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Understanding CloudFormation Template Anatomy

This lab takes an in-depth look at CloudFormation template anatomy. Each section of a CloudFormation template will be covered in detail, and, ultimately, a CloudFormation template will be constructed piece by piece. After completing this lab, the student will have a deeper understanding of constructing CloudFormation templates in both JSON and YAML.

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 1h 15m
Last updated
Clock icon Sep 03, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Create a CloudFormation Stack

    1. Navigate to CloudFormation.
    2. Click Create stack.
    3. In the new CloudFormation page, click Designer
    4. Click the Template tab at the bottom.
    5. Copy everything in the Template_Anatomy2.yaml file, and paste it into the Template window.
    6. In a new browser tab, navigate to EC2 > Key Pairs.
    7. Click Create Key Pair.
    8. Give it a key pair name of "tempanatomy", and click Create.
    9. Click Security Groups in the left-hand menu.
    10. Copy the security group ID and paste it into a text file, since we'll need it in a minute.
    11. Navigate to VPC > Subnets.
    12. Select one of the listed subnets, and copy its subnet ID. Paste it into a text file, since we'll also need it later.
    13. Back in the CloudFormation template window, click the checkbox at the top to validate the template, and then click the cloud icon with the up arrow to create the stack.
    14. Click Next.
    15. On the stack details page, set the following values:
      • Stack name: tempanatomyLab
      • InstanceType: t2.micro
      • KeyName: tempanatomy
      • MySG: Paste in the security group ID you copied earlier
      • MySubnet: Paste in the subnet ID you copied earlier
    16. Click Next.
    17. On the stack options page, set the Key as "name" and Value as "tempanatomy".
    18. Click Next.
    19. Click Create stack. It will take a few minutes for it to fully be created.

  2. Challenge

    Delete a CloudFormation Stack

    1. Once the stack is created, click Delete at the top.
    2. In the confirmation dialog, click Delete stack.
    3. Monitor the deletion process by watching the Events tab.
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Pluralsight Skills

Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

What's a lab?

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

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We will provide the credentials and environment necessary for you to practice right within your browser.

Guided walkthrough

Follow along with the author’s guided walkthrough and build something new in your provided environment!

Did you know?

On average, you retain 75% more of your learning if you get time for practice.
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