AWS CloudFormation Reviews

We use AWS CloudFormation to automate our deployment processes within the AWS environment. It makes the process easier to manage.

With CloudFormation, there is no need to use complicated coding. Instead, you define your infrastructure using a straightforward format called YAML, which resembles plain English rather than intricate code. Additionally, it offers extensive support and documentation, making it even easier to understand.

They could improve the product's capability to handle circular dependencies more effectively. Currently, we encounter errors when deploying interdependent resources.

We have been using AWS CloudFormation for two years.

The initial setup of CloudFormation was very straightforward, to the point where even individuals with no coding background can easily understand the process. The deployment time depends on the amount of resources. It might require only a minute to complete if you have ten resources. However, if you have 100 resources, it could take two hours.

In a recent project, we had to deploy over 500 resources on AWS. Without CloudFormation, this would have been a time-consuming process, likely taking several days to complete manually through the console. Additionally, if we needed to remove the deployment, it would have required a considerable amount of time and a team of ten people. However, by using this platform, we were able to streamline the entire process. It allowed us to deploy everything with just one click. 

The change set feature provides efficient management of updates. Suppose you've deployed 500 resources but only need to modify 100, you can leverage the change set functionality to identify and apply these modifications. It automatically detects the necessary changes, creates a distinct change set, and deploys only the required updates.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

The product uses a simple JSON file format, so it's easy for a beginner to start. But you can use Terraform once you get good hands-on experience and know the infrastructure and resources well.

Using JSON templates in AWS CloudFormation has improved my infrastructure management because it's simple. We can have these templates in multiple setup repositories, which makes it easy for us to collaborate at a specific level.

I prefer Terraform over AWS CloudFormation because AWS CloudFormation is specific to just AWS. But if I want to use a multi-cloud or hybrid setup, then Terraform works better. It uses a simple language, HCL. So, if you learn HCL, you can manage your infrastructures across different cloud providers. You don't need to be specific to one cloud provider.

I prefer Terraform over CloudFormation, so I would rather work with Terraform for deployments. It's easier and simpler to perform deployments with Terraform in my experience.

I haven't encountered any stability issues. 

From my experience with Amazon's customer support, it's good. We usually don't need to connect directly with the Amazon support team. We have specific customer relationship managers as well as a dedicated team that we pay for. We have a support plan in place.

We have both a support plan and a partner development manager who manages the AWS partnerships between our organization and AWS. So we don't have any big issues with support. The partnership manager helps maintain our relationship with AWS.

The tool's pricing depends on the page model. 

I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten and would recommend it to others. 

We're using CloudFormation to deploy our Lambdas and infrastructure. We set up the configuration using the CloudFormation template.

Using AWS CloudFormation as our cloud service provider is helpful for us in deploying our applications and infrastructure.

AWS CloudFormation is very helpful for deploying resources across different regions, such as the US, EU, or Asia. With CloudFormation, we can utilize a single template to deploy resources across multiple areas, providing flexibility and ease of management.

Manual updates are sometimes deployed, leading to errors or disruptions when attempting to modify or tear them down. These issues can be stressful to address

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is good. 30-40 people are using this solution.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

Technical support is fast.

Positive

We were using GitLab or SAP pipeline.

The initial setup is easy and takes 10-20 minutes to complete.

I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

With AWS CloudFormation, whenever we encounter an issue, we don't need to update it manually in the console. We use templates and can quickly deploy them to other regions. By deploying without manual intervention in the console, CloudFormation helps to minimize human error and mistakes

Since numerous AWS services are available, if we ever find a particular feature missing, such as the CloudFormation service, we can explore alternative AWS services that offer that feature. Alternatively, if we don't see a feature available or need guidance, we can ask AWS support for advice on their solutions.

I advise you to look for available documentation. There's a lot of information on how to set up the configuration and the template.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

It helps to automate the process of creating and managing AWS resources. It allows defining the infrastructure as code using templates, which describe the desired state of the infrastructure. This approach makes it easy to replicate environments, track changes, and perform repeatable deployments.

It enables fast and efficient deployment of AWS resources and configurations through code templates. It facilitates sharing and deploying infrastructure configurations across different environments and locations. It provides automated resource management, allowing for updates and rollbacks to be easily managed.

Its infrastructure as code approach is the most valuable.

AWS CloudFormation allows you to use the code templates written in JSON and YAML, but not directly in Python. Adding this feature would be beneficial. You may use Python alongside CloudFormation for enhanced automation and management capabilities.

I have been using it for five years.

It offers good stability. I would rate it eight out of ten.

I would rate the scalability capabilities eight out of ten.

The initial setup was relatively straightforward.

We witnessed a return on investment.

It provides assurance and confidence in the deployment of the environment, due to its infrastructure as code mode. It allows easy tracking of the changes, reviewing configurations, and ensuring that it aligns with requirements and best practices. I would rate it nine out of ten.

AWS CloudFormation is infrastructure as Code specific to AWS. It allows companies invested in AWS to codify their infrastructure, enabling faster deployment, tracking drift, and gaining visibility into the environment through the templates. This facilitates easy deployment in different regions.

Since AWS CloudFormation integrates well with the AWS platform, it facilitates faster deployment. Building templates for AWS services within the solution is also straightforward, making the process easier.

I would say the versioning feature is particularly useful. Ensuring that we have the right version and being able to track changes made by enabling versioning is valuable. Additionally, the ability to roll back to a previous stack in case of a bad update is good. 

We primarily utilize AWS S3 buckets for large-scale deployments to store and maintain our templates. We keep a copy of the templates in a restricted bucket. We deploy these templates using AWS CloudFormation, which provides a console for quick deployment. During deployment, we can monitor the provisioning results and quickly make any necessary changes.

The product should be made cloud-agnostic, allowing users to deploy the same environment with minimal tweaks across different cloud platforms, similar to Terraform. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have the ability to manage templates outside of the AWS environment. 

You need an enterprise agreement with AWS, meaning your company pays for the services. AWS delivers daily responses in the production environment, typically within five to ten minutes. However, in non-production environments, it might take up to 24 hours. Therefore, there could be delays in non-production environments, which may pause operations for a while.

Primarily, I use Terraform because I work across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms. Terraform is more portable across different cloud providers than AWS CloudFormation, which is specific to AWS.

The tool's deployment depends on the person's knowledge and experience, but overall, I find it pretty easy to set up. Additionally, AWS offers various templates for various services within its platform. It doesn't require many resources to deploy. It does require some maintenance in terms of adding and removing resources or adjusting the environment to meet current specifications. However, maintaining the software or the template backbone falls within AWS's purview.

The tool is free for the AWS environment. 

I recommend AWS CloudFormation to any company that is heavily invested in AWS. However, for companies operating across multiple clouds or adopting a hybrid on-premise and cloud solution, I would not recommend it. I rate the overall product a seven out of ten. 

I am using CloudFormation to automate the infrastructure of AWS.

CloudFormation has helped automate the infrastructure in AWS, making the process more efficient.

I like CloudFormation because the language is very simple, and it has a very good graphical interface for diagramming my infrastructure.

It's not that easy to use, but I can learn very fast.

I have been using CloudFormation for about two years.

I have not had any problems with the stability of CloudFormation.

If I need to use different clouds like GCP and Azure along with AWS, I prefer using Terraform.

I would recommend CloudFormation to others who use AWS solely. It is very useful for AWS-specific tasks.

I would rate it an eight out of ten.

We are currently using AWS CloudFormation to build the infrastructure stack for customers.

AWS CloudFormation enables a copy of infrastructure to be set up AWS, saving time in our daily routine.

The ability to quickly run up CloudFormation in AWS and the template validation function are the most valuable features.

The ability to convert it easily to other code which can be used for on-premises infrastructure would be a beneficial improvement. 

Also, improving the quality of support would be helpful.

I have been using AWS CloudFormation ever since the last time we spoke.

Stability is rated ten out of ten. It is very stable.

Scalability is rated eight out of ten, indicating it is pretty scalable.

Technical support from Amazon is rated seven out of ten. The response time and quality of support could be improved.

Neutral

The initial setup requires a certain level of basic knowledge to leverage it. The basic setup can be done in-house.

CloudFormation itself is not priced. The service will enable you to spin up infrastructure, which gets priced as part of the AWS license.

Azure is a main competitor on the market, particularly dedicated to the Azure Stack.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

AWS Cloud automation supports the creation of only AWS resources, and we use it to reduce the time needed to create resources. We create template files inside AWS CloudFormation to create multiple resources in AWS, such as EC2, S3, RDS, or Lambda functions. When we apply those files, the resources are created parallelly, reducing the time needed to create them.

AWS Cloud automation reduces the time needed to create AWS resources.

When I used AWS CloudFormation, I wrote the CloudFormation file. It would help all users if AWS improved the auto-generation of the CloudFormation file.

I have been using AWS CloudFormation for one year. 

I have not faced any issues with the solution’s stability.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for stability.

Around 10 to 15 users are using the solution in our organization.

The solution's technical support is faster and better than that of other cloud providers.

Positive

The solution's initial setup is neither easy nor difficult.

AWS CloudFormation's pricing is cheaper than that of other cloud providers.

I would recommend AWS CloudFormation to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.