Lesson 3 of 4 ยท Build a Cloud Foundation

Compute and storage

Compute runs application work. Storage keeps files or persistent data. Keep compute and storage separate in your mental model: a virtual machine can be replaced, while application data usually needs a planned durability and access model.

Example

resource "aws_instance" "app" {
  ami           = "ami-0123456789abcdef0"
  instance_type = "t3.micro"
}

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "assets" {
  bucket = "training-assets-example"
}

Step by step

  1. Choose compute based on the workload.
  2. Store durable files outside an individual server.
  3. Use names and tags that show ownership.
  4. Plan backups before storing important data.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Using a server disk as the only copy of important files.
  • Choosing instance sizes without observing workload needs.