Terraform Practical Learning Session (2-3 Hours)

This hands-on tutorial takes you from Terraform basics to advanced features through a progressive project-based approach using real AWS infrastructure. All examples use AWS Free Tier services to avoid costs.

• AWS Account (Free Tier)
  • Create at: https://aws.amazon.com/free/
  • See AWS_SETUP.md for complete setup guide
• AWS CLI installed and configured
  • Download from: https://aws.amazon.com/cli/
  • Verify: aws --version
  • Configure: aws configure
• Terraform installed (version 1.0+)
  • Download from: https://www.terraform.io/downloads
  • Verify: terraform version
• Text Editor (VS Code recommended with Terraform extension)
• Basic command-line knowledge

Project: AWS Storage and Identity Management

• Introduction to Terraform and IaC concepts
• AWS provider configuration
• S3 buckets and IAM resources
• Variables and outputs
• Terraform workflow: init, plan, apply, destroy

AWS Services: S3, IAM, SSM Parameter Store 📁 Location: module-1-basics/

Project: VPC and EC2 Web Server

• VPC networking (subnets, route tables, IGW)
• EC2 instance deployment (t2.micro free tier)
• Security groups and network ACLs
• Creating reusable VPC modules
• Count and for_each meta-arguments

AWS Services: VPC, EC2, Security Groups 📁 Location: module-2-intermediate/

Project: Multi-Environment Serverless Application

• Workspaces for environment management
• Remote state with S3 backend
• DynamoDB state locking
• Lambda function deployment
• Best practices and production patterns

AWS Services: Lambda, S3 (state), DynamoDB, CloudWatch 📁 Location: module-3-advanced/

1. Complete AWS Setup

   # Follow AWS_SETUP.md first!
   # Verify AWS credentials
   aws sts get-caller-identity

2. Navigate to tutorial directory

   cd terraform-recap

3. Start with Module 1

   cd module-1-basics
   cat README.md

Each module contains:

• README.md - Theory and instructions
• exercises/ - Hands-on challenges
• solutions/ - Reference implementations
• project/ - Main project files

By the end of this tutorial, you will:

• ✅ Understand Infrastructure as Code principles
• ✅ Write Terraform configurations for AWS
• ✅ Manage state with S3 and DynamoDB
• ✅ Create reusable, modular infrastructure code
• ✅ Implement multi-environment deployments
• ✅ Deploy serverless applications with Lambda
• ✅ Apply Terraform best practices
• ✅ Debug and troubleshoot Terraform issues

All examples stay within AWS Free Tier limits:

• S3: <5GB storage, minimal requests
• EC2: t2.micro instances, <750 hours/month
• Lambda: <1M requests/month
• DynamoDB: <25GB storage
• VPC, IAM, CloudWatch: Always free

See CLEANUP.md for detailed cleanup instructions.

# Verify credentials
aws sts get-caller-identity
# Reconfigure if needed
aws configure

# Reinitialize
rm -rf .terraform
terraform init

# Verify region
aws configure get region
# Should be: us-east-1 (or your chosen region)

1. Run terraform destroy immediately
2. Check AWS Billing Dashboard
3. Review CLEANUP.md
4. Contact AWS Support (free for billing issues)

• Terraform Documentation
• AWS Free Tier
• Terraform AWS Provider
• HashiCorp Learn

1. Explore More AWS Services: RDS, ECS, EKS
2. Learn Terraform Cloud: Team collaboration features
3. Study CI/CD Integration: Automate deployments
4. Practice Advanced Patterns: Multi-region, disaster recovery
5. Join the Community: HashiCorp forums, AWS communities

• 🔒 Never commit AWS credentials to Git
• 💰 Always destroy resources after learning
• 📊 Monitor billing dashboard regularly
• 🧹 Follow cleanup procedures carefully
• 🔐 Use IAM users, not root account

Ready to start?

1. Complete AWS_SETUP.md
2. Head to module-1-basics/ and begin your Terraform journey! 🚀