Exporting Existing AWS Infrastructure to Terraform

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Here is the complete Terraform export guide in one single file, with section titles clearly emphasized.

Exporting Existing AWS Infrastructure to Terraform

1. Overview

It is possible to export an existing AWS environment into Terraform code. Although AWS does not provide a native method, the Terraformer tool can be used to convert AWS resources into Terraform configurations.

2. Using Terraformer (Recommended)

What is Terraformer?

Terraformer is a tool that automatically converts AWS infrastructure into Terraform code. It also generates a Terraform state file, allowing Terraform to manage the resources immediately.

Key Features:

  • Converts AWS resources into Terraform configurations automatically.
  • Maintains dependencies between resources.
  • Generates terraform state, making it easy to manage infrastructure.

3. Steps to Export AWS Configuration with Terraformer

Step 1: Install Terraformer

To install Terraformer on macOS, run:

brew install terraformer

For Linux, download the binary and move it to a directory in your PATH:

wget https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/terraformer/releases/latest/download/terraformer-linux-amd64
chmod +x terraformer-linux-amd64
sudo mv terraformer-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/terraformer

Verify the installation:

terraformer --version

Step 2: Configure AWS Credentials

Terraformer uses AWS CLI credentials. Configure them using:

aws configure

Alternatively, set the credentials as environment variables:

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret-key"
export AWS_REGION="us-east-1"

Step 3: Export AWS Resources

Export all AWS resources:

terraformer import aws --resources=all --regions=us-east-1

To export only specific resources, such as EC2, S3, and IAM:

terraformer import aws --resources=ec2,s3,iam --regions=us-east-1

To export resources with specific tags:

terraformer import aws --resources=ec2 --regions=us-east-1 --filter="Name=tags.environment;Value=production"

Step 4: Review Exported Terraform Code

Terraformer generates Terraform configuration files in the generated/aws/ directory. The directory structure will look like this:

generated/aws/
├── ec2
│   ├── instances.tf
│   ├── security_groups.tf
│   ├── variables.tf
│   ├── provider.tf
│   ├── terraform.tfstate
├── s3
│   ├── buckets.tf
│   ├── variables.tf
│   ├── provider.tf
│   ├── terraform.tfstate
├── iam
│   ├── users.tf
│   ├── roles.tf
│   ├── policies.tf

Step 5: Initialize Terraform

Navigate to the exported directory and initialize Terraform:

cd generated/aws
terraform init

Step 6: Apply Terraform State Management

Check the changes with:

terraform plan

Apply the Terraform configuration:

terraform apply

This step ensures that Terraform starts managing the existing AWS infrastructure.

4. Considerations and Limitations

  • Not all AWS services are supported. Some resources must be added manually.
  • Conflicts may occur when applying Terraform. Review the generated state and configuration carefully.
  • Terraform and Terraformer versions must be kept updated since new AWS features may not be compatible with older versions.

5. Summary

Terraformer (Recommended)

Uses terraformer to automatically export AWS configuration.

Manual Export

Uses aws cli + terraform import to import resources individually.

Infrastructure as Code Optimization

Uses terraform state management to enable Terraform control over existing AWS infrastructure.

Terraformer provides an efficient way to convert an existing AWS infrastructure into Terraform code, making it easier to manage as Infrastructure as Code.

6. Conclusion

By following these steps, you can export an existing AWS environment into Terraform and manage it efficiently.

If you need additional support for specific AWS services, refer to the official Terraform documentation.