AWS CloudFormation is a orchestration tool which deploys infrastructure. It supports nested CloudFormation templates. Nested CloudFormation templates provide a way to reuse large components of infrastructure, such as VPCs, Subnets, Auto Scaling Groups and EC2 Instances. CloudFormation Config Sets provide an alternative reuse mechanism, within an EC2 instance.

AWS CloudFormation is a service which provides orchestration of infrastructure build out. CloudFormation is a great example of Infrastructure as Code, where a text file which can be stored in a version control system (such as AWS CodeCommit) is used to create a Software Defined Data Center. Nested CloudFormation Templates allows for reuse and automation, two fundamentals of DevOps.

AWS always categorized its services into functional groups. At AWS re:Invent 2016, a number of new services were announced. Some new categories were added to accomodate these new services and there was some service realignment into the new categories. This post explains some of that realignment.

One of the highlights of AWS re:Invent 2016 was Tuesday Night Live with James Hamilton. James Hamilton is a Vice President and Distinguished Engineer at amazon.com and specializes in infrastructure efficiency, reliability and scalability. The 90 minute presentation was full of details that most AWS employees never mention, even under strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

AWS CloudFormation is an AWS Management tool that builds infrastructure when passed a template configuration file. When CloudFormation was first announced, the template was pure JSON. On Monday, September 19th, 2016 the AWS Blog announced that the CloudFormation API would now also accept YAML based CloudFormation Templates. This post explains what YAML is, and why it’s a good alternative to JSON.

In 2009 Amazon announced the original Elastic Load Balancer (ELB). On August 11th 2016, the AWS Blog announced the new AWS Application Load Balancer (ALB). This is the first new type of load balancer offered by Amazon since. The original Elastic Load Balancer is now called the Classic Load Balancer (CLB) and collectively they are known as ELBs. With an already existing load balancer, why did Amazon create, and why use the AWS Application Load Balancer (ALB)?

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification is sometimes also known as the AWS Associate Solutions Architect (ASA). It provides a good test of your knowledge of Amazon Web Services (AWS). This is a great benefit for job hunters looking for work. It also provides a way for potential employers to quickly find candidates with the right skill set.