Overview

CloudFormation allows you to define your entire AWS infrastructure in template files. Instead of manually creating resources like servers, databases, and networks, you write a template that describes what you want, and CloudFormation creates everything in the correct order with the right settings.

These templates can be version controlled and reused, making it easy to recreate the same infrastructure multiple times. For example, you could use the same template to create identical development, testing, and production environments.

One of CloudFormation's key features is its understanding of dependencies. If you're creating a web application that needs a database, load balancer, and several servers, CloudFormation knows the correct order to create these resources and how to connect them together.

The service also helps with updates and deletions. When you need to change your infrastructure, you update the template, and CloudFormation figures out what needs to be modified. If you need to remove everything, a single command can cleanly delete all resources in the correct order.

Example uses

Application Environments: Create complete application environments including servers, databases, and networking.
Disaster Recovery: Quickly recreate your infrastructure in another region if needed.
Resource Standardization: Ensure all your environments are created consistently using the same templates.
Temporary Environments: Easily create and delete development or testing environments as needed.

Integration with other AWS services

CloudFormation can work with almost every AWS service:

Amazon EC2: Create and configure virtual servers
Amazon RDS: Set up databases with specific configurations
Amazon VPC: Define networking settings and security
AWS IAM: Set up security permissions and roles

Think of CloudFormation as your infrastructure automation system, where you can define your entire AWS environment in code and let AWS handle the complex task of building and maintaining it.

AWS CloudFormation