AWS documentation guide.md

A structured approach to document AWS infrastructure effectively:

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1. High-Level Overview

• Purpose: Start with a high-level summary of your infrastructure, including objectives, regions, and primary services used.
• Details to include:
  • Regions and Availability Zones (AZs) used.
  • Core services (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, etc.).
  • Key integrations (e.g., on-premise connections, third-party tools).

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2. Architecture Diagram

• Use tools like Lucidchart, Draw.io, AWS Architecture Icons, or Visio to create a visual representation of your infrastructure.
• Include:
  • VPCs, subnets, route tables, and internet gateways.
  • Compute resources like EC2 instances, ECS clusters, or Lambda functions.
  • Storage like S3 buckets, EBS volumes, and file systems.
  • Databases like RDS, DynamoDB, or ElastiCache.
  • Security groups, NACLs, and IAM roles.

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3. Service Documentation

• Create detailed sections for each AWS service you use. Include:
  • EC2 Instances:
    • Instance types, AMI IDs, and key pairs.
    • Security groups and IAM roles.
    • Elastic IPs (EIPs) and auto-scaling configurations.
  • S3:
    • Bucket names, policies, lifecycle rules, and replication settings.
  • RDS/Database:
    • Instance types, databases hosted, backup configurations, and security groups.
  • Networking (VPC):
    • CIDR blocks, subnets, NAT gateways, VPN connections, and route tables.

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4. Configuration Details

• Provide JSON or YAML excerpts of key configurations:
  • CloudFormation templates or Terraform scripts (if applicable).
  • IAM policies and roles.
  • Security group and NACL rules.

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5. Monitoring and Logging

• Document how you monitor and log activities:
  • Tools like CloudWatch, CloudTrail, or third-party solutions.
  • Alarms, dashboards, and metrics being tracked.

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6. Access and Security

• IAM Roles and Policies:
  • Define permissions and user roles.
• Key Management:
  • AWS KMS keys, encryption settings.
• Secrets Management:
  • Secrets stored in AWS Secrets Manager or Parameter Store.

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7. Automation and Deployment

• Include CI/CD pipelines (e.g., CodePipeline, Jenkins).
• Automation scripts (e.g., Lambda functions, Step Functions).

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8. Backup and Recovery

• Backup strategies and frequencies (e.g., snapshots, S3 backups).
• Disaster recovery plans and Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) / Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs).

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9. Cost Management

• Tools like AWS Cost Explorer or third-party tools (e.g., CloudHealth, Spot).
• Cost allocation by service, tags, or environments (prod/dev/staging).

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10. Versioning and Collaboration

• Use a version control system (e.g., GitHub, GitLab) to manage documentation updates.
• Share documentation via platforms like Confluence, Notion, or SharePoint for collaboration.

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Example Tools for Documentation:

• Automated Tools:
  • AWS Config: Provides a snapshot of your AWS resources.
  • CloudMapper: Visualizes AWS architecture.
  • Hava: For automated AWS diagrams.
• Manual Tools:
  • Markdown documentation.
  • Visual diagramming tools as mentioned above.