AWS CloudFormation Resources Overview

• Core Component: Resources are the core of CloudFormation templates and the only mandatory section.
• Purpose: They represent AWS components that will be created and configured.
• Inter-referencing: Resources can reference each other within a template.
• Automation: AWS handles the creation, updates, and deletion of resources.
• Variety: There are over 700 types of resources available in AWS CloudFormation.
• Identification: Resource type identifiers follow the format service-provider::service-name::data-type-name.

Finding Resource Documentation

• Resource Documentation Page: A central page exists with documentation for all CloudFormation resources.
• Resource Types: Examples include Amazon Kinesis and Amazon EC2, each with multiple resource types.
• Syntax: Resources can be defined in JSON or YAML, with YAML being easier to read for many users.
• Properties: Defined as key-value pairs, with detailed documentation available for each property.
• Non-Mandatory Properties: Not all properties are required; some are optional.
• Update Behaviors: Documentation specifies if updates to a property require interruption or replacement of the resource.

Example: Amazon EC2 Instance

• Type: AWS::EC2::Instance
• Properties: AvailabilityZone, ImageId, InstanceType, IamInstanceProfile, SecurityGroups, etc.
• Security Groups: Defined as an array of strings, referencing security group names.
• Elastic IP: Separate documentation page detailing declaration and examples.
• Customization: Most console-specifiable settings can also be specified through CloudFormation.