CloudFormation vs. Terraform: An Engineer's Experience Migrating AWS IaC | Annem Sabah Shah
Thinking of migrating your AWS infrastructure from CloudFormation to Terraform? This episode provides a real-world, technical case study from Annem Sabah Shah, a Cloud Platform Engineer who successfully orchestrated such a migration. Annem shares the challenges of working with CloudFormation's nested JSON structure and explains why her team chose Terraform, even as a fully AWS-native shop .
The core of the discussion focuses on leveraging the in-code Terraform Import feature, a significant improvement over the old CLI command, allowing for better auditing and safer state management . Annem details the step-by-step process, from manually mapping resources and writing Python scripts for initial conversion to validating like-for-like imports using HCP Terraform's planning capabilities to avoid breaking production resources .
This is a great listen for platform engineers and DevOps teams considering an IaC migration. Learn practical tips, where to start (hint: not with networking!), and Annem's thoughtful perspective on using AI for boilerplate code while cautioning against over-reliance that could hinder critical thinking skills needed for firefighting
Questions asked:
00:00 Introduction
01:17 Who is Annem Sabah Shah?
01:45 Case Study: Migrating from AWS CloudFormation to Terraform
02:20 Why Move from CloudFormation to Terraform in an AWS Shop?
03:00 The Power of In-Code Terraform Import vs. CLI
04:45 The State Before Migration: An Unwieldy CloudFormation Repo
06:20 The Modular Terraform Approach
07:25 Scaling the Migration: From Manual Mapping to Python Scripts
08:30 Validating Imports with HCP Terraform Plans (Avoiding Broken Links)
10:45 Organizing Terraform Code with Modules
11:55 Starting Your Own Migration: Advice & Where to Begin (Start Small!)
14:45 Using AI (LLMs) to Write Boilerplate Terraform & Import Statements
17:00 The Risk of Relying Too Much on AI: Losing Critical Thinking Skills
18:45 Is AI Playing a Big Role in Platform Engineering Today?
19:30 Easy Use Cases for AI: Adding CloudWatch Alarms
21:10 Final Questions: Mentoring, Tennis, and South Asian Food
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