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Oluwajuwon Odunitan
Oluwajuwon Odunitan

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🌩️ Cloud Resume Challenge (AWS Edition)

#cloud #challenge #aws #career

✨ Introduction

Two years ago, I started a simple project to explore Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform. I recently revisited it with a fresh perspective — not just to complete it, but to dive deeper into managing existing cloud resources with IaC.

What sparked this? I noticed that many people skip the backend IaC part of the Cloud Resume Challenge, and I wanted to change that.

This challenge is a hands-on cloud engineering project that helps you build a real-world, serverless web application using AWS, Azure, or GCP. I chose AWS. It’s more than just a static site — it connects frontend, backend, CI/CD, and IaC concepts into one project, with security baked in.

🧱 Project Overview

Note: To begin, you’ll need a domain name (e.g., from Namecheap), an account with a cloud provider, and programmatic access credentials.

This project:

  • Hosts a personal resume website
  • Displays a visitor counter powered by AWS Lambda and DynamoDB
  • Uses a CI/CD pipeline for automated testing and deployment
  • Secures the site with HTTPS via AWS Certificate Manager

📐 Architecture Diagram

Project Architecture Diagram

🔧 Core AWS Components

1. Amazon S3 (Static Website Hosting)

  • Website files are uploaded to an S3 bucket.
  • Public access is disabled; HTTPS is enabled via CloudFront.

2. AWS CloudFront (CDN)

  • Serves S3 content securely over HTTPS.
  • Uses an SSL/TLS certificate from AWS Certificate Manager.

3. AWS Certificate Manager (SSL)

  • Provides a free SSL/TLS certificate for the domain.
  • Attached to the CloudFront distribution for secure access.

4. AWS Route 53 (DNS)

  • Manages DNS settings linked to Namecheap.
  • Routes traffic to CloudFront via an alias record.

5. AWS Lambda + DynamoDB (Visitor Counter)

  • DynamoDB stores visitor count.
  • A Python-based Lambda function retrieves and increments the count.
  • Triggered via Lambda Function URL when the site loads.

This setup is fully serverless — no EC2 instances to manage!

🔄 CI/CD Pipeline with GitHub Actions

To automate testing and deployment:

  1. On every push to main, GitHub Actions triggers two workflows:
    • One syncs updated website files to S3.
    • The other runs tests on the Lambda function and deploys infrastructure via Terraform (if tests pass).

This ensures fast, reliable deployments with every change.

📦 Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

Following the challenge, most people use ClickOps (manual setup via AWS Console) to get started. But when I reached the IaC stage, I realized I’d need to recreate everything in Terraform — even though my site had over 500 views!

This led me to discover the power of the terraform import command.

🧠 What is terraform import?

terraform import brings existing resources under Terraform’s management — even if they weren’t created with Terraform.

Syntax: 

terraform import [options] ADDRESS ID
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ADDRESS: Resource block name (e.g., aws_dynamodb_table.cloudResumeViewsTable)

ID: Unique identifier (e.g., ARN of the resource)

Example: Importing DynamoDB Table

In main.tf:

resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "cloudResumeViewsTable" {
  name           = "cloudResumeViewsTable"
  billing_mode   = "unknown"
  read_capacity  = "unknown"
  write_capacity = "unknown"
  hash_key       = "unknown"

  attribute {
    name = "id"
    type = "S"
  }
}
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Import command

terraform import aws_dynamodb_table.cloudResumeViewsTable arn:aws:dynamodb:us-east-1:357078656374:table/cloudResumeViewsTable
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This command imports the existing DynamoDB table into Terraform’s state, allowing you to manage it as code.

The terraform import command only imports the resource into the Terraform state file; it does not automatically generate the corresponding configuration in the .tf file, also the resources block must exist in the .tf file for the resources to be imported.

🧩 Terraform Import Use Cases

  • Migrating Existing Infrastructure: Bring manually created resources under Terraform control.
  • Hybrid Environments: Gradually transition resources to IaC.
  • Disaster Recovery: Re-import recreated resources after recovery.

🗺️ Planning Imports for Complex Deployments

Importing resources in a complex deployment can be tedious. You often can’t import everything at once — instead, bring resources into Terraform gradually and intentionally.
A well-drawn architecture diagram helps you:

  • Visualize the system
  • Break it into manageable pieces
  • Map out a clear import plan

✅ Conclusion

Revisiting this project helped me bridge the gap between manual cloud setup and full IaC adoption. By using terraform import, I now manage all resources through code — making future updates safer, faster, and more scalable.

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