warehouse
The Amazon Redshift Getting Started Guide guides you through the process of setting up a data
warehouse. Use this guide to help understand the process to deploy this service. You can then
either use CloudFormation Designer to generate the appropriate template using the associated
widget, or you can find the appropriate code on your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
Set Up Prerequisites
Create an IAM Role
Launch an Amazon Redshift Cluster
Authorize Access to the Cluster
Connect to the Cluster
Load Data from Amazon S3
After you have created and tested the template, save the template to
be used in the final Cloud Automation and Orchestration Report. Then,
move to the next step, where you will deploy tools for development
tasks. Don’t forget to clean up your environment to avoid extra charges
from AWS.
Step 4: Deploy Developer Tools in the
Cloud
Currently, the application development team manually creates sandbox
environments for its app developers. Automating the deployment of
development tasks will reduce the team’s time-to-value to minutes
versus hours.
You will improve BallotOnline’s process by creating a template to
deploy developer tools in the cloud to allow the application
development team to automate the creation of sandbox environments.
Create a Template to Automatically Deploy Developer Tools
Use the instruction in the Set Up a Jenkins Build Server tutorial as a
guide for developing a template that will deploy a Jenkins automation
server. You can then either use CloudFormation Designer to generate
the appropriate template using the associated widget, or you can find
the appropriate code on your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
☑️ Set Up Prerequisites
☑️ Launch the EC2 Instance to Host the Jenkins Build Server
☑️ Install and Configure Jenkins
After you have created and tested the template, save the template to
be used in the final Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report.
Remember to clean up your environment to avoid extra charges from
AWS. Then, move to the next step, where you will set up a template to
deploy machine learning.
Step 5: Deploy Machine Learning in the
Cloud
In this step, you will use AWS CloudFormation to create a template to
deploy automated machine learning in the cloud. BallotOnline will use
machine learning platforms to learn normal voting trends of voters and
deviations from the normal behavior of the voters, and make
predictions about future outcomes. Right now, BallotOnline focuses on
government analysis, but could branch out in the future to further
commercialize its services, analyzing and predicting different behaviors
for different stakeholder groups.
Create a Template to Automatically Deploy Machine Learning
Review SageMaker Tutorial to learn about this Machine Learning
service. Then review this blog post to learn how to use AWS
CloudFormation to provision resources to test out this service. You can
either use CloudFormation Designer to generate the appropriate
template using the associated widget, or if you can find the
appropriate code on your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
☑️ Set Up Prerequisites
☑️ Create a Training Job
☑️ Deploy the Model in SageMaker
Test your template. Save your template for the final Cloud
Orchestration and Automation Report before moving to the next step.
Remember to clean up your environment. Next, you will work on
messaging systems in the cloud.
Step 6: Deploy Messaging in the Cloud
Review
Mail Server
In this step, you will use AWS CloudFormation to create a template to
deploy an email-receiving pipeline in the cloud. BallotOnline has a
corporate-wide messaging system in place. However, some business
units want their own internal messaging system. By automating the
process, it will allow the IT team to deploy these systems on demand
for the various departments. This will save time and remove chances of
human error for every new deployment.
Create a Template to Automatically Deploy an Email-Receiving Pipeline
Use the instructions in the Getting Started Receiving Email with
Amazon SES tutorial as a guide to help understand the process to
deploy this service. You can then either use CloudFormation Designer
to generate the appropriate template using the associated widget, or
you can find the appropriate code on your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
☑️ Set Up Prerequisites
☑️ Verify Your Domain
☑️ Set up a Receipt Rule to Create an S3 Bucket
☑️ Send a Test Message
Test your template by viewing the test message sent. After you have
confirmed that it is working, clean up your environment to avoid new
charges from AWS. Save your template for the final Cloud
Orchestration and Automation Report before moving to the next step.
There, you will deploy storage and content delivery systems.
Step 7: Deploy Storage and Content
Delivery in the Cloud
Remember that BallotOnline is a electronic voting company that
operates in different countries. The organization needs to comply with
privacy laws in each country. Automating will ensure that compliance
guidelines are always followed when deploying new storage and
content delivery systems. In this step, you will use AWS
CloudFormation to create a template to deploy storage and content
delivery in the cloud by setting up a compliant archive in the cloud.
Create a Template to Automatically Deploy a Compliant Archive
Use the instructions in the Set Up a Compliant Archive white paper as
your guide. You can then either use CloudFormation Designer to
generate the appropriate template using the associated widget, or you
can find the appropriate code on your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
☑️ Create a New Vault
☑️ Specify a Compliance Policy (select one of the examples in the
guide)
Test your template and then clean up your environment. Save your
template for the final Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report
before moving to the next step. There, you will deploy websites and
web apps.
Step 8: Deploy Website(s) and Web App(s)
in the Cloud
In this step, you will use AWS CloudFormation to create a template to
deploy website(s) and web app(s) in the form of a WordPress site in
AWS. This should help developers deploy websites and web apps as
efficiently as possible in the future, reducing BallotOnline’s overall
operational overhead.
Create a Template to Automatically Deploy Website(s) and WebApp(s)
Use the instructions in the Deploying a High-Availability WordPress
Website with an External Amazon RDS Database to Elastic
Beanstalk tutorial to understand the process of creating the cloud
formation template to deploy and host a production-ready WordPress
website. You can then either use CloudFormation Designer to generate
the appropriate template using the associated widget, or you can find
the appropriate code on your own.
The template should perform these tasks automatically:
☑️ Launch a DB Instance in Amazon RD
☑️ Download the WordPress Framework for the Website Building
Process
☑️ Launch an Elastic Beanstalk Environment
☑️ Configure Environment Properties
☑️ Install WordPress
☑️ Update the Default Keys and Salts to Encrypt the
Authentication Process
☑️ Update the Environment
☑️ Configure an Auto Scaling Group
Test your new template and after you confirm everything is in place,
clean up your environment. Save your template for the final Cloud
Orchestration and Automation Report before moving to the last step,
in which you will put together the final report.
Step 9: Write the Final Cloud Orchestration
and Automation Report
At this point, you should have a better understanding of the cloud
orchestration and automation strategy and how cloud orchestration
and automation differs from traditional IT data center deployment
practices. You are ready to compile the final Cloud Orchestration and
Automation Report. Sophia will present your work for approval at the
executive meeting. Upon approval, this document will be used by the
operations team to automate day-to-day cloud deployment tasks.
The final document should be between 12 and 14 pages, if you
selected the option for all seven use cases, and nine and 10 pages if
you selected the single-use case option. Your submission should
include the code from the templates you created. Use the Cloud
Orchestration and Automation Report Template to help put together
the Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report, and submit it via the
dropbox below.
Check Your Evaluation Criteria
Before you submit your assignment, review the competencies below,
which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A good practice
would be to use each competency as a self-check to confirm you have
incorporated all of them. To view the complete grading rubric, click My
Tools, select Assignments from the drop-down menu, and then click
the project title.
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2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem
under critical consideration.
2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the
issue or problem.
2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to
determine its value and relevance to the problem.
2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or
problem.
9.5: Design virtualized network infrastructure to meet business
needs.
9.6: Design cloud storage infrastructure to meet business needs.
10.2: Create and deploy virtual machines.
10.3: Configure cloud management tools and software.
10.4: Configure cloud orchestration and automation software.
10.7: Configure a public cloud infrastructure using industry
leading provider(s).
Submit Project: Final Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report
Cloud Orchestration and Automation Report
Executive Summary (< 1 page)
Plan Scope (1 page)
Cloud Orchestration and Automation Overview
Industry Leading Cloud Orchestration and Automation Approaches Overview (
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